Opening of the laboratory for additive manufacturing by Ms. Prof. Dr. Schumann and Ms. Kern (MWVLW).

The additive manufacturing day, in which around 60 visitors from politics and industry as well as numerous interested students took part, was opened with praise by Prof. Dr. Dorit Schumann, President of the Trier University of Applied Sciences, and Ms. Mechthild Kern, Deputy Head of the Innovation and Technology Department of the Ministry of Economics, Transport, Agriculture and Viticulture Rhineland-Palatinate (MWVLW). In the course of the programme, the professors from the Institute of Operations and Technology Management (IBT) presented the various research priorities and projects, ranging from design and 3D scanning to automation technology and the digital factory. The research project "Resource-efficient Rapid Prototyping" (RERAP), whose aims include the development of competencies and the exchange of know-how in additive manufacturing for the region, was also presented to the participants. Another highlight was the lively and informative presentation by keynote speaker Helmut Zeyn of Siemens Industry Software GmbH on the industrialization of additive manufacturing.

For the actual opening of the laboratory for generative manufacturing, the majority of the participants gathered in the laboratory, despite the limited space, to attend the official launch of the 3D metal printer by Ms. Kern and Prof. Dr. Schumann and to marvel at the first welded layers of the metal powder. The model objects produced in the running process were components of the pre-commissioning, whereby already generatively manufactured workpieces could be examined. Furthermore, the employees of the printer manufacturer Renishaw and IBT answered all the participants' questions about the process and the production machine. Finally the professors of the IBT offered guided tours through the laboratories and pilot plants of the institute and the event ended with a regional snack.