Michelin Molding Solutions (MMS) in Greenville, SC purchased their second AddUp FormUp 350 Powder Bed Fusion (PBF) machine following the successful installation and operation of their first one in 2022. This machine is the sixth added to an expanding global fleet of FormUp’s currently in use across Europe and North America. Thanks to the productivity and serial production capabilities of AddUp’s Additive Manufacturing (AM) machines, each new FormUp 350 replaces five legacy AM machines.
MMS is Michelin’s worldwide division for production of tire curing molds. From locations in Europe, Asia and North America, MMS supplies molds to Michelin’s tire manufacturing plants throughout the world. The complex tire geometries demanded by Michelin to deliver superior tire performance require equally complex mold geometries which can’t always be produced with traditional manufacturing processes. For almost twenty years, MMS has used metal AM to meet those demands. MMS has chosen AddUp’s FormUp 350 for its high productivity, robust quality output and cutting-edge technology for safe management of metal powder.
3D Printed Tire Sipe Detail
“MMS is very pleased with the productivity and quality achievable on AddUp’s FormUp 350. This level of productivity allowed us to decommission older and less productive 3D printers. We’ve seen improvements in the cleanliness and safety of our operations and our operators very much appreciate its ease of use from build plate programming to machine set up and the machine user interface.” explains Glen Nelson, Technical Development Manager at MMS.
One FormUp 350 can manufacture the quantity of tire mold inserts which previously required five metal 3D printers and can achieve it faster and more reliably. By industrializing metal AM, MMS has been able to produce millions of mold sipe inserts over the past two decades with increasingly sophisticated shapes to improve traction and wear over the life of the tire.
About AddUp:
AddUp, a joint venture created by Michelin and Fives, is a global metal additive manufacturing OEM offering multi-technology production systems, including the FormUp® range of robust and open-architecture Powder Bed Fusion (PBF) machines, as well as the BeAM Modulo and Magic lines of industrial Directed Energy Deposition (DED) machines.
AddUp’s FormUp 350 PBF range is modular and scalable to provide the highest productivity while ensuring user safety. The DED machines are designed for industrial production and equipped with in-house designed and developed nozzles to provide maximum precision and very high productivity. To provide customers with a true Industry 4.0 solution, AddUp also provides a complete monitoring solution providing quality assurances after each and every build.
AddUp is headquartered in Cébazat, France, with a North American subsidiary based out of Cincinnati, Ohio and a German subsidiary based in Aachen, Germany. In addition to the machine design and manufacturing, the AddUp group also offers part production, POC production, metal AM consulting services, AM training, and design for AM, making AddUp your one-stop for metal AM. To learn more, visit: www.addupsolutions.com.
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