Selective laser melting expert reviews progress, hints at expansion beyond metal

SME's Additive Manufacturing Community this year gave Dieter Schwarze, PhD, of SLM Solutions GmbH the 2017 Industry Achievement Award. The award recognizes  of his significant and continued impact on additive manufacturing through development of processes and technology applied in industry. In 1989, Schwarze began his R&D work on additive manufacturing and its commercialization. He is one of the primary inventors of selective laser melting. Schwarze holds several patents and previously studied physics at the University of Paderborn. He sat down with Smart Manufacturing magazine Editor in Chief Brett Brune at RAPID + TCT to review the technology's progress and give his opinion about what is to come. "Today we are only in markets that use metal. But that does not mean it should stay like this in the future."