IMTS 2014 Conference: 3D printing and industrial automation

Time: Monday Sept. 8 from 2:15p.m. to 3:10p.m. in Room W-193B

 

Speaker: Alex Chausovsky, Manager & Principal Analyst, IHS Motor Driven Equipment

 

Session topic: Although 3D printing has been around in one form or another for many years, its influence has just recently started to spread beyond rapid prototyping and consumer gimmickry. This presentation will examine two different aspects of the impact that the 3D printing revolution is expected to have on the industrial automation sector. A general overview of current and forthcoming additive manufacturing technologies will serve as a foundation for this analysis.

 

One of the potential affects that 3D printing will have on the industrial automation sector is the implementation of this technology in the manufacturing process itself at many leading industrial automation suppliers. Are motor manufacturers going to be able to “print” steel laminations for their machines instead of stamping them, and what costs savings could be achieved if they were to do so? Is it possible that variable frequency drive vendors are going to install hundreds of 3D printers to fabricate the plastic enclosures that most VFDs are sold in today? These are the questions that will be addressed regarding the impact on the manufacturing process.

 

The other effect that additive manufacturing will undoubtedly have on the industrial automation sector is more demand-focused. Currently, the largest buyers of industrial automation equipment such as induction motors, drives, gearboxes and servo and stepper systems are large OEMS (machine builders). The 3D printing revolution is bound to dramatically disrupt, if not decimate, the business of these companies. Just imagine the potential impact if businesses were able to “print” their own plastic and metal components. Where would that leave the makers of plastic injection machinery and machine tools? The examination of these different aspects of the emergence of additive manufacturing in the industrial sector will be the subject of this presentation.

 

The educational and informative conferences run Sept. 8-11, 2014, in the West Building, Level 1. To register for this or any session, visit http://www.imts.com/education/imtsconference.html.