IIW History 1990-2015

for electronic device interconnections, laser metal deposition on orthopaedic joint implants and implant coatings to facilitate bonding to the bone. 30 This is an area where medical welding science is moving rapidly and new welding and joining techniques and processes are being developed almost on a monthly basis to provide greater assurance in the use of medical devices and implants. Additive manufacturing is a recent process using 3-D data to build up a component in layers by depositing material, instead of manufacturing a component from solid material by machining or other methods. This process captured the imagination of attendees at a joint seminar involving Commissions I, IV, XII and SG-212 in July 2016. Personnel from many welding and research organisations met to discuss

Veli Kujanpää

the inherent cost savings in producing difficult-to-manufacture components in areas where conventional manufacturing had reached its limitations. It has particular application for e-manufacturing in the series production of miniaturised parts, including those for medical devices, and a wider application in the aerospace industry. This process serves as a perfect example of the need for IIW to be engaged in the emergence of innovative processes which inevitably will involve the welding industry to a much greater extent over the next decade. The emphasis on the importance of additive manufacturing in recent years has resulted in Commission I, now renamed, Additive Manufacturing, Surfacing and Thermal Cutting (C-I), taking on the overall responsibility for this activity under the chairmanship of Prof. Veli Kujanpää (Finland). C-I has the specific aim of a better scientific understanding of these processes and their practical application through close cooperation with other Working Units such as Commissions IV, XII and SG-212. 31 The growing synergy between Working Units on the importance of additive manufacturing culminated in a special workshop at the 68th Annual Assembly in Helsinki in 2015. The workshop reflected the rapidly expanding global move to this technology and explored the latest developments in modelling and optimisation of dimensional accuracy as well as material innovations and their applications in industry. Organised by the fourWorking Units mentioned previously, the workshop attracted 149 people from 31 different countries. In view of the continuing interest in additive manufacturing, the first ever IIW International Congress on Welding, Additive Manufacturing and Associated Non-Destructive Testing (ICWAM 17) has been organised by the Institut de Soudure in Metz in May 2017 in order to promote an active dialogue between academic researchers and industry, thereby ensuring and maintaining IIW’s interests in the furtherance of new techniques and processes. 32 Without losing sight of the substantial changes that lie ahead, the period from 1990 to 2015 has encompassed some of the greatest technological advances and challenges

MEETING CHALLENGE – THE WAY AHEAD