German championship in 3D printing

At the end of August, seven apprentices took part in the German championship in the discipline "Additive Manufacturing" at the University of Applied Sciences Südwestfalen in Soest. The winner was Armin Weichinger from Krones AG in Neutraubling.

The apprentices from the fields of industrial mechanics and product design came from Bavaria and North Rhine-Westphalia and had to solve five tasks in three days. Among other things, they had to measure components on the computer and then print them out three-dimensionally, layer by layer. A jury evaluated the designs created on the PC, the appearance of the 3D-printed components and the participants' working methods.

According to Professor Jens Bechthold, head of the 3-D printing centre at Soest University of Applied Sciences, the conditions on the university campus were ideal for the championship. All common 3-D printing processes, including preparation and post-processing, are available here. The German championship is considered a preliminary decision for the upcoming world championship in Lyon in 2024. The three winners, Armin Weichinger, Fabian Eisenschink (both Krones AG) and Arno Schönfeld (Beumer Group GmbH), will therefore start preparing directly for the competition at international level.