At this year’s rapid.tech 3D in Erfurt, the Big Five Award 2024 was presented to two key figures in the early development of metal 3D printing. Dr. Dieter Schwarze and Dr. Matthias Fockele received the award for their long-standing contributions to the establishment of additive manufacturing with metal powders. The award was organized by RTe Journal and presented during the gala evening by advisory board members Prof. Julia Kessler and Prof. Andreas Gebhardt.
Schwarze and Fockele founded the company F&S back in 1990. Initially focusing on plastic printing, they laid the foundations for a process known today as Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) in the mid-1990s with a strategic reorientation towards metallic materials. Their patents from this period document the early focus on the material-specific processing of metal powders using selective laser technology. The first commercial delivery of an LPBF system was made in 1999 to the then Karlsruhe Research Center.
Both award winners are still active in the field of additive manufacturing. Dr. Schwarze is now Chief Engineer at Nikon SLM Solutions, a manufacturer of industrial LPBF systems. Dr. Fockele heads AM APP GmbH, a company focusing on software solutions for industrial 3D printing.
The name of the Big Five Award symbolically refers to the challenge of achieving technological breakthroughs in a complex field of innovation. The award recognizes not only technical achievements, but also the long-term contribution to the establishment of additive manufacturing processes in research and industry.
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