Siemens has moved on from making phones to rail maintenance. The company, Siemens Mobility, saw the industry as a fruitful space to invest in when it successfully implemented 3D printing technology, particularly using Stratasys’ 3D printing to 3D print parts on demand for the German and UK rail industries.
In light of its recent success, the company has continued its investment in Stratasys 3D printing technology to support the expansion of its rail maintenance operations in Russia. The mobility solutions provider has bought two new industrial-grade Stratasys Fortus 450mc 3D printers that would foster its vision for on-demand part production.
The push for investment in more 3D printers came with recent success in using Stratasys’ 3D printing to 3D print parts on demand for the German and UK rail industries. The success saw Siemens Mobility being awarded projects to build 13 additional high-speed Velaro trains for Russian train company, RZD. The project also includes an agreement to maintain and service the trains for the next 30 years.
This is the third Velaro order Siemens Mobility is getting from RZD for the Sapsan fleet due to the excellent availability of Sapsan trains in daily operation, supplementing an existing fleet of 16 trains.
Siemens Mobility has acquired and installed two Fortus 450mc 3D printers in St Petersburg and Moscow to meet the requirements of its Russian customers. These printers will enable the mobility service provider to rapidly and cost-effectively 3D print rail replacement parts on demand.
The main objective of the Easy Sparovation Part network is to optimize services for the rail industry by 3D printing replacement parts and establishing a digital inventory.
“These availability figures would be physically impossible to achieve through external part sourcing and traditional manufacturing techniques alone,” says Alexey Fedoseev, head of Siemens Mobility Russia customer services “but Stratasys’ FDM 3D printers give us the capability to cost-effectively produce the parts in-house, partially eliminating the need for warehousing or tools for a selected range of items.
“We have already seen the success of the Siemens Mobility ‘Easy Sparovation Part’ business in Germany, where this technology has provided us time-per-part savings of up to 95% compared to traditional manufacturing methods.”
These printers will help Siemens Mobility provide 3D printed rail parts in industrial-grade materials, with highly durable properties that can survive Russia’s extreme temperatures
