Röchling (Mannheim / Germany; www.roechling.com) is treading new paths in its production processes. At its location in Waldachtal / Germany, the company is building a centre for 3D printing, due to be opened in spring 2020. Axel Höfter and Jens Harmeling have been appointed general managers of the relevant subsidiary company Röchling Direct Manufacturing, which was founded in August 2019 and currently has ten employees.

The “Röchling Direct Manufacturing Center” (RDMC) with an area of 500 m² is to be built at the company headquarters of Röchling Medical Waldachtal, formerly Frank plastic that was taken over in 2018. The aim is to manage the collaboration with machinery manufacturers, service providers and scientific partners to develop technologies and materials for future products. The RDMC will be equipped with facilities for all the relevant manufacturing processes in the plastics and metal segments. Röchling told Plasteurope.com this would include multi-jet fusion (MJF), fused deposition modelling (FDM), selective laser melting (SLM) and selective laser sintering (SLS). The centre will also serve as a hotbed for the transfer of additive manufacturing to all sites of the Röchling group.

“Additive manufacturing at the Waldachtal site will help significantly advance the Röchling group as the company heads into its third century, since it gives us the unique opportunity to manufacture complex components and entire series quickly and cost-effectively,” said Röchling CEO Hanns-Peter Knaebel.