Final report of Phase 1 for Approval in Rail to be published in October 2020

The working group Approval in Rail of our division MGA Mobility has reached a further important milestone towards the approval of additively manufactured components for safety relevant railway applications. The findings of the first phase – the approval of an additively manufactured component in the railway sector at regional level – were compiled in a bilingual report which has now been completed.

Next step is the national approval of additively manufactured components. Currently expectable load-levels are under investigation.

The working progress will be presented in more detail at the MGA Annual Meeting 2020. The working group will present its current findings regarding the pilot-part for national approval (phase 2) and give first insights into the approach of a generic process qualification. In addition, attending members will receive a copy of the final report of phase 1 at the event.

Stay on track – #weboostam!

How can additive manufacturing turn a good idea into a good product? What opportunities does it offer engineers in the future to bring new products even closer to the customers’ requests? And how do I manage to keep an eye on the profitability of my company?

From 28 February to 1 March, nine European student groups developed visionary concepts for future mobility using additive manufacturing at the Mobility goes Additive – VDI Students Competition in Berlin. In order to find answers to the questions of the increasing autonomy in future mobility, nine interdisciplinary teams from German-speaking universities registered for the Mobility goes Additive – VDI Students Competition.

Task

The task was to develop a product for Personal Mobility Space during one weekend. Free of limitations regarding target group or transportation means the products did not necessarily have to be additively manufactured at the end. However, it quickly became clear to all groups that AM could be a vital success factor for both the development process and production of the first small series.
On Sunday, the teams finally presented their results to the jury: from infotainment systems in a kind of “personalized helmet” to function and weight optimization of armrests to completely new seating systems with additively manufactured spring elements or new anchoring techniques. In addition to the technical implementation of the products, the English business presentation, the business plan and teamwork were also rated.

Winners

The TU Darmstadt team won with their concept of ChairyWear™, a partially printed orthosis that supports people with walking disabilities and with which they can wear their own seat always on their body. When the legs are bent, the individualized orthosis extends two supports and can be anchored at the back to designated counterparts in public transport, trains or airplanes. The orthosis then functions as a separate seat that you bring with you, for the transport means it only requires the back padding and the hook-in mechanism. Chairywear™, “the chair to wear”, not only helps when seated but is meant to also support when standing up with built-in springs.
The team wins tickets for the Additive Manufacturing Forum 2020 in Berlin and the opportunity to present themselves and their product at their own booth! In addition, Volkswagen as a sponsor also offered an internship or a thesis in the group.
Second and third places went to the Technikum Wien and the University of Augsburg for seating concepts with personalized adjustment options. The teams can look forward to an exclusive visit to Airbus production sites and a high-quality training at Altair.

Second edition next year

Due to the enthusiasm of the teams, us and the VDI, we are going to repeat the competition next year for sure!
Next year at the Industrial Additive Manufacturing HUB (IAM Hub) in Berlin but in particular with an increased number of even more international teams.

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Workshop Review

Last week, a workshop was held at the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety to develop the environmental policy design of additive manufacturing.

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]Strategy Workshop on 5 February 2020 at the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU), Berlin[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]An exciting debate between the experts came up on potentially harmful printer emissions in private households but also in the industry. For us as a network it is important to not limit the view on possible risks on one angle but to highlight the great potential in sustainability of additive manufacturing.
It is understood that 3d printing has a much lower material consumption compared to traditional processes. However, the layer-by-layer structure also allows design freedom concerning structures. Those follow the logic “form follows function” and thus allow components to be designed much more easily.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]
The energy consumption during the AM production process was seen critically. However, the energy input cannot be discussed neglecting alternative production processes; in particular in cases when small batch sizes are required and high minimum purchase quantities (e. g. in casting) would cause overproduction.
In our opinion, however, the greatest potential lies in the following point: 3D printing enables a significant extension of the product life cycle of high investment goods as individual spare parts can be made available for longer which reduces the environmental footprint. Thanks to more local production with AM a lot of transportation requirements are reduced.
The workshop provided a good opportunity to discuss many issues which we are going to take up and deepen in the relaunch of our Ecological Sustainability working group shortly. If you are interested in participating, please contact us.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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Workshop Review

In the light of the upcoming new regulations coming into force in May 2020 a lot of uncertainty is out in the market.

Will it affect all classes of medical devices? Will same rules apply also for AM applications or is there exceptions? And how – for instance – is the users’ way to order those?[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”2273″ img_size=”600 x 739″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]Our workshop gave an overview about the legal and economic framework of 3d printing for medical devices and implants – from legislation and billing processes to integrate services into health insurance catalogues where especially the German market is very specific. Moreover, the possibilities to cover potential risks were discussed.

A summary of the entire workshop has already been made available to all participants and will be shared with all network members shortly before publishing it externally around mid-year 2020.

If you have any questions about this workshop or any of the MGA Medical activities, please feel free to reach out to the dedicated Network Manager Dr. Cora Lüders-Theuerkauf.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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14. – 15. Jan 2020, Wehrwissenschaftliches Institut für Werk- und Betriebsstoffe (WIWeB), Erding near Munich.

[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”2244″ img_size=”800×600″][vc_column_text]The similarities in AM use casesbetween mobility and army applications are astonishing. AM for obsolescence management, partial substitution and prolonged usage of high investment goodsare the main topics across all European armies plus also the US. Furthermore, flexible container solutions as repair cells seem to be the answer for on-demand enquiries and needs. Above all: very interesting and frank discussions with many of our partners and members, e. g. GEFERTEC, Berlin Partner for Business & Technology, TÜV SÜD Product Service.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][/vc_column][/vc_row]