What will happen when a centuries-old manufacturing corporation forms a partnership with a decades-old manufacturing technology leader? Time will tell, of course, and whatever the results are should interest the bulk of the 3-D printing community.
GF Machining Solutions, established back in 1802 in Switzerland and among the leading providers of machines, automation solutions and services to the tool and mold industry, and EOS GmbH, one of the more prominent additive manufacturing companies since it was founded in Germany in 1989, announced a cooperative effort Monday to work together and focus on the mold and die sector.
According to news releases from both companies, GF and EOS will develop solutions for moldmakers, offering the possibility to generate metal inserts featuring cooling close to the surface, which will allow for a shorter mold cooling sequence and a faster plastic injection cycle time.
“The cooperation allows us to increase the value for customers by integrating conventional and additive technologies,” EOS founder and CEO Dr. Hans Langer said. “This is a large step toward seamless production.”
GF CEO Yves Serra said, “GF and EOS complement each other well to offer (our) customer base a unique set of technologies.”
The companies said they plan to display their first solutions at EMO, scheduled for October 5-10 in Milan.