VDMA to develop a roadmap for 3D printing with manufacturing roadmap

The German Engineering Federation, VDMA, is developing a roadmap for additive manufacturing which outlines the journey towards Industry 4.0, 3D Printing Industry reports.

Through the VDMA project’s research, participants identified post-processing for 3D printed parts as the stage which needs the most development.

Members of the Additive Manufacturing Association within VDMA began development on a roadmap to discover a way to work out how to automate manufacturing processes for industrial 3D printing in 2017.

Rainer Gebhardt, project manager at VDMA, said: “In our working group Automation, we have manufacturers of AM systems, industrial users, suppliers of software and automation solutions, as well as representatives from science, all working together.”

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“If you look at it closely, you will find already today hotbeds for comprehensive automation and a consistent in-process quality control. We need to make them available to industrial users as quickly as possible.”

With 150 members from companies and research institutes in the manufacturing sector, the VDMA Additive Manufacturing Association includes suppliers of post-processing and automation solutions.

From previous additive manufacturing roadmaps, the VDMA zoned in on the R&D issues in material logistics, data processing, the EHS area and process standardization.

Dr. Markus Heering, Managing Director of the VDMA Additive Manufacturing Association, said: “We are convinced that our roadmaps provide an accurate summary of the work schedule for the next years.”