Additive manufacturing at MACH 2018

It doesn't seem like long ago that additive manufacturing was very much on the fringes at MACH: an emerging concept that elicited excitement and scepticism in almost equal measure.

The presence of a dedicated zone within Hall 6 at this year's event shows just how far the technology has moved into the mainstream.

Located in Hall 6, the additive zone offers an opportunity for buyers and specifiers to meet the growing family of organisations serving this fast-developing sector and find information on subjects ranging from prototyping, to customisation and full-scale production of additive components.

The largest single stand within the zone belongs to additive major Stratasys (Stand: H6-840). which is showing how customers including McLaren Racing, Opel, Siemens and Swift Engineering are using Stratasys systems to realise cost and time savings of up to 90 per cent.

Five application zones on the stand are showing how additive can be applied to composite layout tools; metal forming tooling; vacuum forming tools; robot and barn fixtures and grippers, and drill guides. The stand is also hosting the McLaren MP4 – 31S Formula One car, which competed in the 2017 season. Stratasys produced the steering wheel for the vehicle and is also providing trackside production of race production parts.