At the Open House at DECKEL MAHO in Pfronten industrial manufacturing machinery giant DMG MORI announced the acquisition of a 50.1% stake in German SLM 3D printer manufacturer Realizer. The two companies presented the new LASERTEC 30 SLM metal 3D printer, a new machine for powder bed application based on Realizer’s SLM300i model.

The company is thus following in the footsteps of other manufacturing giants such GE and Trumpf which have invested heavily in metal 3D printing. GE acquired Arcam and Concept Laser and has access to EBM and SLM technology. Trumpf, just like DMG Mori, has access to both powder fed (DED) and powder bed (SLM) technologies. Incidentally, all three groups currently record similar global revenues in the order of $4 billion yearly.

DMG MORI showed a wide range of innovations. The 9,000 international trade visitors were greeted by a display area of 8,500 sqm featuring more than 80 high-tech exhibits – including 3 world premieres – and major sector highlights from the fields of automation, digitization, Additive Manufacturing and technology excellence. By acquiring a majority shareholding in Realizer GmbH, the group is strengthening its future technologies in Additive Manufacturing.

With selective laser melting, DMG MORI is bundling the most important generative production processes for metallic materials under one roof. DMG MORI already has extensive know-how in the field of laser deposit welding with powder nozzles through SAUER GmbH. By integrating the Realizer products, DMG MORI is thus gaining access to “Selective Laser Melting”. In this process, the material is applied in powder form in very thin layers and melted by the laser.

“This is the perfect complement to our high-tech machines in the field of Advanced Technologies. Selective laser melting in the powder bed opens up completely new areas of application for our customers,” sadi Christian Thönes, Chairman of the Executive Board of DMG MORI AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT.

As a pioneer of the powder bed process, Realizer has consistently developed SLM technology, elevating it to the level of mass production and now has more than 20 years’ experience in its application. In the future, development and assembly will take place in Borchen and at DMG MORI in Bielefeld. The two leading production technologies enable complex, metallic components to be produced from powder. For this purpose, a wide variety of weldable materials up to and including multi-material applications can be implemented.