1 DECEMBER 2006

On Friday 1 December, during the Euromold 2006 (World Fair for Moldmaking and Tooling, Design and Application Development from Nov. 29 until Dec. 02) at Frankfurt in Germany, took place the International Conference on Future Industrial Applications of Additive Fabrication, with Chairman Terry Wohlers (Wohlers Associates, Inc. – USA). This annual international conference -covering each year the latest trend and what the future holds in rapid product development and additive fabrication- is always very interesting but also really useful for people having to make important decisions related to new business, research, and investment opportunities and challenges associated with additive fabrication.

Among experts from several countries sharing their knowledge and expertise, the intervention of Dr. Livia Cevolini, Marketing and Sales Director from CRP Technology Srl, Italy, about the “Parts That Go on the Final Car”, has been more than interesting and was a great success. The point was that, for motor sports and automobiles, the quality and production time of high performance products can make all the difference. “In the Formula 1 industry, everything is about time, from reducing it on the racetrack, to reducing it when developing new designs. Steve Nevey of Red Bull Racing explained that a wind tunnel car is continuously tested in as many aerodynamic configurations as time permits. He went on to say that the advantages would be immense if that precious next step could be taken to putting parts on the cars for actual racing. Material manufacturers have improved the physical properties not only for functional testing, but also for small volume production.”

Dr. Livia Cevolini explained which are the last requirements for end-users looking for Rapid Manufacturing and rapid Casting: High mechanical and thermal properties to shift from simple concept models to high-end prototypes and structural parts, and Quality Politics to hold the performance close to production technologies and to shorten inspection times. She also demonstrated that F1 is not the only sector where real Rapid Manufacturing and Rapid Casting allows companies to gain a great plus compared to their competitors. As illustrated with the following case studies: the Intake Manifold for Dyno Tests (VM motori S.p.A.), the Headlight Washer Cover Flap for a street top car (Lamborghini S.p.A.) and Rapid Casting Wheel Uprights and Gearbox (Minardi F1 Team).
These conferences always are a great opportunity to renovate CRP Technology’s image of high professionalism and quality and service, and our special thanks go to the Chairman Terry Wholers.

To read the full paper:  full_text_euromold06 1.61 Mb

Useful links for information about the persons and the interventions nominated: http://www.euromold.com/pdf/2006/wohlers_programm.html