On the sofa with… Borja Batlle, Additive Manufacturing Development Manager, Manufactura Moderna de Metales

AMM – What is the biggest advantage of additive manufacturing? B. Batlle – In this case we have focused on tooling because there is a current problem in the automotive industry, which is the FR regulation, all those materials that do not have a compatible fem retardant. So, in this case, we focus on tools that help manufacturing, in this case, tubes. We focus not on a product that they sell but on a product that helps us to manufacture one that is, after all, approved and homologated. AMM – What is the key to the relationship between additive manufacturing and energy management? In this case I always say the same phrase, in additive application, the material you use is the one that is functional, any material that doesn’t have a function is eliminated. The typical example is a construction beam, which is a standard beam and it is a beam that is specialised in removing all the material that is not needed. The 3D application is the same, it is based on putting geometries that have a structural function, that provide rigidity, that provide some flexibility to a material that is not or simply give you more support surface, which can be, but with hollow surfaces. Therefore, it is not so much the subtractive methods that we economise because we get little material for the whole block, you don’t have all that material any more, you also manufacture the pieces that you need, therefore, it is not so much the subtractive methods that we economise because we get little material for the whole block, you don’t have all that material any more. that you need, so there is no overstock. There is no material that I have to leave because otherwise it costs me money to take it out, no, all the material that you use is used and is worth its money, but it is well invested. AMM – What advice would you give to a company that wants to introduce additive manufacturing? B. Batlle – First of all, find a use case, that is, a case in which you can implement additive manufacturing, because what you should never do, based on my 7 years of experience in the 3D world, is to just jump in like crazy, I want this machine? I buy it, no, first get advice, that can be via technological assistants, via service bureaus or universities, training courses and once you have this minimum training, say I remember, I have this use case or I have to make an exploration within the company, locate the most susceptible cases that are more favourable and from there establish how it is going to be designed, with what material it is going to be manufactured, what processes the goods to have the entire value chain. If you have a product that is manufactured but cannot be sold because it does not have the right finish for the consumer, it cannot be made. For example in the automotive industry, if you don’t have a material that is made in retardant, the interior of the car cannot be perfect. AMM – What did you think of this edition of Advanced Manufacturing Madrid? B. Batlle – The truth is that it was very good, I have seen a lot of relation between the machine that allows you to make the finishes, being the combination between conventional process and previous manufacturing, that all the same workshops are very close to each other. Therefore, it is very easy to visit and make a little route of each value that is needed, from companies that can give us the material and also finish it. AMM – What will be the materials trend of the future? B. Batlle – Metals, metal, that’s new, that is to say, metal has always been the most expensive technology, the most unattainable, which only sectors such as aviation, for example, the medical sector, could have. Now, this whole system of costs is becoming cheaper, they are making cheaper machines and above all, they have a higher performance per piece, which is what is important, therefore, now the boom in metals will come, for sure, because for example, the plastic sector is already quite exploited. It is quite stagnant. On the other hand, there are always new materials, for example, in photosensitive resins there will also be new developments, but I think the future will be metallurgy.