Additive Manufacturing and Exhaust Components: Fronius at GST 2018

The focus of this year’s GST was on the future topic of additive manufacturing. Rick Grunwald from Fronius held a presentation entitled “Lichtbogenbasierte additive Fertigung – aktueller Status und Anwendung” [Arc-based additive manufacturing – current status and application]. He provided insights into the possibilities afforded by the Cold Metal Transfer (CMT) welding process developed by Fronius, in terms of the additive manufacturing of components made from titanium and nickel-based alloys.

Another conference talk looked at gas metal arc welding (GMAW). Stephan Egerland, Chairman of the Technical Management Board at the International Institute of Welding (IIW) and employee of Fronius, discussed the welding of exhaust components in his presentation. Heexplained the advantages of highly developed, controlled GMAW process variants such as “Low Spatter Control” (LSC) and “Pulse Multi Control” (PMC) for the thermal joining of modern exhaust components. Egerland placed particular emphasis on future trends in development and on the use of modified CMT variants, without which he says future manufacturing requirements will become difficult to satisfy.

Events such as the GST are important platforms for the welding technology sector. The production environment is changing rapidly, which is also affecting joining technology. Future-oriented topics are presented at these events and discussed by experts.Further information on the conference can be found on the website of the DVS congress 2018.