Machine manufacturers are always striving to improve their machines and increase the efficiency of their production. Selling 100 to 500 machines a year is common, therefore setup cost are often high. Inventory cost are increasing and depreciated goods are high.
3D printing / Additive Manufacturing helps machine builders to decrease cost by consolidating entire assemblies into 1 part, by keeping a digital inventory instead of a physical and by quickly iterating on internal tooling to increase efficiency.
Time saving
Reducing lead time in many applications in the industrial sector is crucial. With the development of the additive manufacturing technology so was the usage of 3D printing was growing for machinery and one of the basic reasons for it is saving lead time. Sculteo in 2018 reported that 52% of the industrial goods favor 3D printing the most from its ability to reduce lead times, but now we expect that number to be even higher.
The time saving can come from different usage of 3D printing, either that is for using it instead of complex long processes like casting and molding for producing smaller quantities of parts, or by integrating several parts in a design and removing the need of assembly, or for using it instead of CNC machining so the long cycle of machining and sourcing are eliminated. However the case is by saving the time, also the cost of the part is reduced and furthermore additional advantages are arising. Many companies nowadays are using 3D printing for on-demand production of their parts and by that they are also optimizing the supply chain efficiency. Moreover, additive manufacturing can insure the ease of assembling and cleaning of the components.
Benefits:
(Photo credit: www.new.abb.com)
Recommended AM technologies:
(Engineering plastics)
(Engineering plastics)
(Metals)
(Plastic, metal, sand casted parts)
Spare parts
In the industrial industry and machinery the need to have spare parts for certain applications is unavoidable. The spare parts are required for easy replacement of broken or malfunctioning parts and having them replaced quickly is crucial for many industries. For years, stocks of full inventory which is well organized ensures the material handling system experience at maximum efficiency and smooth runs. However, as in many cases additive manufacturing is reinventing these necessities. With its opportunity of producing spare parts in a quick affordable way the need of full inventory of parts being stock for years is reduced. With on-demand 3D printing, the industrial manufacturing can skip the whole costly storage of lower demand parts by only producing them when needed.
Benefits:
Recommended AM technologies:
(Plastics, engineering plastics)
(engineering plastics)
(engineering plastics)
(Carbon reinforced materials)
(Metals)
Tooling, Jigs and Fixtures
Being able to iterate fast on improving tools in a production creates endless opportunities. It enables the production team to come up with ideas and test it the next day. It also gives OEMs the chance to provide a digital tool library included with their machines. This way OEMs can support existing customers to improve their production process and stay in close contact after installing the machine.
Benefits:
Recommended AM technologies:
(Plastics, engineering plastics)
(engineering plastics)
(engineering plastics)
Complex, lightweight components
Weight reduction of moving parts is one of the main advantages 3D printing has to offer. Reducing weight for the machinery industry results in faster moving machine with less vibration, resulting in more output. By using smart software to generate designs based on FEM analyses the design is strong enough for the functionality and as lightweight as possible. Parts can be printed both metal and high performance plastics. If needed quality control can be performed by 3D scanning or X-ray.
Benefits:
Recommended AM technologies:
(Plastics, engineering plastics)
(engineering plastics)
(engineering plastics)
(Metal, sand casted parts)
(XL Metal)
Customized parts
At the base of producing a 3D print is always a 3D design. This creates the opportunity to make minor adjustments to the design to tailor it to the customers needs. Customization of 3D printed parts for machinery is often used to produce specific connectors, brackets, filters and highly specialized parts.
Benefits:
Recommended AM technologies:
(Plastics, engineering plastics, metal with binder)
(engineering plastics)
(engineering plastics)
(Carbon reinforced materials)
