3D Printing in Manufacturing

David, a world-renowned masterpiece, stands 17ft tall and weighs 60tons. It is carved from a single marble block without adding other pieces. You find an extraordinary detailing of human anatomy. After about 3 years (1501-04) of chiseling, Michelangelo set David free from the stone. In his own words, “I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set it free”.

For more than a century, Industry has known this methodology as ‘subtractive manufacturing’. CNC machines, lathes have chipped away the excess from blocks of metal to manufacture the desired ‘machined parts’.

In contrast, 3D printing is about adding material to make the end part.

3D printing is popular term for a technically accurate synonym ‘Additive Manufacturing (AM)'. Over the past few decades, AM has been simplifying manufacturing supply chains.

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What is 3D Printing/ AM (Additive Manufacturing)?

AM is one of the most promising emerging digital technologies. We discussed 5 of them in my recent article 'Future of Manufacturing in India: Reclaiming the Glory of our past!'

Using AM, we manufacture 3D objects by adding materials layer-by-layer through a computer-controlled process. The material here could be powders, plastics and/or resins, basis the desired use case of the part.

At the core of the technology is a polymer system with a variety of options. Most popular are: a. Laser firing into resin and subsequent curing by UV light, b. Poly jets of resins, c. DLP (Digital light projector) and d. FDM (Fuse Deposition Modeling). ?All of these are driven by CAD (computer aided design) systems, building the part layer by layer.

AM provides immense Design freedom, as the constraints of traditional manufacturing methods are not applicable.

AM also helps in Rapid prototyping, thereby enhancing speed to market.

With no sunk cost of tooling, one can even allot job work to any one of the qualified suppliers through a simple email attachment of part-design!

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Evolution of Additive Manufacturing (AM)?

AM technology was invented in early ‘80s. Widespread knowledge and usage was limited due to the patents that were filed between 1981-1988. Despite the high costs, it was economically viable in few select industries in 1990’s as well…and we will soon find out why.

In 2009, the patent for FDM(Fuse Deposition Modeling) expired. 3D printing machine prices dropped by 90% to $1,000. This indeed opened the market to a lot of new users.

Before the pandemic, we took for granted the availability of the right product at the right time. However, during the crisis, we saw that non-availability of critical parts led to production stalling. We realized that lowest cost sourcing was not good enough; we need parts all the time and sometimes expedited deliveries also.

During the pandemic, 3D printers provided a Plan B to ensure quick response for parts demand; especially noteworthy were the medical components supply for ventilators.

AM would have definitely reached higher adoption eventually, the pandemic accelerated it!

AM market is projected to be $20bn in 2025. Please note that the growth will be gradual, unlike smartphones that doubled every year in early launch phase.

The hype of “3D printers in every home” is not happening anytime soon. At the same time, we do see remarkable adoption in Industrial 3D printing.

?Comparison with traditional manufacturing methods.

# in case of AM, material is fed directly into the machine.

*Heat generation, use of coolants, wastage of chipped material in CNC. Whereas the ability to reuse resins makes AM more sustainable.

While the unit cost of manufacturing is higher for AM, we find 3 unique advantages:

1. Reduced 'cost of complexity': AM provides a freedom of design to engineers. We can manufacture very complex designs at a lower cost, which was not possible earlier.
2. Reduced 'cost of variety': Each unit can be customized/ personalized. There is no constraint of pre-set die or tooling’s.
3. Short time to market: AM provides the option for rapid prototyping, thus providing competitive advantage to users.

Use cases basis above distinctive advantages

• Reduction in MRO (spares) inventory. Currently high inventory of spares is held as OEM suppliers are far away or have stopped production all together. AM is not the cheapest, but it can help the machines running till regular parts supply arrives.
• Agility: Delays often cause huge costs, in the form of stalled production. 3D- printing the part in neighborhood would help respond quickly. The reduction in logistics costs is an added benefit. Lesser miles traveled (fuel emission) is good for sustainability too.
• Ability to manufacture at short notice helps build Supply Chain resilience.
• Better quality (first time right) reduces the overall cost of production. AM does not require similar rigorous quality control checks.
• Improved productivity and yield: We have observed that 3D printed sand molds allow for better metal flows, reducing the overall weight and processing wastage.

Early phase use cases: F1 racing car manufacturers were early adopters. Special wing designs for aerodynamics were not possible through traditional manufacturing.

AM has been used for prototyping and trial parts. AM has also been popular for manufacturing complex tooling’s, jigs and fixtures.

In addition to above, we NOW find application of AM in manufacturing ‘end use parts’ also.

A turbine fuel nozzle that traditionally was an assembly of 17 different parts is now made as one-piece using AM.

Oil and gas industry holds billions of dollars worth spare parts. These are needed in remote locations on ground and sea. *ConocoPhillips has partnered with AM suppliers closer to drilling locations, thus ensuring speedy availability of spares while holding lower spares stock.

Defense forces have found important use cases scenarios with soldiers and equipment safety at stake. Most times, parts cannot reach quickly to difficult geographies (land and sea) and 3D-printing parts is a welcome option.

Space stations: Spacecrafts would not need to carry all the spares. “3D print when required, and melt-reuse what is not required!”

Medical applications have been encouraging. There is increasing demand for personalized parts for dental implants, hearing aids, eyewear, cardiovascular, hip replacement, craniomaxillofacial (CMF) applications.

IIT-M recently partnered with ZorioX to develop 3d-printed face implants for patients suffering from Black Fungus. More than 50 implants have already been done for EWS (economically weaker section) persons.

This is a harbinger of large scale adoption of industrial 3-D printing.

Do share your feedback below. Let me know which Supply Chain topic/issue you would like me to cover next.

… Let’s Unravel our Tessellations!

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All views expressed in this article are my own and do not represent the opinions of any entity whatsoever with which I have been, am now, or will be affiliated.