Stratasys
Siemens Mobility Boosts Custom Production Capability with FDM Additive Manufacturing
Siemens Mobility GmbH, part of Siemens AG, sets the benchmark when it comes to technology and engineering solutions for the mobility and transport industry. The company promises its customers ‘seamless mobility’ – safer, faster, more convenient. To help make this a realization, Siemens Mobility recently opened its first digitalized rail maintenance center worldwide. Located in Dortmund-Erving, Germany, the Siemens Mobility RRX Rail Service Center was designed to perfect digitalization for the rail and transport industry.
Renowned as Siemens Mobility’s flagship site, the RRX Rail Service Center expects a hundred trains to enter and leave the depot every month. This level of throughput puts pressure on the supply chain and requires robust manufacturing solutions to fulfill the wide-ranging needs of customers, quickly and cost-effectively. To do that, the company harnessed its longstanding experience with additive manufacturing and invested in additional 3D printing equipment to meet the depot’s high demand.
3D Print Replacement Parts On-Demand
The team has already witnessed tangible benefits, with the ability to 3D print replacement parts on-demand – increasing its flexibility to meet customer requirements.
“This is where FDM additive manufacturing fits in perfectly, providing us with the capability to rapidly and cost-effectively produce one-off, customized production parts.”
The site’s 3D printer has had a significant impact on turnaround times to produce replacement parts compared with traditional manufacturing methods such as casting. A part can be 3D printed in just hours, according to Tina Eufinger, Business Development, Siemens Mobility Division.
“Within a week, we can iterate and optimize the design and then 3D print a final, customized production- grade part. This has enabled us to reduce the manufacturing time of each part by up to 95%, which has significantly sped up our ability to respond to customers”
