VDMA’s Additive Manufacturing Working Group launches AM4I conference
November 30, 2019
The VDMA’s Additive Manufacturing Working Group (AG AM) has launched a new technical conference, AM4I – Additive Manufacturing for Industry, which will take place in Ludwigsburg, Germany, from May 26–27, 2020.
The two-day conference will focus on the industrial application of Additive Manufacturing, with a particular focus on its use in mechanical and plant engineering. According to AG AM, tool-free AM processes are increasingly being used in near-series production with the spectrum ranging from special machine construction to the individualisation 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.
A current member survey of AG AM reportedly confirms the trend towards near-series application, with the survey finding that users, service providers and machine manufacturers hardly use a quarter of the additive components as prototypes. Otherwise they manufacture tools (~25%), spare parts (up to 29%) and series products (~25%).
AG AM states that this development will be highlighted at the new AM4I conference where best practice examples will be presented along with a great deal of practical experience from industrial practice.
Dr Markus Heering, Managing Director of AG AM at VDMA, stated, “Our 150 member companies cover all areas of the Additive Manufacturing process chain. They have been pioneers in the industrial application of AM processes for years. Now is the time to share this wealth of experience.”
Heering continued, “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 postprocessing.”
“As a working group for Additive Manufacturing within the VDMA, we would like to make our contribution to the rapid industrialisation of additive processes,” added Heering. “The key to this is robust, increasingly automated processes.
Further information is available via the event website.
