Evolving from prototype and small-batch production to series production of plastic and metal parts in additive manufacturing (AM) increases efficient utilization of 3D printing equipment, provides a safe working environment, and creates an optimal production flow. Achieving efficient series production, however, requires intelligent automation and networking capable of perfectly integrating long production times of components in 3D printing with shorter upstream and downstream steps. Additive Manufacturing (AM), or 3D printing, is the manufacturing of a three-dimensional object from a CAD model or a digital 3D model. It can be done in a variety of processes in which material is deposited, joined, or solidified under computer control with material being added together (such as plastics, liquids, or powder grains), typically layer by layer. Thirty-five years ago, 3D printing techniques were considered suitable only to produce functional or aesthetic prototypes.
Evolving from prototype and small-batch production to series production of plastic and metal parts in additive manufacturing (AM) increases efficient utilization of 3D printing equipment, provides a safe working environment, and creates an optimal production flow. Achieving efficient series production, however, requires intelligent automation and networking capable of perfectly integrating long production times of components in 3D printing with shorter upstream and downstream steps. Additive Manufacturing (AM), or 3D printing, is the manufacturing of a three-dimensional object from a CAD model or a digital 3D model. It can be done in a variety of processes in which material is deposited, joined, or solidified under computer control with material being added together (such as plastics, liquids, or powder grains), typically layer by layer. Thirty-five years ago, 3D printing techniques were considered suitable only to produce functional or aesthetic prototypes.