Earlier this month, Siemens and Materials Solutions (also a Siemens business) (
www.materialssolutions.co.uk) officially opened a new advanced innovation centre in Orlando, Florida.
This is said to offer a “unique pairing of design with manufacturing, implementing robotics, rapid prototyping, scanning, digital tools and on-site metal additive manufacturing”.
It will focus on rapid problem solving in support of Siemens’ energy businesses, while Materials Solutions will offer additive services to support the innovation centre and external customers.
Attending the opening event were Vinod Philip (CEO of Siemens Service Power Generation), Steve Conner (CEO of Siemens Energy Inc), Markus Seibold (vice-president of additive manufacturing at Siemens Power Generation Operations) and Mark Kamphaus (head of technology and innovation for Siemens Service Power Generation).
They were joined by Siemens employees and key customers in the energy sector, as well as guests from other ‘high performance’ industries such as aerospace.
The 17,000ft
2 facility is equipped with the latest manufacturing and inspection technologies (including automation tools such as robotic machines, 3-D printers and 3-D scanners), “thereby enabling faster solutions for industry opportunities and encouraging innovation for the creation of new advanced components and digital solutions”.
Tim Holt, COO of Siemens Gas and Power, said: “This centre is unique, bringing together a multitude of our innovative processes under one roof.
The combination of these competencies with Materials Solutions’ 12 years of experience in metal additive gives us a distinctive capability to support the development of holistic additive solutions/services for our energy businesses, as well as customers in high-performance industries.”
Materials Solutions is a ‘pioneer’ in the use of Selective Laser Melting technology for the manufacture of high-performance metal parts, with a focus on high-temperature super-alloys.
Siemens acquired the (originally UK-based) company in 2016 and has since expanded not only the Worcester (England) site but also the global additive manufacturing network.