Siemens has announced the opening of its Center for Advanced Technology Collaboration Hub (CATCH), located in Charlotte, North Carolina. This new strategic research and development hub, spearheaded by Siemens Digital Industries and Siemens Technology, will focus on helping its customers accelerate their plans for the industrialization of additive manufacturing (AM). Specifically, Siemens will use this space to collaborate with key machine builders (OEMs), end-users and U.S. national laboratories to ensure the successful industrialization of additive manufacturing.
In conjunction with this announcement, Siemens also recently announced partnerships with Xerox, Roboze and ExOne — leaders in building industrial 3D printers.
“We are excited to launch this new additive manufacturing hub and to begin inviting customers in to collaborate and find ways to accelerate the industrialization of this technology,” said Steve Vosmik, Additive Manufacturing Business Manager, Siemens Digital Industries. “The benefits of additive manufacturing are clear, from faster time-to-market to better design through digital prototypes, to localized manufacturing helping to reduce supply chain constraints. We believe that the future of manufacturing is additive.”
Dr. Hallee Deutchman, head of research in Materials and Industrialized Manufacturing (US) for Siemens Technology stated, “The CATCH center will not only help industrialize additive manufacturing, but also help incubate and grow the next generation of cutting-edge technology to solve industry’s hardest manufacturing problems.”
Siemens will also look to continue its role in industrial digitalization through additive manufacturing, as it is the first truly digital manufacturing technology. The company will seek to accomplish this by empowering its vast network of partners and customers to create, make and use additive applications at scale. CATCH will be the entry point for many manufacturers to understand how and why AM is crucial to designing products more effectively, manufacturing them closer to the point of purchase and creating a more resilient supply chain.
To support its customers along their journey at CATCH, Siemens has accumulated a group of world-class experts from several Siemens businesses and operating companies. CATCH will become one of seven hubs strategically placed at major AM ecosystems around the world with the distinct focus of facilitating customer AM journeys.
Further enabling the collaboration between Siemens, machine builders (OEMs) and end-users, Siemens Financial Services (SFS) — the financing arm of Siemens — supplied the CATCH facility with a financing solution that aided the leasing of several 3D printers for use in the lab. Financing additive manufacturing is a strategic priority for SFS as the evolution and digitalization of manufacturing continues and the revolutionary use of 3D printing expands.
