French tyre maker Michelin and machinery supplier Fives that set up a 50:50 joint venture, Fives Michelin Additive Solutions, aimed at developing and marketing metal additive/3D manufacturing technology last year, have now introduced the AddUp global metal additive manufacturing solution, and its new machine FormUp 350.
The FormUp 350 machine is said to be a flexible and modular industrial additive manufacturing machine used for mass production of parts and prototypes is based on laser melting technology on a metal powder bed. It offers rapid, reliable and precise production of metal parts, directly from CAD data. It is paired with the AddUp Manager 2016 software to import 3D files and provides a link with the print driver in each machine for the additive manufacture of metal parts.
Michelin has stated that AddUp will offer cutting edge technology to improve tyre performance, since it will be able to use 3D printing to produce moulds with complex features.
Michelin has for several years been developing its expertise in metal additive manufacturing in order to produce, on an industrial scale, mould parts that are unachievable using traditional means of production (machining, welding, etc.). It has a production capacity of 650,000 parts/year.
This technology, it says, now makes it possible to develop and market truck and car tyres “with exceptional performances.”
In addition to its machine offer, AddUp offers support in the implementation of an industrial metal additive manufacturing solution with the best technical and economic option, from the feasibility study to the industrialization and qualification of the parts.
This offer is aimed at serving the aerospace, automotive and medical sectors, but also other industrial sectors which could benefit from the metal additive manufacturing in terms of productivity, part quality, flexible production and lead time.
Although additive manufacturing is already widely used by manufacturers for plastic, metal 3D printing is still a niche market, but one that is rapidly expanding. Initially used to produce single parts with high added value, metal 3D printing technology is gaining a wider market and is starting to be used by OEMs, accessory suppliers, and even aircraft manufacturers.
The partners says the technology has a strong potential for growth in the years to come, as it combines many advantages: a digital and therefore flexible process, faster production times, simplification of assembly, gains in volume, no raw material losses and almost unlimited customisation options.
Fives Michelin Additive Solutions is 50% owned by Fives, a French company and global leader in the design and supply of machines and production lines that operates in around 30 countries, and 50% by Michelin and will benefit from a financial contribution of at least EUR25 million in the first three years.
Bruno Bernard, CEO of Fives Michelin Additive Solutions, underlines that “AddUp stands out because we provide personalized support to industrial businesses in order to find the optimum technical and economic solution. Furthermore, we pay particular and unprecedented attention to operator safety and respect for the environment during the industrial use of powders and metal additive manufacturing machines.”