The appearance of additive manufacturing technologies at the 23rd edition of Fakuma as valid systems in the overall plastics processing chain has served to demonstrate the fact 3D printing has found its niche in big industry.
The 24th edition of the Friedrichshafen-based plastics machinery and materials conference this year will further reflect the importance of generative processes as a complementary manufacturing technique in the wider segment.
3D printer
Established manufacturers of plastics processing machines have recognised the opportunities presented by generative production and are taking their usual professional approach towards getting 3D, and soon 4D printing, ready for broad-based industrial use with high quality original materials.
Fakuma organiser PE Schall has note that it is interesting to see the relative diversity of the 3D technologies available today, potentially broadening the horizons of manufacturing with new processes as yet untapped by the more established machinery production sector. Meanwhile, injection moulding has already adopted 3D printing, with metal additive manufactured injection moulds providing prints that are extremely close to contour.
Event promoter Paul Schall said: "The hype which is demonstrating nearly hysterical traits regarding the complex issue of generative production ... has gotten entirely out of control during the last two years and is finally beginning to settle down now that its industrial usefulness is being closely scrutinised. In the interest of the exhibitors and expert visitors, we as promoters provide for objectivisation – especially in light of the fact that we've been active in the fields of additive, generative and prototyping processes for more than 25 years by creating a platform at a very early stage for exhibitors from research and industry, in order to familiarise the expert visitors with the latest, most highly promising technologies and processes."
Fakuma is known for having its finger on the pulse, presented MPA technology with combined metal deposition and 5-axis milling processes within the framework of an enormous tooling systems exhibition segment last year. The most up-to-date technologies and applied innovative processes were met with great interest by nearly 1,800 expert visitors from 36 countries (nearly 600 from outside of Germany) and nearly 46,000 expert visitors from 117 countries around the world in 2014 – and thus the criteria for Fakuma 2015 (13th-17th October 2015) has already been set.
