Kurtz News
Directly from the Kurtz World
Welcome, AM-Community!
At the end of April, we had the pleasure of hosting the semi-annual Meeting of the ACAM – Aachen Center for Additive Manufacturing. Located on the RWTH Aachen Campus, ACAM pools resources and facilitates access to the additive manufacturing know-how of leading scientific and research institutions for the industry.
In order to give the participants an idea about the Kurtz Ersa Group and our long-established technology history, the event started with a get-together at the Eisenhammer, the cradle of our company. It also included a guided tour through the HAMMERMUSEUM. In the old forge, the water-powered iron hammer could be marveled at live in action. The highlight for the AM community was our 3D demo center with the Alpha 140 and Flying Ray 3D metal printers. On the second day, the research partners presented their interim reports with updates on ongoing projects. In a community workshop, participants shared future AM topics and brainstormed activities and challenges related to different AM user stories. Many thanks to the team of the ACAM Aachen Center for Additive Manufacturing GmbH and all research partners – it was a pleasure to have you with us!
An Alpha 140
under the Christmas tree
The Alpha 140 is our entry-level model for metallic 3D laser printing. The LPBF-based process has also convinced the ZF Friedrichshafen AG. True to the ZF motto “see. think. act.” the employees opted for the compact Plug´n´Produce model after a visit to our showroom in Kreuzwertheim. Just in time for Christmas, the printer was delivered to the ZF site in Schweinfurt. Teams of Kurtz Ersa and ZF Friedrichshafen AG had met before that at the “30th Aachen Machine Tool Colloquium” in September 2021.
On the exciting journey into the mobility of tomorrow, a promising process such as metallic 3D printing must not be missing. It supports the extensive ZF portfolio and is used primarily in toolmaking. Trainees from ZF Friedrichshafen are also introduced to metallic 3D printing and can gain their own experience. ZF Friedrichshafen AG is thus pursuing the strategy of consolidating their position as an innovation driver, now also in the area of 3D printing – and we are very proud to support them in this endeavor with the Alpha 140. New feature of the Alpha 140: The integrated powder handling enables the operator to handle powder and printed parts in the printer without personal safety equipment – among other things.