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Oerlikon CEO Roland Fischer: “It’s About Optimizing the 3D Printing Process” https://ift.tt/3msMcPP Roland Fischer, is the CEO of Oerlikon, a 10,000-employee group with revenues in excess of $2 billion and active in a range of industrial areas. The conglomerate has a significant surface coating division, as well as one that manufactures fibers. Oerlikon has also invested deeply in additive. The company makes powders for additive manufacturing (AM), but it also has a service for producing prototype parts and another to help you industrialize these prototypes. Oerlikon can also manufacture parts at scale for you at its U.S. and Swiss locations. The combination of deep knowledge of AM and deep knowledge of surface coating means that the company can be a key partner for those wishing to produce the most demanding of components. We interviewed Roland Fisher to find out more about the firm. Roland explains that it was a strategic decision that led them to enter the AM business, an extension of Oerlikon’s core competencies.
I was curious to know what the firm sees as its key challenges to face and solve. Like individuals in many businesses, he noted that qualification and regulations were important obstacles to mass production. However, progress is being made, as evidence by the type of attendance he has seen at Oerlikon’s Advanced Manufacturing Technology Conference, begun in 2017.
As much as the additive industry has been advancing, it, like other sectors, were severely impacted by COVID-19, as well as the resulting supply chain issues. Of all of the verticals that Oerlikon serves, Fischer said that aviation, where the company has deals with such firms as Lufthansa and Boeing, was hit hardest. However, the company continues to grow its 3D printing business across a number of segments, including aerospace.
When I asked him what components Oerlikon is bullish about, he named spare parts, particularly where functionality can be combined, using sensors for example. He also noted the ability of AM to disrupt e-mobility, including fuel cells, weight and more. However, Fischer was careful not to be overly excited discussing specific components. He likened his view of AM to the way physician examines a patient.
For this reason, he highlighted the benefit of 3D printing in very specific, high-performance applications, such as the space, in which Oerlikon has worked with RUAG, and subsea sectors.
On the whole, Fischer is optimistic about the market and its development. “It used to be a German play, with most of the big printer companies being located there. Lots of industry picked it up as well. But, now there is strong development in the US, especially in the defense business and Asia is picking up. For us it’s important we don’t miss a big play and that we stay focused on growth and the future.” It important that Oerlikon use its production prowess and materials knowledge to improve materials. That is where its biggest differentiator lies. If it continues to do this it will help accelerate not only its own growth but that of many firms simultaneously. Printing via 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing https://3dprint.com December 23, 2021 at 07:33AM
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