OCT - NOV 20238 CHEMICAL INDUSTRY REVIEWIN MY OPINIONBy Jeroen van Oers, Manufacturing Director Boxmeer and Dongen, Marel.Exactly one year ago, food processing equipment manufacturer Marel installed a MetalFAB 3D metal printer in Boxmeer, the Netherlands. Jeroen van Oers, manufacturing director, talks about the benefits, which aren't so much to be found in the technological domain but most of all lie in a revolutionary shift in thinking for engineers when designing parts and machines.Jeroen van Oers starts off by saying, "3D metal printing is not intended to replace our other production techniques. Of course, if a cast part is not in stock, we can print that part in 3D, but that should be the exception rather than the rule. It's called additive manufacturing, meaning it's a completely different way of designing. It is a technology that begins with nothing. If you look at conventional production techniques, you start with a sheet of metal, weld things together, and only remove what you can't use. But that makes the part often too heavy and plump because in many places there's metal that is actually of no avail. If you are going to print a perfect copy of such a metal part, it is by definition much too expensive because you are melting together metal powder in places where it has no function at all. You really should avoid that."Additive ­ the art of omissionJeroen van Oers continues, "In Lichtenvoorde, we manufacture a robot arm with two fast-moving cutting blades. The weight and height of that arm determine its required stiffness. So far, the original part has been made of solid metal. Stiffness, however, is created on the outside, so in principle, that arm can be hollow. That's why we printed a hollow arm with a honeycomb structure. As a result, the arm only A REVOLUTION IN THE WAY ENGINEERS THINKweighs 24% of its original weight without compromising stiffness or functionality. That printed part may be quite expensive, but if you look at the overall picture, it is a win-win situation. The movements of the robot arm are faster, the service life is longer, the wear on parts is less, and therefore, the line downtime is less. That's a huge profit."45 post-itsJeroen van Oers talks about Marel's decision to purchase a 3D metal printer, "We have collaborated with our partner Royal Jeroen van Oers
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