The MGA network brings together companies from all over the world (and mostly Europe), and one of our goals is to promote collaborations while pursuing valuable projects for our members and the industry.
Let’s recap some of the highlights of our most recent trips across Europe:
EUROPEAN LIGHTWEIGHTING NETWORK – Liege, Belgium
At the end of May, we joined the yearly European Lightweighting Network (ELN) meeting, organized by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action and six European ministries of economics. This event gathers representatives from ministries, the EU Commission, and committed associations and companies to focus on European initiatives, political guidelines, and funding programs. MGA had the honour of speaking on stage to present our network. We also learned about the launch of a Europe-wide EUREKA funding program. One key takeaway has been the reminder of potential of Additive Manufacturing in providing a sustainable, resource-efficient, and lighter production. For example, AM in construction can save up to 94% of weight and material, as demonstrated by our member of the Advisory Board,/Sonja Rasch, from Materialise, resulting in reduced emissions and resource use, contributing significantly to sustainability.
METAL 3D – Budapest, Hungary
Our Managing Director, Stefanie Brickwede, attended the second TechTra (our newest MGA member) meeting on Metal 3D printing in Budapest, Hungary in mid-June. The future of metal additive manufacturing looks promising, thanks to collaborations with companies like RISE Research Institutes of Sweden, AMEXCI, EOS, Saab, and Knorr-Bremse AG. The focus was on exploring the potential of DED processes in metal, including a presentation by Oskar Viklund from Saab about their battle damage repair experience during the AM Village organized by the European Defense Agency. MGA is also supporting the creation of a 3D printing hub with the Hungarian Ministry of Economic Affairs. It’s exciting to see the German railway supplier Knorr-Bremse AG establish successful metal AM production in Budapest.
MEDTECLIVE – Stuttgart, Germany
Additionally, our medical team attended MedtecLIVE 2024 in Stuttgart, where we had the privilege of presenting the work of our network on stage. Shiden Yohannes from our member Formlabs showcased the possibilities of medical 3D printing with creative examples from across Europe. In the discussions that followed, we were impressed by the dedication of those driving AM forward. It was also a pleasure to connect with both new faces and long-time members over a drink. Staying connected and up to date with the latest developments in the fast-moving AM industry is one of our core missions, and MedtecLIVE 2024 was a valuable platform for this. Thanks for having us! We look forward to diving deeper into Medical AM at our EHFAM event in Basel on September 6 – 7, 2024.
RAILIABILITY Working Group Meeting – Paris, France
In addition to our monthly virtual exchanges, we held our biannual face-to-face RAILiability working group meeting this June in Paris at the SNCF. Our 7 European railway providers discussed the use of metal binder jetting in the rail sector, standardized calculation bases and ecological sustainability factors for Deutsche Bahn’s printed parts, and a color standard for printed tooling applications. We also explored new applications like an emergency stop button in the driver’s cab and innovative uses such as Wabtec Corporation’s printed train door. The diverse range of technologies, materials, and applications in the railway sector were highlighted, with more countries like the Netherlands integrating additive manufacturing into new train tenders. We are already looking forward to the next physical meeting, during Formnext – Where ideas take shape in Frankfurt and of course during the Annual Meeting of our network on October 8 – 9 in Berlin!
