Dr Myron Graw, partner at KEX Knowledge Exchange AG in Aachen, Germany says: “Additive Manufacturing (AM) supplements the manufacturing processes available in the metalworking sector. For the time being, there is not going to be any broadly based displacement of existing machining processes, nor the much-cited revolution in industrial production operations.”
He was speaking at the opening press conference of the METAV trade show in Düsseldorf, which runs from 23-7 February. He is responsible for the firm’s AM operations and for the study entitled “Additive Manufacturing – potentials and risks from the viewpoint of the German machine tool industry”, commissioned by the VDW (German Machine Tool Builders’ Association) and carried out in conjunction with the Fraunhofer Institutes for Production Technology and Laser Technology.
The headline finding was that, assuming annual growth of 40% for additive processes, less than one per cent of the existing technologies will be replaced by additive processes. This relates to the production volume of the international machine tool industry. “Overall, then, only minor shifts can be expected in the future production mix of the machine tool industry,” Graw concludes.
Obstacles to greater market penetration are encountered in the costs involved and the machining time required. In small-series manufacturing, and when producing complex customised and small components, the cost advantages of an additive process can be achieved by tool-less manufacturing. A special advantage ensues when substantial added values can be generated by additive manufacturing, such as lightweight structures in the aircraft industry, cooling ducts and undercuts.That way possible cost-related disadvantages in medium-sized and large series can be compensated.
When it comes to manufacturing large components, additive processes often have cost-related disadvantages. These result not least from the comparatively low build-up rates. Other relevant factors include the expensive machinery required and the high material prices for metal powder. “These cost-drivers will in the years ahead be changed by technological advances and the upsizing of capacities,” argues Graw. This, he adds, will speed up the dissemination of AM.
