Dozens of high level talks cover practical 3D printing applications within the industrial workflow. Just about every major company took up a stand at the Inside 3D Printing pavilion, which functioned as the AM Section of METAV. The first impression is that, while AM companies still represent a minority compared to high-end metalworking technologies, this difference is getting smaller.
Meanwhile, the conference lets show visitors hear directly from the people who work on these technologies what the future holds in their Digital Factory 4.0 visions. These went from Additive Industries and Concept Lasers’ fully automated factory visions, to SLM Solutions’ quadruple laser SLM 500hl system. Arcam and EOS also intervened, as did representatives from several 3D printing services, materials manufacturers and even adopters such as BMW.
Concept Laser picked up Inside 3D Printing show’s award for its Meltpool Monitoring system. We can also exclusively anticipate that 2015 has been a record year for the company (the official results will be disclosed soon), in anticipation of the XLine 2000 full release. This time the 3D printer on the show flow was the MLab, the smallest one that the company makes. It is also one of the most affordable on the market, ideal for anyone that is just getting started in metal 3D printing.
This idea of (more) accessible metal 3D printing was made even clearer during the presentation by SLM Solutions. When talking about the powerful quadruple laser SLM 500hl, Dieter Schwarze, Head Additive Processes, showed a video in which the machine was 3D printing its own parts, recalling the idea of RepRap 3D printing. The differences are, of course, enormous, however the idea that a metal 3D printer can now make many of its parts is a powerful one.
A number of German and Swiss 3D printing and product development services were also present on the exhibition floor. Some, like Lazer Zentrum Nord, are already eyeing the possibility of evolving into full metal 3D printing factories (the Bionic Production project). That’s due in part to the increased availability of software such as Altair (present with a stand at the show) that make development and production of trabecular and topologically optimized structures easier and more intuitive than ever to implement.
After the roller coaster of the past couple of years, the industry as a whole is starting to take take its final shape and thus gaining stability. Only the strongest survive and a lot of big companies are getting ready to get into the mix, in many different sectors of manufacturing. If this is the premise, then it’s a good enough reason not to miss the next Inside 3D Printing taking place in São Paulo, Brazil, April 4th and 5th, or in New York City April 10th through 12th. Remember 3DPrint.com readers can save 10% off registration by using discount code ‘3DPRINT’.