Last week I stopped by at Additive Manufacturing Research / AMR UG in Duisburg.
Bernd Reinarz, research fellow at University Duisburg-Essen, has founded AMR in 2014. AMR specialize in research and development rather than just as a service bureau for AM-parts. AMR has positioned itself ideally in between OEMs of metal AM-machinery manufacturers, users of AM technology and academia. So AMR is functioning as an independent cross-link in between these parties. AMR offers project specific research on metal Additive Manufacturing but also seminars on design for Additive Manufacturing. CEO Bernd Reinarz explained that AMR is validating soft- and hardware upgrades for OEMs, performs material parameter development for customers and is developing their own upgrades for the AM- systems. But also focusses on process strategies of AM systems. We discussed how important it is to develop the right build strategy to be able to realize certain parts. Finding the best trade-off between build orientation, support and post machining is the key to a business case. With access to several machines from EOS and SLM Solutions, AMR has an in-depth understanding of state of the art machinery. On-site AMR is operating an SLM280HL dual beam, equipped with two 400 Watt fiber lasers. This highly productive system is predominantly used to develop and validate technical improvements to increase performance and ease of operation. Even if the technology has come a long way already it is still a long way to smooth operating machines which are building parts as reliable and easy most people would like them to already. AMR is there to help to close this gap faster.
Links: