The spare parts production in the railroad industry is demanding: Aging components are often no longer to be found on the market and must be ordered and manufactured using complex processes. High costs, idle trains, and long delivery times are the result. Nikon SLM Solutions technology can help to overcome this challenge. With its additive manufacturing machines, Nikon SLM Solutions can help customers print parts in weeks, in comparison to months with other manufacturing technologies.
The world’s foremost rail technology company, Wabtec, understands the obsolesce issues and therefore launched its first 3D printing center in EMEA dedicated to additive manufactured parts in the railway industry. The company decided to work with Nikon SLM Solutions as a supplier of machines and partner of technology solutions with a brand new SLM®500 included in their center. With this in place, Wabtec is able to put trains back into service quickly in the EMEA region.
Located in Tours, France, the 3D printing center comprises the entire 3D printing process chain, from printing quality metal parts to quality checks and post-processing. The opening of the center is a true game changer – not only for the railway industry – but also for the Nikon SLM® technology as it solves the obsolescence issues: high-quality spare parts produced on Nikon SLM® machines can be shipped within a few weeks after order validation, and trains can be quickly put back into service.
With the new SLM®500 as well as an SLM®280 and SLM®800 machine, which have already been used in the Wabtec AM US network, the company almost possess the entire product range of Nikon SLM® machines. Henri de Chassey, Head of Additive Manufacturing in Wabtec Transit, says: “We have selected Nikon SLM Solutions as they were proposing the best technical option on Aluminum, but also because some of our previous validated parts have been already produced on their machines. Nikon SLM®'s technical team additionally has provided us and our applications an amazing support for the implementation of this new project.” The production includes basic spare parts manufactured by Wabtec, most of them due to supply chain or obsolescence issues, but also for new products for many different applications such as brake systems, pantographs, HVAC, and doors.
Ralf Frohwerk, Global Head of Business Development at Nikon SLM Solutions, adds: “We are excited about our partnership with Wabtec, which has already yielded many production-ready metal parts. The opening of the 3D printing center is moving the rail industry forward. This example shows the operational feasibility of Nikon SLM® technology. Serial parts produced on Nikon SLM® machines are made available quickly, meet all safety-critical requirements in the industry, and enable the railway industry for new functional part design revolutions.”
The location of Tours is of strategic importance for Wabtec, as the site is already equipped with post-processing options to complete the parts produced, from machining to painting with surface treatment if required. All these production lines meet the high-quality requirements of the railroad standards.
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