formnext 2022

Additive manufacturing is playing an increasingly important role in modern production technology. With its energy efficiency and flexibility, it is the key to resilient and ecologi-cal production. In order to increase the value of additive manufactured components, the entire manufactu-ring methods should be taken into account. The advantages offered here must be incorporated into modern manufacturing and process chains.

^{Friend or foe of subtractive manufacturing processes?}

The manufacture of the 3D printer, the preparation and removal of the build plates, the post-processing and many other upstre-am and downstream manufacturing steps are necessary to successfully print compo-nents. Experience has shown that collabora-tion in these different steps always results in more than one process.

The H2 combustion chamber combines is one example for the best of these worlds. While additive manufacturing cannot achie-ve the tight tolerances in the functional range, integral printing of the rings reduces manufacturing costs by a factor of 10. The modern challenge will be to expand our additive horizons to a larger scale and to take advantage of subtractive manufactu-ring to combine the best of subtractive and additive manufacturing. Thus, results can be achieved that go far beyond the capabilities of any single process.

The ability to access a full-scale production chain takes additive manufacturing to the next level. Material removal, surface quality, dimensional accuracy, manufacturing tol-erances and many other production goals are easier to achieve when the production chain can include subtractive and additive manufacturing steps. Since the beginning of the rapid rise of 3D printing, ready-to-use parts from the printer has been a never-ending doctrine, like all doctrines it has just emerged and had no real beginning.

But let‘s conclude by returning to our friend or foe question. That additive manufacturing has a high cost factor is undisputed, these costs do not increase further by omitting ma-chining steps. But what if the value of the finished part increa-ses exponentially because additive and subtractive processes were considered and combined at the design stage?