Additive Manufacturing Energizes Innovation Days

With all the new technologies on display at DMG MORI’s Innovation Days event, held May 6-9 at the company’s location in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, buzz was being generated in quite a number of areas. The gear manufacturing seminars focusing on multitasking machines and processes such as power skiving were particularly well-attended, for instance. But additive manufacturing, and especially the prototype machine for large parts and the Sauer Lasertec line of hybrids (featuring a combination of additive and subtractive machining), seemed to attract the most attention. “Additive manufacturing processes enable complex geometries and workpieces to be produced directly from a solid model and metal powder, without foundry tooling. The unique technology combination of AM (additive manufacturing) by laser metal deposition by means of a powder nozzle and SM (subtractive manufacturing) by milling, turning or grinding also gives the user completely new application and geometry options,” the company says. Daily sessions addressed topics including automation solutions, the digital revolution in manufacturing, and GearMill software, the cornerstone of DMG MORI’s gear milling portfolio.

The Celos user interface—the centerpiece of Innovation Days in Pfronten, Germany, last February—which incorporates smartphone-like graphics while enabling paperless manufacturing, was on prominent display. In addition, the MAX3000 high-speed 30-taper vertical machining center, the CTX Ecoline for entry-level turning, and the latest versions of the NT and NTX series of turn-mill centers for producing complex gear geometries proved popular attractions.

Held in conjunction with the event was Big Kaiser’s Breakfast & Learn 2014 at the company’s headquarters immediately adjacent to DMG MORI, which drew more than 400 attendees over the course of three days. Six highly targeted technical presentations—two per day—kept guests returning each morning. An upcoming blog post will feature a video of the presentation “Multi-Axis Quick-Change Workholding.”