Our Sites

TRUMPF establishes 3-D printing division in Germany

Laser manufacturer TRUMPF has established a new division at its headquarters in Ditzingen, Germany, to produce machines for 3-D printing of metal parts. The company will introduce laser metal fusion (LMF) and laser metal deposition (LMD) machines at the Formnext trade fair in Frankfurt, Germany, Nov. 17-20, 2015.

With the 3-D printing method, also known as additive manufacturing, any desired component shape can be built up from metal powder, layer by layer, working directly with data imported from the design program.

LMF systems generate parts layer by layer in a bed of powder. These printers are suitable for making parts that are geometrically complicated and elaborate. In LMD systems, the laser creates a melted pool on the surface of a part and fuses the powder, added simultaneously in a powder stream, to achieve the desired shape. They can add closely defined structures to existing tools and components at high processing speeds.

"The introduction of these new 3-D printers is an essential first step, since additive manufacturing will not only supplement production techniques in the future, but will also exert a formative influence on them," explained Dr.-Ing. E.h. Peter Leibinger, head of TRUMPF Laser- und Systemtechnik GmbH.