2023-10-30 09:13:49
Festo has taken a successful first step towards getting a broad 3D printing community off the ground, in which knowledge sharing is central. The first edition attracted around 75 external participants Let’s print the future. They were not only presented with interesting business cases, but also with new developments at OEMs in the AM industry.
“If, as a supplier, we bring together our customers on the one hand and the users of 3D printers on the other, we can lower the barrier to 3D printing,” says Brian Bouwmeester, project engineer at Party and initiator of Let’s print the future. Knowledge sharing was the main topic of the event in the Festo eXperience Center in Delft. In addition to the six keynote lectures, regarding twelve companies presented themselves. “We asked the speakers to provide not only good examples, but also applications in which AM is not successful,” Bouwmeester explains.
Engineers from customers and OEMs from the AM industry together at Let’s print the future
Festo also frequently 3D prints itself
The keynote lectures were a mix of 3D printing technology, applications and a vision on additive manufacturing. At Festo itself, this is clear: “For engineers, 3D printing is cool stuff in product development,” says Brian Bouwmeester regarding the role of AM in the automation group. There are now more than 80 3D printers at the Festo branch worldwide. Festo has been bringing 3D printing to factories for several years. In Delft there is, among other things, a Lisa SLS printer from Sintratec; a Formlabs SLA printer, various FDM printers including from Ultimaker and equipment from Norm Finish for post processing of the AM pieces. In addition to printing prototypes, Festo also uses the technology for on-demand production of functional components or grippers that are topologically optimized. Mattias Manuel Speckler, who heads the Festo AM competence center at the head office, outlined the steps Festo has already taken in this area. More than 80,000 parts are printed every year, including series production for end applications.
DMG Mori: more sustainable production
One of the OEMs from the AM industry that Festo supplies to is DMG Mori, which builds both laser powder bed machines and DED systems. Markus Baumler, sales director, sees a lot of potential in the production of molds, among other things. “We think we can produce these much more sustainably with AM.” The hybrid machines save a lot of material because you can 3D print on an existing structure. In addition, you can mix materials with this technology, for example 316L in the core and Stellite 6 on the outside. DMG Mori also uses the technology itself, including in spindle production. Instead of a process consisting of 10 processing steps in 14 days, the machine builder now makes the part on one machine with a lead time of hours.
Materials are more expensive, but you earn back the additional cost, partly through lower setup costs
Lack of knowledge is the biggest obstacle
Tristan Budel, founder and CTO of the Dutch DLP system manufacturer atum3D, thinks that lack of knowledge is the biggest obstacle to 3D printing. “If you do not understand AM sufficiently, the investment will be difficult.” Costs are also an obstacle at first glance. After all, materials are more expensive than the former plastics. “But you earn back the additional cost over time, partly through lower setup costs.” Tristam Budel vision? “We want to have a system with a high production capacity and where the parts arrive ready to be packaged.” Dreamed applications for 3D printing then come closer.
Material development will play a key role
Simon van de Crommert, UK and Benelux sales manager at 3D Systems, outlined the business case for Invisalign. That 3D prints 17 million plastic ‘invisible’ brackets, alligners. The patient immediately receives the various transparent alligners and progresses to perfect teeth in 16 steps. “There are 350 3D printers in Mexico. The entire process is robotized and automated,” says Van der Crommert. The consumer applications are already in the high volume segment. In the market for high-quality metal components, the step to serial 3D printing takes longer. “Acceptance is increasing. More people are embracing 3D printing as a production technology. But we need to make the processes easier and more reliable.” Simon van der Crommert expects that development in the coming decade will mainly come from the materials angle.
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