Metal AM Autumn 2016

Page 51

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Company visit: FIT AG

FIT AG: Laying the foundations for high-volume metal Additive Manufacturing There is no doubt that the Additive Manufacturing of series components is quickly becoming a reality. From high-profile applications in the aerospace industry to performance components for the automotive sector, there are now numerous examples of the successful implementation of metal AM. However, the route that a company chooses in order to adopt AM technology could have a significant impact on a componentโ€™s development time and cost. As Nick Williams reports, Germanyโ€™s FIT AG sees opportunities in leveraging its expertise to supporting companies with the outsourcing of component development and production. To achieve this, the company has created a model AM factory that it plans to replicate worldwide.

FIT Group, based in Lupburg, Germany, has ambitious plans for metal Additive Manufacturing. The company is one of the worldโ€™s most experienced in the development and production of AM components thanks in large part to its early involvement in rapid prototyping. It is, however, approaching the goal of creating a state-of-the-art factory for higher volume series metal Additive Manufacturing with an energy and ambition that would put even the most motivated of start-ups to shame. The force behind the company is its founder and CEO, Carl Fruth. His no-nonsense approach to the industry and his vision for the metal AM factory concept is based on more than twenty years of experience in additive technologies. This experience is balanced with the recognition that metal Additive Manufacturing has to develop into a far more stable, automated and cost-effective process if it is to succeed in series production. Whilst this may sound like an obvious

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approach, the reality of developing a viable state-of-the-art factory for series metal AM component production is far from straightforward.

The story to-date In the summer of 2015 FIT AG announced that it was investing โ‚ฌ20 million in a new purpose built

factory specifically designed for the Additive Manufacturing of high volume components. A year later, when Metal Additive Manufacturing magazine visited the company, construction of the first of the new futuristic looking production buildings had been completed and the manufacture of metal and plastic parts was underway (Figs. 1-3).

Fig. 1 The first of FITโ€™s AM factories in Lupburg, Germany

Metal Additive Manufacturing | Autumn/Fall 2016

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