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█ Powder-bed-based laser melting with metals (LaserCUSING)

Information about the 2015 annual results

Concept Laser achieves highest sales and new orders in the company’s history to date

Concept Laser once again considerably increased its new orders and sales in 2015

The transition to industrial AM series production is stimulating growth

PR 3-2016 Words: 1,303 | Characters: 7,035

document.docx Page 1 of 12


Lichtenfels (Germany), March 15, 2016: Concept Laser remains on a successful track. The machinery and plant manufacturer from Lichtenfels in Germany once again significantly increased sales, the number of manufactured machines and the number of employees. The increase in sales compared to the previous year is a whopping 54%. Whereas in 2014 orders were received for 110 machines, 161 machines were ordered in 2015. This equates to a growth in volume of 46% compared to the previous year and so even surpassed the annual plan envisaged by the managers in Lichtenfels. By the end of 2015, more than 550 laser melting machines had been installed by Concept Laser around the world. Oliver Edelmann, VP Global Sales & Marketing, says: “We are very proud that we have managed to further expand the growth of the previous year. This shows that we continue to follow the right path. But anybody that knows Concept Laser knows that the passion for the technology and the strong drive for innovation will not allow us to rest on our laurels.”

The path of growth of the technology leader for powder-bed-based laser melting was

also reflected in the number of employees, which rose by 67% from 103 (2014) to 172

(2015). At the same time, the positive development in the US market enabled Concept

Laser Inc. (Grapevine, Texas, USA) to increase its workforce to 17 employees (correct

as of: 12/31/2015). What was the most successful year in the company’s history anyway

culminated with Frank Herzog, Founder and President & CEO of Concept Laser, being

nominated for the German Future Prize 2015 and being crowned the “Best CEO in the

Additive Manufacturing Industry.”




Wide range of products continues to drive orders and salesWith its diversified range of products, Concept Laser offers the right machine solution for

any application. Whether it be the Mlab cusing R for small intricate parts with the highest

surface quality or the new M2 cusing, also available as a Multilaser version, which has

been enhanced both externally and “internally” with state-of-the-art machine technology.

It also features a fully integrated design, which means that "satellite solutions" are no

longer used for laser sources and filter technology. This closed solution is advantageous

to the user thanks to the accessibility of system components and a reduced space

requirement. In addition, the new M2 cusing also features a new filter concept, with a

filter surface five times greater in size. It has increased from a previous 4 m2 to 20 m2

now. The new filter module was designed with fixed piping and to be fully integrated into

the system. As a result, the filter's replacement intervals can be reduced considerably,

which increases overall system availability. This is especially noticeable when using

Multilaser technology and from the resulting increase in smoking.

At the beginning of 2015, Concept Laser also enhanced its offering in the large machine

segment with the X line 2000R. What was already the world’s largest build envelope of

the X line 1000R (630 x 400 x 500 mm³) was enlarged still further for laser melting with

metals (800 x 400 x 500 mm3). The usable build volume was therefore increased again

by roughly 27% from 126 l to 160 l. Compared to rival machines; the X line 2000R offers

a build volume that is roughly three to four times as big. In addition, the X line 2000R

has also been fitted with another laser so that two lasers now each deliver 1,000 watts

of power. It is also equipped with a new sieving station: a quiet vibration sieve is used

instead of a tumbler sieve. This makes for a more compact design, as the over-sized

grain container is smaller and integrated into the sieving station. The dose chamber is

completely filled fully automatically within one cycle. Improved efficiency also results

from the two build modules which are used, leading to higher availability and ultimately

shorter downtimes.




Pioneering role when it comes to quality assurance/monitoringIn-situ process monitoring has long been one of Concept Laser’s strategic fields of

technology. The QM Meltpool 3D tool for process monitoring, which the company

developed itself, was only recently presented with the International Additive

Manufacturing Award 2016. Concept Laser came out on top against 15 other entries

from Germany, Finland, the UK, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and the USA. “The IAMA

is welcome recognition for our hard work, but also evidence that we’re on the right track.

So the international 3D award makes us extremely proud, and provides ample

motivation to continue enthusing the global market with new innovations,” says a

gratified Frank Herzog. QM Meltpool 3D delivers quality-relevant data for process

monitoring and documentation in real time. The system records positional

characteristics of the meltpool while the part is being created. This data can be

visualized in a three-dimensional map and analyzed by the user. According to the

manufacturer, this analytical tool is comparable to the HD resolution of computed

tomography (CT). But the practical benefit of this new feature is not just that it provides

an original tool for active quality assurance. During manufacturing, build jobs can be

optimized through iterative variation of the parameters. Support structures can be

adapted and in particular the upstream part construction can be designed to be more

suitable for production. Not least, this presents new possibilities for material research.

Outlook: Ideally equipped to meet the future demands of series productionAll the signs are that additive manufacturing is currently undergoing a paradigm shift

towards series production on an industrial scale. New, more economical machine

concepts are therefore required. The challenges are as follows: digitization, automation

and interlinking of the machines through to the creation of a smart factory.




Following the basic idea of Industry 4.0, Concept Laser unveiled an integrated, modular

new machine concept entitled “AM Factory of Tomorrow” at Formnext 2015 (Frankfurt,

Germany). Oliver Edelmann: “The modular integration of the machine technology into

the manufacturing environment is amazing thanks to a radically new approach in the

design of process components. Ultimately, this makes faster and more economic

industrial production solutions available. All development aspects are going to plan: The

new machine design will be commercially available at the end of 2016.”

With the latest machine architecture from Concept Laser, any number of the individual

machines can be linked together, thus creating fully automated machine networks that

“communicate” with one another and with corresponding peripheral devices. Additive

and conventional technologies will also be automated and linked together, in particular

in the reworking of the parts that are created. Traditional manufacturing methods will

then go hand in hand with additive methods.

The new machine architecture is characterized essentially by decoupling of “pre-

production,” “production” and “post-processing.” This includes among other things

flexible machine loading and physical separation of the setting-up and disarming

processes. The objective of the development was to coordinate the process

components in a more targeted way with interfaces and increase the flexibility of the

process design to create an integrated approach. This becomes possible thanks to a

consistent modular structure of “handling stations” and “build and process units” which,

in terms of combination and interlinking, promises considerably greater flexibility and

availabilities. Thanks to the new machine architecture, current machine downtimes,

resulting from manual processes such as supplying metal powder or reworking the

parts, will be reduced to a minimum. This will deliver considerable time and cost

savings.




But it is not just the interaction between the machines but also the “technological inner

workings” of the new machine that display numerous innovations and even world firsts,

such as the automatic tool changing system or the new, time-saving coating strategy.

Print approved – ask for copy

Captions ████████████████████████████████████████

Caption 1: Oliver Edelmann, VP Global Sales & Marketing: “We are very proud that we

have managed to further expand the growth of the past year. This shows that we

continue to follow the right path. But anybody that knows Concept Laser knows that the

passion for the technology and the strong drive for innovation will not allow us to rest on

our laurels.”

Caption 2: The X line 2000R combines the world’s largest build envelope (800 x 400 x

500 mm3) for laser melting with improved build rates. The X line 2000R is also equipped

with 2 x 1,000 watt lasers.

Caption 3: QM Meltpool 3D: Meltpool signals, such as the meltpool surface and meltpool

intensity, can be visualized in three dimensions and evaluated immediately following the

completion of the build process. Users can trace the development process for each part

on a positional basis. They can now better identify and analyze local effects in the part

construction.




Caption 4: The “AM Factory of Tomorrow” from Concept Laser is a flexibly expandable,

high-grade automated and centrally controllable meta production system which is

focused fully on the production assignments in hand it satisfies the basic ideas behind

Industry 4.0 and enables more economical series production.

All photos courtesy of: Concept Laser GmbH, Lichtenfels

Concept Laser trade show appearances ███████████████████

AMUG, St. Louis April 3 – 7, 2016

INDUSTRIE, Paris (France) April 4 – 8, 2016

Dental Forum, Paris (France) April 7 – 9, 2016

IDEM, Singapore April 8 – 10, 2016

Contacts ███████████████████████████████████████

Concept Laser GmbHAn der Zeil 8

D-96215 Lichtenfels

Germany




Phone: +49 (0) 9571 / 1679-0

Internet: www.concept-laser.de

Concept Laser GmbH press contact:Daniel Hund

Phone: +49 (0) 9571 / 1679-251

E-mail: [email protected]

LaserCUSING® background information █████████████████

Key word: LaserCUSING®

The patented LaserCUSING® process from Concept Laser is used to create high-

precision mechanically and thermally resilient metallic components. The term

"LaserCUSING®," coined from the C in Concept Laser and the word FUSING, describes

the technology: The fusing process generates components layer by layer using 3D-CAD

data.

In this process, fine metal powder is fused locally by a high-energy fiber laser. The

material solidifies after cooling. The contour of the component is created by redirecting

the laser beam using a mirror redirection unit (scanner). The component is built up layer

by layer (with a layer thickness of 15 – 500 μm) by lowering the bottom of the build

chamber, applying more powder and then fusing again.



mailto:[email protected]

http://www.concept-laser.de/


Source: Concept Laser GmbH

What makes systems from Concept Laser unique is stochastic control of the slice

segments (also referred to as "islands") which are processed successively. This

patented process ensures a significant reduction in stresses when manufacturing very

large components.

Concept Laser at a glance ██████████████████████████

Concept Laser GmbH from Lichtenfels, Germany is today, unlike almost any other

company, one of the real pioneers and key drivers of powder-bed-based laser melting

with metals. The technology driver here is the patented LaserCUSING® process, also

referred to as 3D metal printing, which over the course of 15 years has evolved the

additive manufacturing of 3D components from a rapid technology to the stage of

industrial series production.

When Frank Herzog founded Concept Laser GmbH back in 2000 in Lichtenfels, a metal

laser melting machine was an entirely unknown quantity in the market. How is a 3D




geometry created from metal powder using a laser? What does 3D printing mean or a

digital process chain for the manufacturing of the future?

The answer was industrial machine technology: Concept Laser unveiled the first

machine of this type in 2001 at Euromold in Frankfurt. With more than 50 patents

granted today and over 100 patent applications, Frank Herzog and his workforce of

more than 170 employees continue to champion and develop the LaserCUSING®

process. The company caters for the global market for laser melting machines across all

different sectors from sites in Germany, the USA and China and through a network of

more than 35 distribution and service partners.

Concept Laser's high quality standards, expertise in processes, applications and

materials deliver reliable and cost-effective solutions which prove their effectiveness in

everyday production and are primarily aimed at reducing part costs. In addition to

commercial aspects, the process offers a large number of other benefits compared to

conventional methods of production: The parts are lighter, the designer has new

freedoms, the topology and geometry are optimized, additional functions can be

integrated, and less raw material is required. What this means is parts that were

previously manufactured using machining processes are now being redesigned to fully

exploit the new potential offered by additive manufacturing.

Concept Laser offers a range of small machines (50 x 50 x 80 mm3) right through to the

machine with the world’s largest build envelope (800 x 400 x 500 mm 3). Machines from

Concept Laser that are equipped with Multilaser technology are among the fastest,

safest and highest-quality laser melting machines in the world. More than 550 installed

machines and prestigious references and projects of this Franconian “hidden champion”

around the globe send out a clear message and symbolize an outstanding technology

for the future sealed with the endorsement “Made in Germany”.




For example, today the aerospace industry, automotive industry, medical technology,

dental technology, toolmaking and other sectors focus strategically on 3D metal printing

as the economical and high-quality production strategy of the future that embraces the

notion of "Industry 4.0.”

Prizes & awards ██████████████████████████

2001 Presented with the EuroMold Silver AWARD for the M3 linear

LaserCUSING® machine

2008 Presented with the Bavarian Innovation Prize for the M2 cusing


2012 Presented with the EuroMold Bronze AWARD for the X line 1000R


2014 BAVARIA’S BEST 50 prize-winner

2014 Finalist in the “Large Companies” category for the German Industry

Innovation Prize in the shape of Frank Herzog, President & CEO of

Concept Laser GmbH

Project: “The first 3D-printed titanium component on board the A350 XWB”

2015 The “European CEO of the Year Additive Manufacturing” award was

presented to Frank Herzog, President & CEO of Concept Laser GmbH




2015 Nominated for the German Future Prize – Prize awarded by the German

President for technology and innovation

Project: “3D printing in commercial aircraft engineering – a manufacturing

revolution is taking off” in the shape of Frank Herzog, President & CEO of

Concept Laser GmbH

2015 FOCUS Growth Champion

2016 Winner of the International Additive Manufacturing Award with the QM

Meltpool 3D quality monitoring tool, which was developed in-house

The art of LaserCUSING® by Concept Laser



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