AM diversity sensibly structured

Keynote speakers on the first day of the congress are Anja Rupprecht and Markus Bähr from Diehl Defence GmbH & Co KG. This division of the Diehl Group, which has over 16,000 employees, supplies high-tech solutions such as air defense systems, guided missiles and ammunition for the army, air force and navy. The development engineer and the specialist team leader of the Structural Materials division show that additive manufacturing (AM) plays a role in all Group divisions, which include the Aviation, Controls, Metal and Metering divisions in addition to Defence, as well as in the entire value creation process.

The keynote will focus on the diversity of AM from research and development to series production. "We use additive processes, for example, to produce prototypes quickly or to manufacture aids for production and thus make it more efficient. We use processes such as FDM, SLA or LPBF for this. At the three Diehl Defense locations in Germany, we can operate autonomously on site and are therefore very flexible. We also maintain a close cross-plant and cross-divisional exchange on projects, components and general procedures and questions about AM. This is a way of structuring the variety of requirements in a meaningful way," explains Anja Rupprecht.

For the future use of AM, the 3D printing experts at Diehl see the reproducible, high-quality production of series components as a key task. "This is an exciting topic, especially for newer processes that are binder-based, for example. Our goal is standardized processes that also meet the high demands of the defence industry," says Anja Rupprecht.

Air Force experience with AM

The topic of AM is also playing an increasingly important role for users of modern defense technology. Tobias Gärtner talks about his experiences with additive manufacturing in the German Air Force. The mechanical engineer heads the design office of the Air Force's Weapon System Support Center 2. He will also be present on the first day of the congress in Erfurt - in the "Innovations in AM" forum. Industrial 3D printing has been used in his area of responsibility since 2019. "With printed demonstrators, we can replace expensive equipment in development phases and use the dummies as placeholders, so to speak. Additive manufacturing also contributes to qualified equipment and supports training," says the civilian employee of the German Armed Forces, referring to various use cases. For example, 3D-printed mounts improve the handling of night vision devices. The correct repackaging and storage of oxygen masks after use can also be trained realistically outside of aircraft using 3D scanning technology. "Additive manufacturing not only scores with shorter design times. The technology allows us to respond precisely to the needs of the Bundeswehr," says Tobias Gärtner, highlighting a key advantage of the in-house expertise in the field of additive manufacturing.

Other renowned keynote speakers, including from the international automotive and aviation industries, as well as AM experts from industry and science are expected to speak at the Rapid.Tech 3D Congress. The three-day program from 9 to 11 May 2023 will offer insights into the latest AM applications and developments in the forums Mobility, Medicine, Aerospace, Design, Software & Processes, Innovations in AM and Science. For the first time, AM topics from the fields of chemistry/plant engineering/production technology and post-processing & quality assurance will be discussed in separate specialist forums.

India's 3D printing expertise will be one of the focal points of the congress and exhibitor areas at Rapid.Tech 3D 2023. Numerous preparations are currently underway for German-Indian meetings and a joint Indian stand in Erfurt.

More than 2,500 trade visitors from 18 countries came to Erfurt for Rapid.Tech 3D 2022. They learned about new additive manufacturing products and services from 97 exhibitors from eleven countries, including the USA, the UK, Austria and Switzerland. Visitors responded very well to the congress program with groundbreaking keynotes and in-depth presentations in the specialist forums. More guests were registered here compared to the last live congress in 2019.