VDMA to present lectures on industrial Additive Manufacturing applications at formnext 2017
October 18, 2017
Germany’s Industry Federation of Mechanical Engineers (VDMA) will participate in a lecture programme from the am4u stage at formnext powered by tct 2017, Frankfurt, Germany, November 14-17. The am4u platform at formnext is designed to combine opportunities for careers and networking for the Additive Manufacturing industry, and the am4u stage will feature a lecture programme from a range of Additive Manufacturing leaders.
As part of the lecture programme, experts from 120 VDMA member organisations will give half a dozen short lectures on the use of additively manufactured components in foundry and forge processes, as well as in automotive production.
“Our lecture program on the am4u stage will show how machine and automotive producers are optimising traditional manufacturing processes with the help of Additive Manufacturing,” explained Rainer Gebhardt, Project Manager of the Additive Manufacturing Association within VDMA.
Additive Manufacturing in forge and foundry processes
In this lecture, the SMS group will look at the advantages of additively manufactured spray heads in drop forge processes. Among other industries, the automotive industry uses this in forge and hot forming processes.
In such presses, workpieces with temperatures up to 1300°C are pressed into shape between an upper and a lower die. For process quality, it is important to clean those dies of residual scale after each work cycle, and to assure sufficient cooling of surfaces as well as their lubrication.
What matters here is to achieve the needed extent of cleaning, lubrication and cooling of the spray heads in a quick and thorough manner with resource efficiency. The SMS group reportedly optimises the spraying process with highly complex lightweight spray heads that produce superfine, homogeneous aerosols.
Dr Waldemar Sokolowski, Product Manager at Oskar Frech GmbH + Co. KG in Schorndorf, Germany, will point out the potential of AM for optimising foundry processes. Conformal tempering (KnT) for casting die use improves the quality of cast products and has a positive effect on cycle time and the service life of the components used. These conformal ducts for targeted cooling and tempering can only be produced with additive technologies.
Additive Manufacturing for light-weight construction in the automotive industry
This lecture will explore the use of Additive Manufacturing for lightweighting a range of automotive components, from pivot bearings in chassis to knots in light aluminium space frames for electric vehicles. Using bionic design principles, Hirschvogel Automotive Group and development services provider EDAG Engineering GmbH aim to make cars up to 20% lighter, and thus more energy efficient.
By additively manufacturing bionic designs, Hirschvogel Tech Solutions is reported to have reduced the weight of highly-stressed grippers by 40% without impairing stiffness. The company also relies on AM for tool design and construction, for example when installing internal cooling ducts into tools.
Recently, EDAG has also presented an additively manufactured light-weight construction gripping system which works without pneumatic or electric drives and without sensor technology. This approach reduces weight by up to 75% compared to the gripping technology that is currently standard.
“In our lecture program, we illustrate that Additive Manufacturing has reached industrial production,” added Gebhardt. “Additive Manufacturing proves itself an innovative addition through which mechanical engineering companies can further optimise traditional technologies in their customers’ interests.”
Am4u will be held in Hall 3.0-H50 during formnext 2017, November 14-17, 2017. The lecture programme will begin at 3:15PM on the first day of the conference.
