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.

Across the aisle from Stratasys, visitors can see more AM equipment on Renishaw’s stand (H19-430). The metrology specialist is also a pioneer in additive manufacturing, and this stands in addition to its main exhibit. The additive stand is showing off software and systems for production of metal parts, including the RenAM 500 M laser powder bed fusion additive system designed specifically for the factory floor, with a build volume of 250 x 250 x 350 mm and featuring automated powder and waste handling systems. Alongside this the company is demonstrating its build preparation software QuantAM, and highlighting the productivity of its four-laser system.

The smaller stands in the zone include 3D Systems (H7-345), which is showcasing its engineering-grade additive solutions for all budgets, as well as premiering its ProX SLS 6100 selective laser sintering printer. Designed for aerospace, automotive, patient-specific medical devices, fashion accessories and mobile devices, this system can use a range of production-grade nylon materials and can be used in prototyping to direct 3D production.

3D Systems is also showing the ProX DMP 320 system (which produces very dense and pure metal parts with reduced waste, shorter setup times and higher throughput) alongside stereolithography systems and an affordable digital light processing 3D printer suitable for engineering and jewellery applications.

Elsewhere, Goprint3D (H6-750) is exhibiting technology for a number of brands including Formlabs, Markforged, Ultimaker, Zortrax and large format manufacturer 3D Platform.  Also present is Laserlines, which is demonstrating the office friendly F370 370 3D printer, along with the Desktop Metal Studio System for building metal parts.