Conference AM4I focuses on industrial application of additive processes

VDMA working group Additive Manufacturing with new technical conference AM4I – Additive Manufacturing for Industry 

• Focus on application of additive manufacturing (AM) in mechanical and plant engineering and other industries.
• Conference on 26/27 May 2020 in Ludwigsburg offers first-hand technical know-how and networking opportunities. 

 “Our 150 member companies cover all areas of the additive manufacturing process chain. They have been pioneers in the industrial application of additive manufacturing processes for years. Now is the time to share this wealth of experience,” says Dr. Markus Heering, Managing Director of the Additive Manufacturing Working Group (AG AM) at VDMA. For this purpose, the AG AM is launching a new specialist conference.

The focus of the conference will be on the industrial application of additive manufacturing, with a particular focus on its use in mechanical and plant engineering. “Along the additive process chain, the conference will show how AM projects can be successfully designed, what has to be taken into account in additive-compatible designs and in the construction process, and what is important in the area of post-processing,” explains Heering. 

The tool-free AM processes are increasingly being used in near-series production. The spectrum ranges from special machine construction to the individualization of machines and systems to the production of spare parts on demand or the reconditioning of wear with the aid of laser deposition welding or hybrid processes. Due to the high degree of design freedom, additive processes are particularly suitable for lightweight construction and the implementation of multifunctional components and assemblies. These levers enable machine and plant manufacturers to achieve ever greater efficiency and cost advantages in their customers’ manufacturing processes. 

High level of investment – More and more series applications 

A current member survey of AG AM confirms the trend towards near-series application. According to the survey, users, service providers and machine manufacturers hardly use a quarter of the additive components as prototypes. Otherwise they manufacture tools (~25 percent), spare parts (up to 29 percent) and series products (~25 percent). “Additive manufacturing is becoming an industrial production process and has long since outgrown its origins in rapid prototyping,” explains Heering. 

This development will be highlighted at the AM4I conference in Ludwigsburg, where best practice examples will be presented and a great deal of practical experience from industrial practice will be conveyed. “As a working group for additive manufacturing within the VDMA, we would like to make our contribution to the rapid industrialization of additive processes. The key to this is robust, increasingly automated processes,” emphasizes Heering. The basis for this is open technical exchange and the networking of actors along additive process chains. Both will be possible at the specialist conference on 26 and 27 May 2020; in addition to the members of AG AM, numerous VDMA member companies and external participants will be represented.