FIT AG presents Spare Parts on Demand additive manufacturing solution at Formnext

FIT AG has presented its Spare Parts on Demand (SPOD) solution at Formnext which employs additive manufacturing to produce industrial replacement components. It has come about as companies continue to work towards implementing digital inventories which lean on additive manufacturing rather than storing parts is warehouses that have been produced by conventional means. The reason being to save on cost and time.
FIT, however, has noticed a subsequent issue. As most parts that need replacing have been made with traditional methods, they have often passed through an approval process, meaning it isn’t possible to create a 3D printed copy. Deutsche Bahn, a German railway company, encountered this problem when attempting to replace the left sandbox housing in a brake system. The component had been manufactured in cast grey iron, and so the part had to be redesigned and then printed in titanium using Electron Beam Melting. The printed part has so far passed on all tests performed.