Materialise Opens Metal-AM Facility in Germany
April 26, 2021Comments
At Formnext 2019, Jurgen Laudus, vice president of Materialise's manufacturing segment, revealed to 3D Metal Printing the groundbreaking for a new facility in Bremen, Germany, for additive manufacturing (AM) of metal industrial parts. Today, Materialise’s new 38,000-sq.-ft. Metal Competence Center for 3D printing is open. The $9-million facility has capacity for more than 120 associates and more than 30 industrial metal-AM machines. The company previously operated two facilities focused on metal 3D printing in Bremen, including a software development and distribution center and industrial manufacturing center. The Metal Competence Center unites and expands these sites under one roof, supporting integrated production and development.
The new center will enable increased collaboration between software development and manufacturing teams to better serve industrial customers around the world, according to company officials, who note that Materialise can leverage its practical manufacturing experience to enhance its software development, and also apply its expertise in 3D printing software to develop manufacturing solutions for metal 3D printing. And, in line with Materialise’s corporate goals, the company’s work at the new facility will also focus on research to create more sustainable metal 3D printing solutions.
“Metal 3D printing has established itself as a powerful manufacturing solution, empowering people through local, decentralized production and providing a more sustainable way to manufacture products when compared to conventional manufacturing technologies,” says Laudus. “But as an industry we need to step up our efforts to make the 3D printing process itself more sustainable. Our work in Bremen will explore opportunities to optimize printing processes, improve energy efficiency, and more consistently recover and reuse metal powder to create more sustainable technologies.”
A formal opening ceremony for the Metal Competence Center is scheduled for September 2021.
See also: Materialise USA LLC
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