Winners of the Formnext Awards 2024 include Ceratizit, Siemens, Fraunhofer IGCV
November 22, 2024
Following a jury evaluation and newly introduced public voting, Mesago Messe Frankfurt announced the winners of the Formnext Awards at a ceremony on November 21. The trophies were designed by SUTOSUTO and produced by Voxeljet, which sponsored the awards alongside 3D Printing Industry, AM Ventures, cirp, Renishaw, and Trumpf.
The winners who made use of metal Additive Manufacturing are:
- (R)Evolution Award: Fraunhofer IGCV
- Design Award: Siemens / 3D-PROCESS research consortium
- Sustainability Award: Ceratizit
This year’s finalists were announced online in advance of Formnext 2024, allowing attendees to cast a vote for their favourite. This overall audience vote was weighted like an additional jury member.
Sustainability Award supported by Renishaw
This year, Ceratizit was honoured for its production process for cemented carbides based on binder- and sinter-based Additive Manufacturing. Cemented carbide, a composite of particularly hard but fragile tungsten carbide particles bound by ductile metal, such as cobalt, is an extreme material used when materials harder than steels are required. The production of such materials, however, is offset by a complex process chain that results in high CO2 emissions.
Ceratizit has calculated that its in-house Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) Additive Manufacturing technique has, in one example, allowed it to save 91% of the raw material typically required for conventional production and reduce the corresponding carbon footprint by a reported 95%.
“It’s clear that the subject of sustainability has well and truly arrived in the AM industry,” stated jury member Prof Kristian Arntz, Professor for Manufacturing Technologies and Machine Tools at FH Aachen, University of Applied Science. “It was particularly remarkable to see the level of professionalism with which many Sustainability Award entrants were able to present a life cycle analysis that showed the actual contribution they were making.”
Design Award supported by cirp
Siemens and the 3D-PROCESS research consortium were recognised for a reactor design intended to support greater sustainability in the chemical industry. According to Siemens, the system – which is designed to synthesise chemicals for active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) – consumes up to 50% less energy. It also requires around 50% less solvent than the conventional process.
Jury member Oliver Tessmann, Professor Digital Design Unit, TU Darmstadt, stated, “I was impressed that the aspect of social relevance played such an important role in the Formnext Awards, beyond the technological aspects!”
This year, Ceratizit was honoured for its production process for cemented carbides based on binder- and sinter-based Additive Manufacturing. Cemented carbide, a composite of particularly hard but fragile tungsten carbide particles bound by ductile metal, such as cobalt, is an extreme material used when materials harder than steels are required. The production of such materials, however, is offset by a complex process chain that results in high CO2 emissions.
Ceratizit has calculated that its in-house Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) Additive Manufacturing technique has, in one example, allowed it to save 91% of the raw material typically required for conventional production and reduce the corresponding carbon footprint by a reported 95%.
“It’s clear that the subject of sustainability has well and truly arrived in the AM industry,” stated jury member Prof Kristian Arntz, Professor for Manufacturing Technologies and Machine Tools at FH Aachen, University of Applied Science. “It was particularly remarkable to see the level of professionalism with which many Sustainability Award entrants were able to present a life cycle analysis that showed the actual contribution they were making.”
Design Award supported by cirp
Siemens and the 3D-PROCESS research consortium were recognised for a reactor design intended to support greater sustainability in the chemical industry. According to Siemens, the system – which is designed to synthesise chemicals for active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) – consumes up to 50% less energy. It also requires around 50% less solvent than the conventional process.
Jury member Oliver Tessmann, Professor Digital Design Unit, TU Darmstadt, stated, “I was impressed that the aspect of social relevance played such an important role in the Formnext Awards, beyond the technological aspects!”
(R)Evolution Award supported by 3D Printing Industry
Fraunhofer Institute for Casting, Composite, and Processing Technology (IGCV) received the 2024 (R)Evolution Award for its ‘Three Material Powder Bed Fusion of Battery Cell Cap Housing’ project. It involves a three-material processing technology (patent pending) that uses powder bed fusion to manufacture battery cell housings from aluminium, copper, and ceramic in a single production step.
Fraunhofer’s approach makes it possible to create enclosures with complex geometries and offers high levels of flexibility in both design and production. The technology is said to be particularly suitable for small-series manufacturing, as cell developers can adjust their designs early on in the development process without having to invest in new tools. This flexibility is key to the rapid development of next-generation battery cells, where the ability to create prototypes and adapt designs quickly is essential.
Jury member Dr. Maximilian Binder, Additive Manufacturing Expert, BMW Group, explained, “This manufacturing concept has the potential to open up all-new fields of application in AM,” he says. “With its highly targeted and efficient use of materials, it clearly outshines common multi-material processes.”
The other winners of the Formnext Awards are the University of Stuttgart (AMbassador Award), Axolotl Biosciences (Start-up Award) and Oryx Medicals (Rookie Award.)
