This morning, the Munich Technology Conference (MTC) got underway at TU Munich, Germany with the announcement of plans to create an additive manufacturing cluster.
Conference organizers Oerlikon together with MTC host venue, The Technical University of Munich will be joined by GE Additive and Linde to “conduct research on and develop additive manufacturing technology from a single hub location.”
Prof. Dr. Michael Suess, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Oerlikon Group, said, “By having all of the players located in a single hub, we are accelerating the development and application of the technology for the various industries.”
“Bavaria is the perfect place for us to house this initiative as it promotes energy and production efficiency, which supports Germany’s sustainability goals and the country’s desire to incorporate new technologies.”
Dr. Roland Fischer, CEO of the Oerlikon Group, added, “The project is an excellent example of close collaboration between industry, academia and politics to innovate and industrialize a technology like additive manufacturing.”
“AM is a technology that supports our aim of providing sustainable solutions for all industries.”
The first act will see an Additive Manufacturing Institute established by TUM and Oerlikon. The institute will “focus on interdisciplinary research in raw material powders, optimized AM production and end-to-end process integration, including automation and AM digitalization.”
Globally Oerlikon is putting significant resources behind its venture into additive manufacturing. Earlier this year Oerlikon opened a $55 million Innovation Hub & Advanced Component Production facility in Huntersville, North Carolina and has research partnerships with international institutions including the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology (Skoltech) in Russia.
The Additive Manufacturing Institute builds on an earlier partnership announced in 2017 between Oerlikon and TUM. It is anticipated that researchers and students from mechanical and chemical engineering and physics and informatics, plus other relevant faculties, will work with Oerlikon engineers and scientists. Projects are set to include AM for production and address verification and qualification of products. The development of additive manufacturing business models will also be undertaken.
Alpine cluster
While the cluster announced today does not include EOS, an Oerlikon spokesperson told us that they will be adding partners in the future and remain open to new collaborations.
Speaking about the AM cluster Jason Oliver, President and CEO of GE Additive, said, “Bavaria already enjoys a stellar reputation as a global hotspot for additive technology – with a thriving ecosystem and a rich seam of talent. We’re excited to be part of this initiative from the very beginning and look forward to building on that solid foundation and driving tangible impact both for the region itself and further afield.”
“We see this opportunity to collaborate as a win for the companies and TUM, as well as for the region,” said Dr. Christian Bruch, Member of the Executive Board, CEO of Linde Engineering. “We expect the new hub will bring jobs to the area, while also delivering new technologies and capabilities to the companies located here.”
3D Printing Industry is attending the MTC this week. You can follow the conference live via our social media channels. Make sure you subscribe to our free additive manufacturing newsletter for all the latest news in our industry.
Featured image shows Dr. Roland Fischer, CEO of Oerlikon at MTC3. Photo by Tia Vialva.
