Plans for extending the roadmap to include other materials
“When we were considering the high complexity at the beginning of our discussion, we decided to first limit ourselves to additive technologies for metals,” explains Toni Schneider, head of the working group and VDMA representative of the automation specialist Schneider Electric.
As the next step, the working group will coordinate the roadmap with the VDMA member firms, incorporating their input. The plan then is to apply the newly established methodology to other additive manufacturing technologies, especially to various plastic technologies.
“As our roadmapping process gathers perspectives and specific practical experiences of system manufacturers, industrial users, automation and software specialists as well as leading research institutes, it will give pointers on future technological development trends that are valuable for all involved,” explains Rainer Gebhardt. The players’ current practice forms the basis for all suggestions found in the roadmap.
“These references in particular as well as the extremely honest look at the current state of the art, that’s what makes this roadmap so valuable for our Association’s members and further development of additive manufacturing in general,” he says. After all, it exceeds a mere statement of vision by far.
“Our roadmap describes the specific technological ways and development steps that we need to take towards automation. Thus, it creates the foundation for a fully automated, digitally interlinked additive manufacturing in Industry 4.0,” explains Gebhardt.