Oerlikon Balzers Customer Magazine

BEYOND SURFACES

Fall

Passion

it will also alter the manner in which

industrial processes and manufacturing

are carried out. The AM processes give

you more latitude in terms of design

and shape. While the slogan yesterday

was: “Design for Manufacturing,” today,

thanks to AM, we can say: “Design

for Function.” This is what makes

additive manufacturing so revolutionary.

When does additive

manufacturing make sense?

There are many areas. A classic

example is the area of one-off parts or

spare parts. If these are produced by

means of additive manufacturing, repair

times can be shortened and resource

intensive warehousing can be avoided.

But we are already one step

further, because the technology is

increasingly becoming established in

the manufacturing industry where it

complements conventional fabrication

processes. Individualized one-off parts

and small series can be produced this

way more promptly and more locally

for the customer. Instead of producing

centrally and sending things halfway

around the world in containers or by

air freight, the future will see us simply

sending the data to the printer which

then accurately prints out the needed

part in a short time right on site. And

if an apparatus with the desired

specifications is not yet available

at the moment, then it, too, will be

printed in the foreseeable future!

Another, significant advantage is

also that industrial components can

be manufactured quickly and in an

uncomplicated manner in new and

complex forms that previously were

only possible with great effort and

expense – even, in fact, using new

materials that were previously not

possible. Ultimately, this will further

improve the performance of products

and reduce the costs. And, by the way,

these are not just visions of the future.

Parts printed in series are already in

common use in aircraft, for example

in jet engines or control mechanisms.

You have mentioned the costs

several times now. How can

these be reduced through the

use of additive manufacturing?

There will be several possibilities

here. A significant difference between

additive manufacturing and previous

manufacturing processes is that

material is not removed or cut off, but

instead added layer by layer exactly

where it is needed. This saves material,

which makes the production more

sustainable, and, of course, for ex-

pensive metal-based materials, this

has a noticeable effect on the costs.

But there will also be savings in

the logistics chain and warehousing

when spare parts are only produced

on site when needed. However, to get

that far, the productivity of additive

manufacturing must still be improved

greatly, meaning the costs must go

down. This will be achieved through

more efficient machinery, automated

processes, reduced material costs and

new procedures. Today, a good deal

still takes place manually in this process.

Viewpoint

What is additive manufacturing

being used for already today and

what will the future look like?

The core application areas on which

we are concentrating have to do with

the manufacture of key components

for the aerospace, automotive and

medical sectors as well as for custom-

ers in the area of toolmaking and in

industrial production. We are already

working on customer projects in all

of these areas. Moreover, we are also

using additive manufacturing to fabri-

cate our own products – in the area of

thermal spray equipment, and for special

components for transmission solutions

and textile systems. Although these

projects are still in the research and

development phase, we will also pass

this knowledge on to our customers.

What are you working on right now?

In order to move the industrialization

forwards, it is especially important

to increase the productivity of the

process and expand the range of

materials. These are our main topics.

As a technology partner for key com-

ponents, we are working on developing

service centres where we can offer our

customers access to the production

of components by means of additive

manufacturing. We are also working on

improving the process technology and

the workflows. Our materials specialists

are also engaged in further expanding

our portfolio of materials for this area.

Are your customers already able

to work with the AM process?

Yes, we are already working on the

development of small series with various

different customers. And, because we

are going to expand our capacities

for printing, we will soon be able to

offer our customers manufacturing of

3D products globally as a service.

Mr Mauerer, thank you

for the interview!

“There is hardly a

technology at the

moment which offers

more potential

for growth.”