At Formnext 2025 in Frankfurt, the Technology Campus Parsberg-Lupburg (TCP) presented the SAAM process for the additive manufacturing of large components for the first time. The joint institution of TH Deggendorf and OTH Regensburg targets applications in which metal components in the ton range have so far been predominantly forged or cast.
From a technical standpoint, SAAM is based on submerged arc welding, an arc process established in pressure vessel construction and nuclear engineering. Instead of joining sheets, metal wire is deposited layer by layer.
At the trade fair stand, the research team demonstrated, among other things, a ring with a 90-degree overhang that was produced without support structures. Additional exhibits included a ring made of a nickel-based alloy for seawater-resistant pumps and a tool mould illustrating the use in tool and mould making. The component geometries are intended to demonstrate that SAAM can be used not only to produce simple bodies of revolution but also more complex structures.
„A genuine innovation based on a technology proven over decades,“ emphasizes Prof. Dr.-Ing. Anton Schmailzl, scientific director of the Technology Campus. „With our technology, metal components with high material quality can be manufactured within a short time,“ explains Schmailzl. „This is an extremely energy-efficient process for producing large metal components.”
Schmailzl points out that the process enables the production of metal components with high material quality in a comparatively short time and in an energy-efficient manner. Especially in the prototype phase, development departments can benefit from shorter delivery times compared to forged and cast parts. Near-net-shape deposition from wire reduces material waste, while no stand-by energy costs are incurred as with permanently heated furnaces.
„The numerous positive responses from visitors really overwhelmed us. Many guests would not have expected that additive manufacturing is now also possible for very large components,“ reports Korbinian Schröcker, Operational Director of the Campus, and Professor Schmailzl adds with satisfaction at this point: „The encouragement from the community will certainly spur us on in further intensifying our research activities.“
TCP plans to further optimize the process parameters and to evaluate additional application scenarios together with industrial partners.
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