Oerlikon joins America Makes to grow additive manufacturing business

Oerlikon (Pfäffikon, Switzerland) has joined America Makes, the US National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute, helping to open up significant opportunities for the company to partner with industry leaders and experts, and to be at the forefront of materials testing and research in the areas of additive manufacturing and 3D printing.

Through this partnership with America Makes, the company becomes part of a network of leading organizations from academia, government, non-governmental agencies, and industry, all of which are working together to innovate and accelerate the research, application, and adoption of additive manufacturing and 3D printing. As a member of America Makes, the company will be able to leverage this expert network and gain valuable expertise to strengthen its own additive manufacturing activities and reinforce its foothold in the additive manufacturing and 3D printing areas. America Makes' additive manufacturing technology roadmap addresses five specific technical areas: design, material, processing, value chain, and additive manufacturing genome.

Additive manufacturing is increasingly recognized as a promising breakthrough in manufacturing. It delivers many benefits compared to traditional production methods, as it allows customized and complex shapes to be created with existing or new materials. In doing so, additive manufacturing can lead to performance gains and more cost- and material-effective methods in manufacturing.

The company's strategic aim is to strengthen its leading offerings in surface solutions, advanced materials, components engineering, and manufacturing technologies. Additive manufacturing is a promising technology for the company to provide customers with innovative solutions that enhance their products--for example, with new material properties. The company already offers a product portfolio of innovative powders optimized for laser-based and electron beam additive manufacturing processes. With the additive manufacturing industry at an early stage, the company sees great opportunities to be an early mover by working together with other leading players to develop next-generation materials, solutions for post-processing of components, and services for additive manufacturing production.

For more information, please visit www.oerlikon.com.