Mechanical engineering and 3D printing – it fits!

3D printing is finding its application in more and more areas. Thus, it can be used not only for private use, but also in the industrial and medical sectors. The same applies to the various areas of mechanical engineering – including vehicle construction, machine tools, power and work machines, conveyor systems, and aerospace technology. Here, it is now no longer just used to produce prototypes, but is developing into a manufacturing technique.

Share of 3D printing in mechanical engineering is steadily increasing

According to a survey conducted by the VDMA Additive Manufacturing Working Group among its member companies, around half of mechanical engineering companies were considering introducing additive manufacturing or were already using this technology in 2018. Two years earlier, just eight percent of the VDMA members surveyed said they were using additive manufacturing or would rely on it in the future. Many companies are now also looking at further applications for 3D printing, and some have already invested five-figure sums in corresponding systems here.

It is particularly noticeable that both plastics and metal processing are gaining in popularity. About half of the companies surveyed said they use the technology only in the plastics sector, while the other half use both variants. Likewise, every second company uses additive manufacturing for prototyping, while all others also use it to manufacture tools, spare parts and series of components. 3D printing is thus increasingly becoming an integral part of mechanical engineering. This is further accelerated by process-safe production systems, a constantly growing range of materials and the development of ever more specific processes.

Production of prototypes and series

Among the most renowned manufacturers of 3D printers that can be used in mechanical engineering are companies such as EOS, hp, SLS Solutions and Stratasys. They enable mechanical engineering companies to produce high-quality metal and plastic parts cost-effectively and quickly, even in higher volumes. Individual components of these 3D printers were also additively manufactured, including control switch housings for the EOS Formiga P 100 and powder hoppers for the EOS Formiga P 110.

Particularly in mechanical engineering, it is advantageous to be able to manufacture components in small quantities. In this sector in particular, there is an increasing demand for customized components and one-off productions. In most cases, these are metal or plastic components. Their traditional production in small quantities is often time-consuming and hardly profitable. For example, injection molds are often required for plastic components, which are expensive and time-consuming to manufacture, while also ensuring long delivery times. Additive manufacturing makes it possible to produce complex components within a short time. For this purpose, only the CAD design data must be available. Even short-term changes can be implemented better and, above all, faster with the new technology.

The layered nature of 3D printing means that almost anything is possible when designing individual components. Even difficult structures can be realized in this way. For example, components may have air ducts and fluid lines and may have hinges. At the same time, a wide range of materials and technologies is also available. Examples include laser metal deposition (LMD), PolyJet technology, directed energy deposition (DED), selective laser sintering (SLS) and selective laser melting (SLM).

These mechanical engineering companies already use 3D printing

Especially in German-speaking countries, more and more mechanical engineering companies are turning to 3D printing. Audi AG, for example, uses 3D printers to produce water nozzles that are installed in the W12 engine, and VW uses the technology to manufacture rarely needed spare parts for classic cars, among other things. Airbus and Boeing use the processes to manufacture aircraft parts such as turbines. Siemens AG plans to manufacture blades for gas turbines using additive manufacturing. These must withstand temperatures of more than 1250 degrees Celsius. The Bavarian precision parts manufacturer MBFZ Toolcraft produces various products for the semiconductor industry, medical technology and aerospace, among others, and also uses various 3D printing technologies for this purpose.

Strongly on the rise – additive manufacturing in mechanical engineering

The smart industry is increasingly on the rise. People often talk about Industry 4.0. Among other things, we can expect to see the development of networked factories and perhaps even talking machines. Mechanical engineering in particular benefits considerably from additive manufacturing and will use it to an even greater extent in the future. Its great advantage – as already described above – is that it can also produce complicated shapes that cannot be realized with milling machines or conventional casting processes. Furthermore, some of the components are significantly lighter, but also more stable. Production-optimized” designs thus become “function-optimized” designs. The design of the component is then decided by its function and not by its manufacture.

Until now, spare parts often still have to be manufactured using conventional techniques and kept in stock. However, the trend is increasingly toward eliminating storage capacity. Additive manufacturing now also offers the possibility of producing spare parts on demand in metal processing. In addition to the 3D printer itself, only the design files and the corresponding filament are required.

Not only in the automotive and aerospace industries, but in all branches of mechanical engineering, one benefits, among other things, from shorter component production times and reduced material usage, since the excess powder grains or additive liquids can be collected in appropriate containers and reused in the next printing process. There will certainly be numerous new developments that we do not even dare to think about today.