Thyssenkrupp
Thyssenkrupp TechCenter AM team
The team running the TechCenter Additive Manufacturing.
German engineering giant, Thyssenkrupp has announced its first additive manufacturing facility is now up and running.
Plans to launch TechCenter Additive Manufacturing in Mulheim an der Ruhr, Germany were first revealed in April as the company sought to step up its efforts in the growing 3D printing market. The company’s increasing commitment to additive technologies makes up an important element in its digital transformation strategy, per Dr Heinrich Hiesinger, Thyssenkrupp CEO.
Already, the facility has begun outputting customised products in both metal and plastic for Thyssenkrupp’s customers. The company plans to combine its own experience in 3D printing with the knowledge of its research partnerships to ‘unlock the potential’ of the technology, serving its customer base with parts fit for a range of industries, including engineering and aerospace. Already, Thyssenkrupp is enjoying the benefits of 3D printing technology.
“For the first time, we can focus fully on the design itself without having to factor in the restrictions imposed by conventional manufacturing processes – that opens up completely new potential for innovation,” said Dr Reinhold Achatz, Chief Technology Officer at Thyssenkrupp.
Thyssenkrupp
Still in its early days, Thyssenkrupp has deployed a small team within the facility which houses one plastic 3D printing platform and one metal 3D printing platform - an EOS M 290. The team is supported by an interdisciplinary additive manufacturing project group, set up in 2015, which continues to identify potential applications of 3D printing. The project group is also in the process of obtaining patents for several 3D printed products.
The TechCenter team will continue much of the work started by the project group and ‘take it to the next level’. This will involve further development, greater integration of skills, and focusing consciously on projects which have the potential for use in industry. For the first three years of its life, the TechCenter will be managed by the Group’s central development department, before it becomes part of the Materials Services business area.
“We know exactly what materials are best suited to what products and have the logistics and project management experience to help the TechCenter advance quickly,” said Hans-Josef Hoß, a member of the board of Thyssenkrupp Materials Services, at the inauguration of the new facility. “We involved our customers from the word go and can manufacture parts quickly in line with their individual requirements and in batch sizes as low as one.”
