Page 10 - 3D Metal Printing Fall 2018

3D Industry News
Siemens Using AM in New Rail-Maintenance Center
Siemens Mobility GmbH, part of Siemens AG, has opened its first digital rail-maintenance operation—the Siemens Mobility RRX Rail Service Center in Dortmund-Eving, Ger- many. At the heart of the depot’s servicing operation is a Stratasys Fortus 450mc fused- deposition-modeling (FDM) 3D printer.
With the center,
Siemens Mobility has
eliminated the need for
inventory of selected
spare parts, reduced
the manufacturing time
nal and customer demands seamlessly, according to company officials. The company expects that approximately 100 trains will enter the depot every month.
“Every train has to go through maintenance several times a year,” says Michael Kuczmik, head of additive manufacturing at Siemens Mobility GmbH. “As you can imagine, all of our customers would like this process to proceed as quickly as possible, but they still expect maximum levels of detail, safety and quality. We also must consider unplanned or last-minute jobs, and this requires a lot of customized solutions. This is where our Fortus FDM printer fits in perfectly, providing us with the ability to rapidly and cost-effectively produce one-off, customized production parts.”
Look for metal-AM applications as print-on-demand maintenance services gain in popularity.
SLM Solutions’ Move Provides for Future Expansion
SLM Solutions Group AG, provider of metal-AM tech- nology, has moved into its new headquarters in Lübeck, Germany. The 270,000-sq.-ft. facility, situated on a 17-acre parcel, provides the company with room for future expan- sion. The building itself rep- resents a 56-percent under- roof increase as compared to the company’s former loca- tion, and produces selective- laser-melting systems for the global market. Home to 350 employees, the facility also includes an AM-applications technology center to aid cus- tomers in process-develop- ment efforts, sales and administration offices, and spare-parts warehouse and service department.
Global 3D-Printing Market to Surpass $8 Billion by 2024
Government and industry initiatives worldwide are pro- pelling the global automo- tive-3D-printing market, poised to increase from $1.4 billion in 2017 to more than $8 billion by 2024, for a com- pounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 25 percent, according to a report by Global Market Insights, Inc.
While the North American market share is nearly half (45 percent) of the global market, investments in India and China fuel the Asia-Pacific automotive-3D-printing mar- ket, which is anticipated to achieve a CAGR of more than 29 percent through the 2018- 2024 forecast period.
The Siemens Mobility RRX Rail Service Center is the company’s first dig- ital rail-maintenance center, with Stratasys FDM 3D printing at the heart of its servicing operation.
of these parts by as much as 95 percent and can now respond to all inter-
Singapore Is Site of New 3D-Printing Center
Quality assurance and risk management firm DNV GL, a Nor- way-based quality-assurance and risk-management firm, has set up a 3D-printing center in Singapore to incubate and test the technology for oil and gas (O&G), offshore and marine (O&M) sectors.
The center will develop competencies in 3D-printing qualifi- cation, certification and training. Adoption by the O&G and O&M sectors has been low due to qualification and certification challenges, according to DNV GL officials. The firm aims to pro- vide the industry with technical standards and guidelines for qualifying and certifying advanced-manufacturing equipment, processes, products, materials and personnel. It announced that it would work with local research institutes and industry partners, including a collaboration with Sembcorp Marine, SIMTech and Namic to develop and certify laser-aided 3D-print- ing technology to make large-scale structures for new-build vessels in Singapore. It also will work with Australia's Aurora Labs on an advanced-manufacturing certification standard that will cover its whole value chain, from powders to parts.
New Product- Development Package
for Smaller Operations
Melt, a Kolkata, India- based AM-services provider, announced the launch of ProDesk, a product-develop- ment package for startups and small and medium enterprises. The offering works in three stages: prod- uct design, product valida- tion and low-volume produc- tion. It includes 3D CAD software for product design, 3D-printed models for vali- dation and assistance during parts production.
8 | 3D METAL PRINTING • FALL 2018
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