In the ever-changing landscape of manufacturing, additive manufacturing (AM) is transforming the way companies are designing, and manufacturing products. Its promise of design flexibility, cost efficiency, speed, and sustainability makes it an attractive option for manufacturers across various industries.
With around 2 million people worldwide using 3D printers, the technology’s adoption reflects a growing trend towards more customized, on-demand production methods. However, before diving headfirst into the adoption of this technology, it is essential to take a step back and thoroughly assess your current processes. This foundational step ensures a seamless integration and optimization of AM technology, ensuring you gain the maximum return on your investment. Below, we dive into the significance of assessing your current processes as a gateway to the effective adoption of additive manufacturing solutions.
Understanding the Current Process
The first step in any significant change is understanding where you currently stand. Conducting a comprehensive assessment of your existing processes provides a clear picture of your manufacturing operations. This includes evaluating your production methods, supply chain, workforce capabilities, and overall business objectives. By gaining a deep understanding of your current state, you can identify areas where additive manufacturing can bring the most value and pinpoint potential challenges that need to be addressed.
Identifying Inefficiencies the Current Process
Every manufacturing process has its inefficiencies, whether it’s excessive material waste, long lead times, or high production costs. Assessing your current processes allows you to identify these inefficiencies and determine how additive manufacturing can help mitigate them. For instance, if your production involves a lot of material wastage due to subtractive methods, Additive Manufacturing’s layer-by-layer approach can significantly reduce waste. Similarly, if long lead times are a bottleneck, the rapid prototyping capabilities can speed up your production cycles.
Evaluating Cost-Benefit Ratio
Implementing additive manufacturing technologies requires an investment in equipment, training, and potentially reengineering your production workflows. By assessing your current processes, you can conduct a cost-benefit analysis to determine the financial viability of adopting Additive Manufacturing. This involves comparing the costs associated with traditional manufacturing methods against the potential savings and added value that it can bring. Factors such as reduced material costs, lower inventory requirements, and increased production efficiency should be considered in this analysis. Companies have seen a 40% reduction in material costs and a 70% reduction in overall product costs by implementing these technologies only increasing their cost to benefit ratio!
Ensuring Compatibility with Existing Systems
One of the critical aspects of integrating additive manufacturing into your operations is ensuring compatibility with your existing systems. This includes your design software, production equipment, and supply chain processes. Assessing your current processes helps identify any gaps or incompatibilities that need to be addressed. For instance, you may need to upgrade your CAD software to support the complex designs enabled by AM or reconfigure your production floor to accommodate new 3D printing equipment. Ensuring seamless integration minimizes disruptions and maximizes the impact of your new manufacturing setup.
Workforce Training and Skill Development
Adopting additive manufacturing technologies often requires a shift in skill sets and knowledge within your workforce. This critical step of assessing your current processes includes evaluating the readiness and capabilities of your employees to work with AM technologies. Keeping in mind that 42% of companies state that the lack of expertise and understanding of AM technologies is the biggest barrier to its adoption, it’s crucial to identify skill gaps and develop a training plan. Equipping your workforce with the necessary knowledge and expertise is not just about a smooth transition, but it is also key to maximizing the benefits of AM. By investing in training and skill development, you’re not only setting the stage for a more effective integration but also empowering your employees to fully leverage the potential of additive manufacturing.
Aligning with Business Objectives
Every business has its unique set of objectives, whether it’s improving product quality, reducing costs, or increasing production speed. Assessing your current processes helps ensure that the adoption of additive manufacturing aligns with your overarching business goals. By understanding how AM can contribute to these objectives, you can develop a strategic implementation plan that maximizes its impact. For example, if your goal is to enhance product innovation, focus on how AM’s design flexibility can drive creative solutions. If cost reduction is a priority, emphasize the potential savings from reduced material waste and streamlined production processes.
Pilot Testing and Iterative Improvement
Before fully integrating additive manufacturing into your operations, it’s prudent to conduct pilot tests. These tests allow you to evaluate the performance of AM technologies in a controlled environment and identify any unforeseen challenges. By assessing your current processes, you can select appropriate pilot projects that provide valuable insights into the practical implications of AM. Pilot testing also offers an opportunity for iterative improvement, enabling you to refine your processes and address any issues before full-scale implementation.
Building a Robust Implementation Plan
A thorough assessment of your current processes provides the foundation for a robust implementation plan. This plan should outline the steps required to integrate additive manufacturing into your operations, including equipment acquisition, workforce training, process reengineering, and timeline management. By having a clear and detailed plan, you can ensure a systematic and organized transition to additive manufacturing, minimizing disruptions and maximizing the benefits.
Conclusion
The promise of additive manufacturing is undeniably compelling, offering a new era of innovation and efficiency in manufacturing. However, to truly harness its potential, it is essential to assess your current processes before diving into implementation. The assessment will provide a clear understanding of your existing operations, identify inefficiencies, evaluate the cost-benefit ratio, ensure compatibility with existing systems, and align with your business objectives. By taking this crucial step, you can pave the way for a successful transition to additive manufacturing, positioning your business at the forefront of technological innovation and operational excellence.
Embracing additive manufacturing is not just about adopting new technology; it’s about transforming your manufacturing processes to achieve greater efficiency, sustainability, and competitiveness. By assessing your current processes and planning strategically, you can unlock the full potential of additive manufacturing and drive your business toward a brighter, more innovative future.
In today’s competitive landscape, the drive toward sustainability has never been more crucial. Industries worldwide are actively pursuing innovative solutions to minimize their environmental impact, striving for sustainability, and ultimately achieving more efficient processes. Traditional manufacturing processes have historically caused issues connected to high fossil fuel consumption, energy usage, waste generation, and pollution, leaving industries searching for environmentally friendly production methods.
Additive Manufacturing (AM) is transforming this landscape by introducing a wave of sustainability benefits that significantly lessen the environmental impact while not compromising on quality and innovation.
Here’s how additive manufacturing is increasing sustainability:
Reduced Material Waste
In numerous industries, Additive Manufacturing has made substantial strides in reducing material waste in final parts by as much as 80%. Unlike traditional subtractive processes like machining and casting, which often result in significant material waste during production, Additive Manufacturing builds components layer by layer, utilizing only the necessary material for the part. This additive approach not only minimizes waste but also optimizes material usage, resulting in more efficient production and a reduced environmental impact.
Energy Efficiency
With manufacturing industries’ energy consumption making up 76% of the total usage, Additive Manufacturing shines as a more energy-efficient alternative to traditional manufacturing methods. By streamlining processes and minimizing the need for extensive machining and assembly, Additive Manufacturing lowers overall energy consumption during production.
Additionally, the ability to produce lightweight components through Additive Manufacturing offers significant benefits in sectors such as aerospace and automotive. Lightweight parts lead to improved fuel efficiency in vehicles and aircraft, as they require less energy to propel or lift off the ground. This reduction in weight not only lowers fuel consumption during operation but also contributes to lower emissions and overall environmental impact. By leveraging Additive Manufacturing to create lightweight components, industries can achieve substantial energy savings and contribute to a more sustainable future.
On-Demand Production
Additive Manufacturing revolutionizes the traditional production model by enabling on-demand manufacturing, leading to remarkable benefits for sustainability. This innovative approach significantly reduces the requirement for large inventories and the associated storage costs. By producing items only as needed, Additive Manufacturing eliminates wasted resources and minimizes the environmental impact of excess production.
Localized Production
Additive Manufacturing enables localized production, offering a key strategy to reduce the environmental impact of extensive global supply chains. By manufacturing parts closer to the point of use, companies can significantly lower transportation emissions and support local economies. This shift towards decentralized manufacturing not only reduces the carbon footprint associated with long-distance shipping but also enhances supply chain resilience. By fostering local production, businesses can mitigate environmental and economic risks linked to global disruptions, while promoting sustainability and supporting community growth.
Extended Product Life Cycle
Additive manufacturing facilitates the repair and maintenance of existing products, extending their life cycle. For instance, it can be used to produce spare parts or to repair damaged components, reducing the need to manufacture entirely new products. This capability is particularly valuable in sectors like aerospace, where maintaining and repairing high-value equipment can significantly reduce waste and resource consumption.
Innovative Design
The design freedom offered by Additive Manufacturing allows engineers to create more efficient and sustainable products. Complex geometries that optimize material usage and improve performance can be easily achieved with Additive Manufacturing. For example, lightweight lattice structures and internal cooling channels can be integrated into designs to enhance functionality and reduce material usage. This level of design innovation can lead to products that are not only better performing but also more environmentally friendly.
Materials Selection
The evolution of sustainable materials for Additive Manufacturing is progressing at a rapid pace, with researchers and companies exploring the use of recycled and bio-based materials in 3D printing. These eco-friendly materials not only decrease reliance on finite resources but also play a pivotal role in nurturing the circular economy. Through the utilization of sustainable materials, Additive Manufacturing fosters the recycling and reuse of resources, contributing to a more sustainable and environmentally conscious approach to production.
A Greener Future
Additive manufacturing can enhance companies’ sustainability initiatives by reducing material waste, enhancing energy efficiency, enabling on-demand and localized production, fostering innovative design, and more. It offers a pathway to more sustainable production in a variety of industries. As the technology continues to evolve, its potential to contribute to environmental sustainability will only grow, making it a key player in the green industrial revolution.
At EAC Additive, we are committed to helping companies implement additive manufacturing technology, enabling them to achieve environmentally friendly solutions that not only conserve money, resources, and time but also contribute to a sustainable future for all.
What is Additive Manufacturing
“Manufacturing” has been around for centuries. The basic definition, “the making of articles on a large scale using machinery” which is a good summary. There are myriad methods of manufacturing. Casting, sintering, machining, and molding are just a small sampling. With the advent of 3D printing, the term ‘Additive Manufacturing’ evolved as an umbrella to generally refer to all manufacturing methods that use 3D printing.
Additive Manufacturing (AM) is a relatively inexpensive process to implement. The equipment is straightforward, for the most part, and does not require the extensive resources of equipment that traditional (i.e. casting, sintering, machining, molding) require. The materials available to Additive Manufacturing are comprehensive and growing. These include everything from plastics to metals, with plastics being the largest substrate by far.
In addition, additive manufacturing offers not only innovative materials but also enhanced sustainability. By minimizing the amount of scrap generated, this manufacturing process contributes to a more sustainable approach. Unlike traditional manufacturing methods that often generate significant amounts of waste material, additive manufacturing builds objects layer by layer, utilizing only the necessary materials. This low cost of entry has made it possible to rapidly iterate product development. AM is so commonplace now that it’s easy to lose sight of what a major impact this has had on getting products to market.
What is 3D Printing
April 12, 1981, was the launch of STS-1 – the first Space Shuttle. That same year, Dr. Hideo Kodama invented the first 3D printing machine using a polymerized resin that could be laser-cured layer by layer. In 1984, Chuck Hull patented that technology as the first ‘Stereolithography Apparatus’ (SLA). Chuck would go on to found 3D Systems, today one of the leading SLA manufacturers in the world. In 1988, Scott Crump developed a plastic extrusion machine he called ‘Fused Deposition Modeling’ (FDM). His company, Stratasys, began selling FDM commercially in 1992. Back then, a 3D printer cost over $300k ($800k today).
3D Printing is a Commoditized Process
3D Printing has become a commoditized process that is accessible to anyone.
It’s that commoditization that equates the term ‘3D printing’ with a low-cost, hobbyist platform. Most implementations of these low-cost 3D printers in any commercial environment have little to no impact on overall business goals. It’s not uncommon to see a 3D printer sitting on the desk of a design engineer. It provides an easy way to manifest physical outputs to be used as a supplement to the development process.
However, when considering commercial applications that are a part of overall business strategies, these consumer-grade (sub $2000) printers lack the ability to conform to the rigorous processes companies require when developing manufactured (end-use) parts. For instance, there is much more to medical device products than the product itself. There are overarching FDA and ISO requirements, supply chain requirements, and process control requirements such as receiving and inspection that need to be applied to production equipment.
The machines need to go through a lengthy characterization process that includes manufacturing documentation, performance monitoring, and understanding service level agreements from the equipment vendor. This is not something you will be able to develop for a $200 3D printer purchased from Amazon.
While 3D printers find a great deal of utility as a tactical, point solution. There is a coming-of-age that requires more from this equipment in order to realize its true strategic potential. That’s where Additive Manufacturing comes in.
The Difference Between Additive Manufacturing and 3D Printing
To get a sense of the implications for industrial-grade Additive Manufacturing solutions, consider a company like Cargill. You can be forgiven if you do not know who Cargill is. They are the single, largest privately held corporation you’ve never heard of. They provide all the basic ingredients for the food you eat. You would be hard-pressed to not consume a Cargill product.
Given their great importance to the entire world’s food supply, it’s no surprise they employ rigorous controls to automate production. These controls are very expensive. However, their function is simple. One of their representatives was asked something along the lines of, “you realize that Arduino and Raspberry Pi can do all the stuff you guys are doing at a fraction of the cost.” They agreed. Then replied, “sure, but if one of those devices fails and people die, who’s liable?”
Implementing a manufacturing solution is much less about the technology and more about mitigating risk while having a positive outcome on business goals. Bringing 3D printing into the business ecosystem as a strategic solution is the defining characteristic of Additive Manufacturing. 3D printing is a component of Additive Manufacturing.
As a solution provider, the team at EAC is more interested in the broader implications of Additive Manufacturing. We have decades of experience in the design, development, and implementation of products. This gives us a unique perspective with the ability to understand how Additive Manufacturing fits within our already extensive offering. It is a natural extension of development.
Why Should I Implement Additive Manufacturing
A ‘paradigm shift’ is defined as “a fundamental change in approach or underlying assumptions.” We have seen several paradigm shifts in the last 50 years. Mobile phones weren’t much of a paradigm shift when they were introduced in the 70s. They were exclusive to the few who could afford them. The infrastructure did not exist to make them ubiquitous. While that quickly changed in the 90s, it wasn’t until phones took on many other tasks beyond being a phone with the advent of the iPhone. That device ushered in a major paradigm shift that we are currently experiencing.
Manufacturing is currently experiencing a paradigm shift. We are still in the early stages. The early stage of a paradigm shift is characterized by creativity, confusion, and ‘solution saturation’. Additive Manufacturing is a major component of that paradigm shift. With over 2000 manufacturers of Additive Manufacturing equipment, it can be daunting to figure out what direction to take when implementing an AM solution (or whether implementing AM even makes sense). It begs the question, “why bother?”. For many manufacturers, this is uncharted territory.
Computer Numerically Controlled (CNC)
As a manufacturer, you will not want to carry the overhead of managing an entire Computer Numerically Controlled (CNC) machining floor or invest in a room full of injection molding equipment. The specialized nature of this equipment requires extensive resources and expertise that impacts the bottom line of your retail sales of vacuum cleaners. As a result, it has been a tradition to outsource the fabrication of components to providers who perform these specialized operations. While this is cost-effective, there are other considerations such as lead times and quality control that manufacturers have to contend with. This is especially challenging when developing new products as it is difficult to have design iterations using these traditional providers. The time and expense of creating tooling for products that may not work is not practical.
This desire to quickly iterate through a design is what has driven the implementation of 3D printers in manufacturing environments. 3D printing was used as a bridge to a final product that was machined or injection molded. While this is a very useful process for development, there’s still a gap between the iterative prototyping phase and the final production phase. Unfortunately, that gap can be quite costly when the final product does not conform to the results of the 3D printed prototyped product.
3D printing was relegated to this stage in development for a number of reasons. From an aesthetic standpoint, 3D printing left a lot to be desired. For FFF (Fused Filament Fabrication – remember, the term ‘FDM’ is owned by Stratasys), the stair-stepping of layer lines is apparent. Resin-based printers are capable of very smooth surface finish but there are often artifacts left behind due to support structures. SLS does not have to worry about support, but the surface finish is described as ‘grainy’, and highly detailed features are difficult.
3D Printed Parts and Isotropy
In addition to that, 3D printed parts exhibit poor isotropy. Meaning they do not perform the same across all axes of the part. FFF parts in particular have less strength in the z direction than in the x and y direction. SLA, on the other hand, has 100% isotropy, yet resins have not demonstrated the same kinds of strength that traditionally manufactured parts exhibit.
Now, as this paradigm shift picks up speed, all of that is changing. Especially in regards to SLA and SLS. There are SLA resins that can create incredibly strong structures from silicone to polyurethane. For SLS, new postprocessing equipment is capable of reducing or even eliminating the graininess of powder-based prints. The implications of this are enormous. It means that design iterations can be performed using the same equipment and materials that are used for final production parts.
With the relatively low cost of entry and skill requirements, AM equipment can be reasonably implemented within the walls of final production. Lead times for production parts can now be a matter of days (or even hours) rather than months. The lack of tooling (AM is often referred to as ‘tool-less’ manufacturing), eliminates major costs. One major aspect of AM is the fact that each part can be unique. Not only does this mean each part can be personalized. It also means that changes can be implemented with no impact on production (other than appropriately documenting the change).
How EAC Additive Can Help
EAC Additive is your go-to partner for all things Additive Manufacturing from hardware to consumables, and even services. While there are many AM providers in the industry, our company that’s been providing engineering solutions for over 27 years, EAC has the expertise in all aspects of manufacturing that companies require in order to be successful. We understand the implications that AM has on product development, quality assurance, supply chain, and production.
To that end, EAC offers the AM Assessment, which is a comprehensive analysis of your company’s current state of utilizing Additive Manufacturing, and then gives you a roadmap and actionable steps to improve and integrate this innovative technology into your operations.
