Hello!

It was a while since I last wrote a blog post, and a lot of exciting and fun things have happened since my pen last touched the ink. Among other things, I have, together with method specialists and buyers, visited our vane subcontractors in Karlskron, southern Germany, and in Pau, northern France. For me it was a very rewarding trip where I got to learn more about the vane manufacturing processes and requirements, as well as got to know some of the people who work there more closely.
A part of the graduate program’s soul-purpose is to connect with people within the European industry, a purpose that I surely fulfilled during my week in France and Germany.
As a graduate engineer at GKN Aerospace you often stumble upon the chance to participate or even lead projects involving everything from product and method development, to the very introduction of new products or methods. A few weeks ago, I said yes to participate in a few projects involving AM-initiatives aimed at reducing production costs while increasing the producibility of some of our products.
AM (Additive Manufacturing, or 3D Printing) is currently being hyped to the maximum, and together with the digitalization, AM is consider becoming the very foundation of the third industrial revolution (at least according to the Economist). As with all technologies, AM has an ocean of possibilities, but it also has its limitations.
It is clear that we now begin to approach the very top of the “hype-cycle”, and the question whether this technology will survive tomorrow’s expectations or not, remains unanswered.
I will dedicate my next post to write about the AM-technology’s possibilities, limitations and risks. Until then, I which you a pleasant vacation (If you have one i.e., if not, I’m sorry)

See you later!