There has been growing interest in the developments in Additive Manufacturing as manufacturers are starting to see it as a feasible alternative to traditional manufacturing processes. Last year, Singapore formed a National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Cluster (NAMIC) to support the country's 3D printing infrastructure. And most recently, the Singapore Centre for 3D Printing (SC3DP) to strengthen the development of public sector Additive Manufacturing was launched. To keep our manufacturing partners abreast of the latest trends in the manufacturing scene, IPI organised two meetings over the last two months with experts in the field of additive manufacturing.

 

Visit to DMG Mori Additive Manufacturing Excellence Centre
IPI and DMG Mori (Singapore) jointly organised a visit to the DMG Mori Additive Manufacturing Excellence Centre (AMEC) on 18 May 2016. Silas Daiber, Head of AMEC, hosted the visit and gave the visitors a tour of the facility which was opened in November 2015. During the visit, participants had the opportunity to get a first-hand preview of DMG Mori’s latest hybrid additive and subtractive manufacturing technologies. They were introduced to the various additive manufacturing technologies, which DMG Mori had successfully integrated with existing Computer Numeric Control (CNC) machining platforms to provide a seamless flow of component build and processing. A live demonstration of DMG Mori’s LASERTEC 65 hybrid 3D system was held. Joachim Ihrcke, DMG Mori Advisor, gave a presentation on the next generation of manufacturing, Industry 4.0, and how additive manufacturing plays a crucial role to enable companies to take the next step toward Industry 4.0. The visit ended with an interactive Q&A and networking session with technical experts from DMG Mori.

 

Forum on Freeform Metal Fabrication for Large Component Builds
IPI had the privilege of having Professor Stewart Williams who heads the Welding Engineer & Laser Processing Centre at Cranfield University, share with some of our manufacturing partners on Freeform Metal Fabrication for Large Component Builds on 24 June 2016. Professor William's work focuses on additive manufacturing and laser processing and his Wire + Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM) process is a multi-project programme aimed at maturing the technology so that it can be readily exploited by the industry. 

WAAM presents a method to fabricate large-scale metallic components in titanium, aluminium, steel or other metals. This technology adapts conventional arc welding technology for Additive Manufacturing, which gives high deposition rates and structural integrity while requiring less complex equipment. Therefore, manufacturers will be able to benefit from a lower overall cost and fabrication time. Experimental applications of this technology have gone into producing large scale aircraft land gear assemblies, aluminium wing ribs and models for evaluations. Overall manufacturers dealing with large components such as those in the Aerospace, Marine and Offshore industry can leverage this area of development. 

 

Additive Manufacturing Segment in TechInnovation 2016
At TechInnovation 2016, a segment on Appreciating Design Principles and Strengths of Additive Manufacturing will bring together a panel of industry experts who will share how manufacturers can tap on Additive Manufacturing's strengths and overcome their limitations with the present state of Additive Manufacturing technology. It is an opportunity for manufacturers to learn how to integrate Additive Manufacturing with traditional manufacturing processes to create innovative solutions for their clients, achieving high productivity and bring their service offerings to the next level. 

Visit www.techinnovation.com.sg for more information.