Rethink your design for additive manufacturing
“Making the impossible,” says Ursus Kruger, Head of Coatings and Additive Manufacturing at Siemens Corporate Technology, about the AM Design Lab at Siemens.
Why the lab? “We tap into the potential that additive manufacturing can provide,” says Roland Busch, STO and Managing Board Member at Siemens. It’s not just about printing parts but conceptualizing the design. How do you bring about better solutions? By bringing in the experts: design engineers, material scientists and manufacturers who are collaborating in an environment of experiencing, resulting in the AM Design Lab to produce innovative ideas and designs.
In a potentially $15-20 billion market, additive manufacturing is bringing new opportunities for materials, printers, software and any service. “Additive manufacturing is a fascinating technology,” says Mirko Meboldt, Professor for Product Development & Engineering Design, ETH Zurich – “it enables a digital process chain from design to production.” It’s a perfect starting point for bringing about positive transformation for many companies.
“Design for additive manufacturing means to bring a relationship between geometry and function of a part. The key is understanding complex geometries and explaining complex geometries to each other,” says Christoph Kiener, Principal Expert for Functional Design for Manufacturing at Siemens Corporate Technology. This process of geometry and function performs via virtual reality or using the simplicity of play-dough – don’t hesitate to use unconventional methods.
It’s a new way of rethinking your design. “Think of a new way to design, think out of the box, think different, think more organic,” says Bob Haubrock, Head of Product Engineering Software at Siemens Digital Factory. It’s about new products, transforming the design and feeding the imagination, resulting in profitable outcomes and innovative results. The additive lab is a mechanism for identifying new ideas, nurturing them, providing the maturation to collaborate the development of prototypes or product models.
“I believe that this is a major milestone to fully unleash the potential of additive manufacturing,” says Kruger.
Learn more about the AM Lab at Siemens.
About the author:
Blake Snodgrass is a writer for the Thought Leadership team in Siemens PLM Software, which supports several venues, including the Thought Leadership blog for the company. Blake has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mass Communications and more than 25 years of experience working for IT companies, with roles in technical writing, marketing communications, user-experience design and content development.
