GE Additive Establishes Customer Experience Center in Germany
April 24 2017 - 8:00AM
Business Wire
Center to accelerate additive manufacturing in
Europe
Adjoins GE’s Global Research Center in
Munich
GE Additive (NYSE:GE) is establishing a “Customer Experience
Center” in Munich, Germany – the first of several GE Additive
centers planned worldwide to accelerate the use of additive
manufacturing.
The Munich center will allow current and potential customers to
experience first-hand designing and producing components using
additive manufacturing. Up to 50 GE Additive employees will operate
the center, including technicians and engineers specializing in
additive design and production.
The center, launched with an investment of about $15 million,
will adjoin GE’s Global Research Center (GRC) in Munich, and is
expected to be operational by year’s end. Up to 10 additive
machines from Concept Laser of Germany and Arcam EBM of Sweden
(leading additive providers in which GE has majority ownership)
will be installed.
GE’s Munich center will augment the customer training and
support centers within both Arcam and Concept Laser facilities.
Like the Arcam and Concept Laser sites, the Munich center will be a
distribution center for critical spare parts.
GE Additive continues grow its global infrastructure – as
evidenced by this new Munich site as well as by its on-going
expansion of the Concept Laser headquarters in Lichtenfels.
At the Munich customer center, the additive machines will be
enhanced by GE’s cloud-based Predix operating platform to enable
industrial-scale analytics and GE Edge devices, which provide
real-time control and monitoring. Customers will benefit from
hands-on training and instruction at the facility, covering
additive design, machine operations and support.
“The concept of customer experience centers is an integral part
of GE Additive’s strategy to expose and engrain the additive
technology to manufacturers worldwide,” said Robert Griggs, general
manager of the Customer Experience Centers for GE Additive. (Griggs
reports to Mohammad Ehteshami, vice president of GE Additive.) “We
expect to announce the second GE Customer Experience Center later
this year with others to follow.”
GE Additive selected Germany for its first center to align with
the GRC in Munich as well as to the manufacturing, sales, and
service centers of both Concept Laser (a leading provider of
powder-based laser machines) and Arcam (provider of electronic beam
additive machines). GE acquired majority ownership of both
companies in 2016.
GE’s GRC in Munich has been involved in additive research for
several years. It recently took delivery of three Concept Laser and
two Arcam machines, and is producing additive parts. GRC will work
closely with the neighboring Customer Experience Center in the
education and demonstration process.
In addition, the Customer Experience Center will have access to
additive engineering talent from several nearby universities.
“Germany is a pioneer for the entire additive manufacturing
movement,” said Griggs, “so it was no coincidence we choose Munich
to open our first center.”
Earlier this month, the Mubadala Development Company announced
it is teaming with GE Additive and the Dubai Future Foundation to
develop microfactories in United Arab Emirates to accelerate the
use of additive and digital manufacturing technologies in the
Middle East region.
Additive manufacturing involves taking a digital design from
computer aided design (CAD) software and melting/sintering together
in a layer-by-layer manner, using a laser or an electron beam as
the energy source. Additive components are typically lighter and
more durable than traditional forged parts because they require
less welding and machining. Since additive parts are essentially
“grown” from the ground up, they generate far less scrap material.
Freed of traditional manufacturing restrictions, additive
manufacturing dramatically expands the design possibilities for
engineers.
About GE Additive:
GE Additive is part of GE (NYSE:GE), the world’s Digital
Industrial Company, transforming industry with software-defined
machines and solutions that are connected, responsive and
predictive. GE is organized around a global exchange of knowledge,
the "GE Store," through which each business shares and accesses the
same technology, markets, structure and intellect. Visit GE
Additive at www.geadditive.com.
GE Additive is led by David Joyce, GE Vice Chairman and CEO of
GE Aviation, an operating unit of GE and a world-leading provider
of jet engines, components and integrated systems for commercial
and military aircraft. For more information, visit us
at www.geaviation.com.
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version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170424005741/en/
GE AviationRick Kennedy, Mgr.Media RelationsCell:
513-607-0609rick.l.kennedy@ge.com
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