The decisive factor for the successful use of AM in mechanical and plant engineering and automation is not only the clear commitment of management, but also the greatest possible know-how of the people responsible.

Seminars, contacts and applications at Formnext
But where and how can you acquire this expertise in additive manufacturing? A visit to Formnext, which takes place this year from November 7 to 10 in Frankfurt am Main, offers a very good general overview. The Discover3Dprinting seminars on each day of the trade fair offer excellent insights into the world of industrial 3D printing. The extensive stage program, which is freely accessible to all trade fair visitors, offers numerous other insights. In addition, hundreds of exhibitors will be providing information on solutions along the entire additive manufacturing process chain: from design and the selection of suitable manufacturing technology to post-processing.

From prototype to fixture
3D printing has been used in mechanical engineering for many years, and the range of applications has continued to grow. Starting with the production of prototypes, numerous companies now also use 3D printing to quickly and cost-effectively produce equipment such as brackets or templates. In particular, the use of fiber-reinforced plastic, which can now also be processed with desktop 3D printers, has accelerated this development enormously, as it allows components with very high strength to be produced comparatively inexpensively.

Small quantities and complex geometries
Final components are the ultimate in additive applications. 3D printing can play to several of its strengths, particularly in mechanical and plant engineering and automation: Individual parts or very small quantities can be produced quickly and cost-effectively, as no tools are required, for example. 3D printing also enables special geometries that cannot be realized with other manufacturing methods. In addition, components that were previously made up of numerous individual parts can now be printed in one piece.

In addition to these advantages, 3D printing offers companies in the automation sector an additional opportunity: additive manufacturing is increasingly being used for larger quantities in industrial environments in various sectors, which often requires an automated production process including post-processing. Companies from the automation sector have already discovered these business opportunities for themselves in a rapidly growing market and are successfully offering solutions in this area.

Further information