Every year the German Design Council organizes the German Design Award, one of the most recognized design awards worldwide. This award recognizes innovative products and projects, and the companies or individuals who have fabricated and designed them.
Axel Roßbach, Research and Development Extrusion and Forging Presses, SMS group GmbH: “The spray head marks a new era in the design of plant and machine components, enabled by the game-changing potential of 3D printing and function-optimized design. The design of a machine part is today no longer limited by the constraints imposed by conventional – process-optimized – forming and machining techniques. Supported by latest software and computer technology, we can now give a component exactly the design that fulfils its designated function in the best possible way. Another important aspect is that we have used new materials. Therefore, the award honors not only a new design, but above all the new way of thinking lived within SMS group, which has materialized in a global approach to Additive Manufacturing.” According to Axel Roßbach, the new spray head is an example of how nowadays, in the digital age, different disciplines interact and what opportunities Additive Manufacturing holds in store. The new spray head solution produced by 3D printing is the result of a joint effort by the Forging Plants Department, the Additive Manufacturing Project Team and the simulation technology experts of SMS group.
Common spray heads are heavy and complicated to produce. Their heavy weight impairs the productivity of the forging press. Against this, the new spray head has been designed with a view to how it can fulfill its function in the most efficient way. It is significantly smaller, features flow optimized channels and cools the dies specifically and as required in each individual case. Die areas subjected to intensive heating are cooled at a correspondingly – precisely calculated – higher rate than areas less hot. Additionally, these spray heads can be produced virtually just in time. Axel Roßbach: “Although the spray head is only a small component, it nevertheless ideally represents the potential of Additive Manufacturing. The innovative manufacturing methods enabled by 3D printing form the basis for Industrie 4.0. The example of the 3D-printed spray head makes this clear and measurable. Made of plastics, it weighs only one tenth of what a conventional one would weigh. A 3D spray head made of metal weighs up to 70 % less. It is less expensive, more efficient and can be easily customized and instantly produced. “
One of the first customers using the new spray head in practice is Bharat Forge in Ennepetal, Germany. For Bharat Forge, the spray head was specifically designed to allow switching between water and a graphite-based spraying fluid. Bharat Forge: “The spraying pattern is much more homoge-neous now. The dies are cleaner. Consequently, the overall consumption of spraying fluid has decreased. Also handling is easier than with the conventionally manufactured spray heads. Accumulations of material, as frequently occurring inside the former spray heads, have not been found thanks to the flow-optimized design of the fluid channels.“
Although the Design Award-winning spray head is in the focus of attention above all due to its extraordinary design, this is only one facet of the many activities underway at SMS group in the area of Additive Manufacturing. The company’s plans and strategies are of much wider scope. SMS group is not going to limit its AM activities to the design and production of innovative machine components, but will also offer integrated solutions for the complete process chain of Additive Manufacturing on the market.
_{(Source: SMS group)}