Community Spotlights are special features to introduce you to the amazing folks transforming manufacturing as part of the Tulip Community.
Meet Our Community Spotlight
Carol Lin is a Materials Design Engineer at DMG MORI in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. With a strong background in materials engineering as an application specialist in a metallographic lab, she was recruited for her well-rounded skill set and passion for materials science by DMG MORI to work in their new Additive Manufacturing (AM) lab.
As you will read in this spotlight, Carol is always open to new challenges and has a unique ability to adapt to different roles and environments, and her enthusiasm for learning and continuous improvement is a central theme in her career.
Background and Education
Carol's academic journey began at the University of Illinois, where she studied Materials Engineering.
“I liked it so much that I also earned a Master’s degree in Materials Engineering at UC Irvine."
While my background is STEM heavy, my curriculum didn’t comprise of many coding classes; I only took one coding class in undergrad. So that was something I really appreciate about Tulip, that it is so friendly to people who don’t have much coding experience.
Lab Work and Additive Manufacturing Innovations
In her lab at DMG MORI, Carol focuses on metallographic analysis, examining the microstructure of samples from additive manufacturing machines to help optimize machine parameters for material performance, ensuring the reliability and performance of the parts produced through additive manufacturing.
"When a part comes off the additive manufacturing machines, we cut off a small section from the region of interest and turn it into a sample so that it can fit under a microscope." Carol says. "When we analyze the microstructure, we’re most interested in porosity because that tends to be the biggest kind of defect we see in printed parts. The porosity, in turn, can affect the mechanical properties and application of the final product."
Carol's move to the Additive Manufacturing lab at DMG MORI marked the beginning of an exciting chapter in her career. Her enthusiasm for the role and the opportunity to work in a cutting-edge field was evident from the start.
“In my role, I get to work in research and development efforts and showcase the quality assurance to our customers. I’m showing customers, ‘Here is what our AM machines are capable of, and additive manufacturing has the potential to be another tool or technology alongside traditional machining methods.'"
“For example, a lot of customers are interested in die and mold repairs. When a die or mold starts to fracture, it’s very expensive to purchase a replacement. But with our DED, or Direct Energy Deposition, technology, it’s possible to target a specific area and weld a fresh layer of metal directly onto it, kind of like an advanced band-aid that makes the mold like new again.” Carol says
“Some customers in the medical industry are interested in using our SLM (Selective Laser Melting) machines to create hip joints or knee replacements from scratch. The SLM process allows for complex geometries and custom sizing of the implants. It’s just amazing watching the parts take shape layer-by-layer from a powder form.”
When asked if she had prior experience with these “miniature school bus-sized” AM machines prior to her time at DMG MORI, she says, “I had no background in additive manufacturing at all. As a result, I’m learning something new every day.”
Creating a Tulip App for the AM Lab
Most people who work with Tulip are in a manufacturing or production setting. But Carol, recognizing a need for better inventory management in her materials research lab, took the initiative to develop an app using Tulip to solve this problem. The app was designed to organize and track the flow of consumables and powders used in AM processes, addressing the chaos of untracked inventory.
Carol recounts that "We had no method instilled to track the flow of our metal powders or spare parts. People were previously grabbing items on an as-needed basis, and when inventory got too low, there was no clear system as to who was responsible for ordering more. And, of course, it always seemed to ironically happen at a critical point in an engineer’s project."
To prevent this issue from recurring, I created a Tulip app for tracking our inventory and reorder points. Now, every time my team takes something out, they document it in the Tulip app. The app has been a great help to our workflow.
She may not be a manufacturing or process engineer, but Carol still has a human-centric approach in her Tulip app building, thinking of how other engineers on her team would interact with the app.
One of the biggest features I wanted to implement was a QR code scanner because I wanted my app to be as user-friendly as possible to limit the amount of inhibitors preventing the engineers from using it. They were going from a world where they were used to grabbing what they needed, and now there was an extra action item they had to complete in between. To get my team to adapt to this new tracking system, I wanted to make it as easy on them as possible.
In addition to the QR code scanner, her app features the ability to adjust material quantities, with real-time updates to the inventory table, the option to check on current inventory levels, and email alerting when any consumables fell below threshold.
Carol's initiative has been so successful that there are plans to expand the app to other DMG MORI facilities, including sites in California and Japan.
Looking Ahead
Carol has really enjoyed learning about additive manufacturing and she is interested in continuing to explore AM and working in the R&D space, but feels open to what the future may bring.
I’m currently investigating other potential metals that can be 3D printed, but I’m open to alternative directions down the line. For example, when I attend AM seminars, speakers emphasize the environmental advantages additive manufacturing can offer compared to conventional manufacturing, so I'd be interested in taking my AM career down a sustainability route. Who’s to say what will happen?
Want to hear more from Carol?
Join us on Tulip Community for an Ask Me Anything session to learn more about Carol’s career journey and what's next for her.