EOS presents e-manufacturing solutions at the Hanover fair

RapidX and Digital Factory offer networked engineering live in Hall 17, Stand C60

Krailling, March 25th, 2008: From April 21st to 25th, EOS presents its e-Manufacturing solutions for the fast, flexible and cost-effective production from CAD data at the Hanover fair. The special show RapidX in hall 17 shows how small series and products in batch size 1 are produced using EOS technology - completely without tools and within a few hours only. RapidX depicts the entire process chain from the idea to the end product. EOS highlights different e‑Manufacturing applications in close collaboration with Hubtex, specialist for industrial trucks.

RapidX draws the bow from the design study via ergonomic tests to the model - and finally to production using e-Manufacturing. Different partners participate in the initiative, among others Hubtex. The manufacturer of special trucks and sideloaders relies on flexible production technologies such as e-Manufacturing in order to deliver one-offs, custom products and small series within very short timeframes.

One of the scenarios at RapidX describes the way from the design study of the integrated steering wheel to ergonomic tests. The STL file of the model is then handed over to EOS, where the wheel is produced with e-Manufacturing. Conventional methods would require days or even weeks from product idea to the final steering wheel. Laser-sintering however delivers within hours only. Furthermore, the wheel components reduce significantly: where conventional methods require five parts, e‑Manufacturing builds the product in one single step, thus eliminating 100 percent of assembly time and costs. “e‑Manufacturing enables us to speed up our production processes and to manufacture much more flexibly“, summarizes Achim Otterbein, manager design and development at Hubtex. Further best practice examples and comparisons at the booth underline the efficiency of the technology.

The increasing demand for complex components and individualized mass production (“mass customization”) is last but not least supported by the company’s recently published survey about the future prospects of e‑Manufacturing. According to the results, mass customization is gaining more and more importance in the Western world.

RapidX will also offer “Guided Tours“ conducted by experts. Participants in the tour will experience individual phases of the process chain with 3D glasses, and they will also experience the production process with e-Manufacturing live. Representatives of the press are cordially invited to join. Contact for further information and registration is Martina Methner (email: martina.methner@eos.info, phone: +49 89-893 36-134).
Further partners at RapidX are the companies Autodesk, Gotha Design and Marketing, CADEXperience, ICIDO, E&H Formtechnik Entwicklung as well as SolidCAM. The initiative is led by the NC Gesellschaft.