Writing the ‘good book’ of 3D printing

Among the books on Kip Hanson’s desk is copy of the 21st edition of the Machinery’s Handbook that his mother gave him in 1979. K. Hanson

If machining were a religion, its bible would be the Machinery’s Handbook. Of course. Just as all Christians have the Holy Bible on their bookshelf, every Muslim the Quran, every Jew the Torah, and every Buddhist the Tipitaka, it’s a rite of passage that all machinists have a copy of the Machinery’s Handbook tucked into the top center drawer of his or her Kennedy toolbox.

Which got me thinking: Where’s the Handbook of Additive Manufacturing?

Where’s the Handbook of Additive Manufacturing?

I own the 21st edition of the Machinery’s Handbook. It hit the shelves Oct. 1, 1979, a few days before my birthday. My dear departed mother bought it for me when I started vocational-technical school.

I quit a month or two later, having seen the sign “Handscrew Operator Needed” at an area machine shop. She later informed me that my irresponsible action had made her “madder than a hornet’s nest.” But when you’re 17 years old and working nights for $3.50 an hour, it’s tough to argue with a $2 raise—never mind being able to spend more time with the girl who is now my wife.

Besides, school was never my thing. Sorry, Mom.

It was a nice gift, though, and one with a proud history. I didn’t know it at the time, but the 1st edition appeared in 1914*. The latest is the 31st.

Given 3D printing’s importance, shouldn’t engineers and equipment operators have an equally comprehensive resource? More importantly, what 2,482-page tome will they pick up 43 years after receiving it and wonder where the years went? Will they have the opportunity to smell its oil-stained pages, smile at their mother’s “Happy Birthday, Son” inscription on the inside cover, and reminisce over the faded scraps of paper stuffed in there sometime during the Reagan administration. I think not.

Given 3D printing’s importance, shouldn’t engineers and equipment operators have an equally comprehensive resource?

Still, how does one go about writing a handbook for a technology that encompasses seven distinct processes—far more than those covered in the Machinery’s Handbook—and that reinvents itself far faster than turning, milling, and grinding machines ever could?

Terry Wohlers comes close. He’s published his seminal Wohlers Report every year since 1996, and his website states that “Many refer to it as the bible of 3D printing.” So, I’m calling on an ambitious soul like Wohlers or other big-brained AM expert to do the industry a favor and get writing. As difficult as it might be to produce, the 3D printing world needs a handbook. You can even use the name Handbook of Additive Manufacturing, as I suggested earlier.

Terry?

* To those wondering why it’s called the “Machinery’s” handbook and not the “Machinist’s” handbook, here’s some bibliophilic trivia: In 1894, the book’s publisher and founder of the Industrial Press, Alexander Luchar, launched the monthly industrial metalworking magazine Machinery. It was only natural that, 20 years later, he would name the new handbook after his very successful publication. His great-great-grandson continues that tradition to this day.