As TCT Asia 2024 approaches, TCT has been speaking to some of the companies who have exhibited at China's biggest industrial 3D printing and additive manufacturing event every year throughout its first decade.
EOS, the German pioneer of direct metal laser sintering and selective laser sintering technologies, has been with us since the start.
Here, we ask Terrence Oh, Senior Vice President Asia Pacific at EOS APAC about EOS's 3D printing journey so far in China, the demand for new additive manufacturing materials like copper and aluminium Al5X1, and where he believes the industry will be in another 10 years.
Register to attend TCT Asia 2024 and visit EOS on booth 8E30. TCT Asia runs from May 7-9, 2024.
What will EOS be presenting on the show floor at TCT Asia 2024? Can we expect any major reveals?
At TCT Asia 2024, our highlight is the AM Expert Bar. We invite visitors to come forth to our AM expert bar with their problem statement / challenges and together we will discuss solutions on how AM can solve their problems and challenges. These solutions will focus on part quality, Cost per Part (CPP) and any other factors that will have a positive influence on their challenges.
We’ve seen a range of EOS applications by various sectors like aerospace and e-mobility over the last year. Can you tell us about a must-see application that visitors will be able to experience at the event?
We will be showcasing applications in Thermal Management, Aerospace, Medical, Energy and Consumer Goods. We will also feature innovations such as support-free printing and Fine Detail Resolution.
With such a broad portfolio of machines and solutions across polymers and metals, how is EOS prioritising where to innovate?
Innovation is in our DNA. It is not the about prioritising where to innovate but understanding the needs and requirements of our customer and market and we innovate to address their challenges and to enable them to be successful.
Recently EOS has focused on expanding AM capabilities with materials like Copper and Aluminium Al5X1. Why is there such demand for these materials?
Our team of materials and metallurgy experts continuously develop materials based on customers’ requirements and feedback. Our R&D teams are constantly working on a wide range of future materials addressing various industries and our customers’ needs.
Our metal material portfolio currently encompasses over 30 alloys and over 75 qualified processes for all our DMLS systems. Our quality-controlled material supply chain – from source to delivery – ensures regulatory compliance, lot traceability, flexible volumes, and fast delivery. All our materials, process parameters and metal 3D printers are tuned optimally to give the best possible reliability and repeatability which results in desired part properties.
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Our comprehensive portfolio of polymer materials are perfectly suited for selective laser sintering (SLS). Our 3D printing materials, systems, and process parameters are based on many years of experience and are optimally tuned to realise the desired property profiles. We are also continuously developing a range of high-tech materials for special customer requirements.
TCT Asia is celebrating its 10th anniversary. What are your thoughts on how the AM market, and specifically in China, has evolved in that time?
The AM market in China has grown significantly in recent years, probably the fastest growing AM market in the world. In the past, most people are unfamiliar with AM and for those that are, only look at AM as a machine that does prototyping. In recent times, with more awareness, people are looking at AM as a solution for issues that they face in their manufacturing process using the conventional way to do production.
In your view, what is the biggest challenge that the additive manufacturing industry faces today?
The biggest challenge the AM industry faces now is to get to the desired cost point (i.e. Cost per Part – CPP) with good Part Quality, especially for larger parts. Many people are intrigued by larger platforms with more lasers as they believe this will enable them to build larger quality parts with better cost per part (CPP). However, their interests quickly subside when they realise that larger machine with more lasers do not meet their expectations.
AM is not a “plug and play” technology and it requires a lot of knowledge in Materials Science and how it reacts when exposed to high-power lasers. Not many in the AM industry are able to provide a machine with multiple lasers that works together seamlessly. Without sufficient knowledge in these two fundamentals, one would eventually get a part that does not give good Part Quality and the desired Cost per Part.
EOS has been part of the TCT Asia journey right from the start. What has been your highlight?
The highlight for us at TCT Asia is the quality of the visitors that visits the show. In the past, most visitors does not have sufficient understanding on the benefits of AM and are there only to “look and see”. In recent times, visitors that attends TCT Asia comes with an application in mind or have a challenge they want to address with AM.
How do you envision the AM industry progressing over the next decade? And where will EOS’s focus be?
Over the next decade, more companies will incorporate AM into their production facility. Advancement in this technology and new innovations will available. EOS will nonetheless still focus on the two key elements that will make our customers successful – Part Quality and Cost per Part. Larger parts are something that we are looking into, but we will not neglect applications that are small in size. This is where our Fine Detailed Resolution (FDR) plays an important role.
Register to attend TCT Asia 2024 and visit EOS on booth 8E30. TCT Asia runs from May 7-9, 2024.
