Manufacturers are currently being presented with a veritable smorgasbord of emerging technologies which have the potential for real business impact within their organisations. While many of these require significant investment and dedicated, specialist skills to deploy, others can be rolled out relatively quickly and cheaply.
One such technology is additive manufacturing, or 3D printing. Of course, the technology is nothing new and has been used within industrial processes for some time. However, as the technology is evolving, so too is its potential applications within a manufacturing environment. The Manufacturer paid a visit to CREAT3D’s HQ near Reading to find out more.
There are three elements to the CREAT3D business; the first is as a reseller of 3D printers, working with companies to help increase the understanding of where additive can be applied. The company provides printers along with technical support and applications engineering to make sure the end user is utilising the printers for maximum impact on the business.
The second pillar of the business is a 3D print bureau. “It’s not always right for businesses to actually adopt additive manufacturing in-house,” said Simon Chandler, Managing Director, CREAT3D. “On some occasions it’s more appropriate that we do the printing for them. Within that we have a whole host of different materials available on our online bureau we call layerparts.com.”
The third and final element of the business is focused on engineering services; helping customers with digitisation of parts, redesign for additive, scaling operations and education of staff members. Simon added: “We want to raise the overall awareness and education level within our customers of how additive can be used.”
CREAT3D’s customers are mainly in the engineering and manufacturing space and include SMEs all the way up to multinationals. As truly multifunction devices, Simon explained that the devices are now being used in a variety of ways.
“Within the printers that we offer, there is a huge range of different materials, from powders, covering things like nylon or TPU, through to basic prototyping resins and glassfilled materials for injection mould tools. We have specialist resins that provide capabilities such as high temperature resistance, ESD safety, flame retardance and self-extinguishing. There is also carbon fibre composites which are used for a lot of tooling, jigs and fixtures etc that support current production methods. There are also metal options as well.
“Therefore, within our customer base it’s important we understand where businesses can see improvements through the use of additive. As a common theme, that’s usually within the low volume, high value areas; the UK does this really well making additive a perfect fit.”
Key trends shaping the additive manufacturing landscape
Simon explained that there are currently three key drivers impacting the business. Unsurprisingly, as supply chains have either broken or slowed down due to a variety of geopolitical instabilities, many manufacturers have been looking more closely at onshoring or near shoring of parts, and bringing supply closer to the UK.
The second area is sustainability. “For a long time the UK has operated on a model whereby parts and components have been produced in the Far East,” added Simon. “They are then shipped to the UK, put into warehouses, distributed across the country and stored in inventory. However, in a lot of instances, those components never actually get used. If demand isn’t there, or design parameters change, it can lead to a lot of components becoming obsolete and ending up in landfill. This whole model is terrible.”
He added that while this approach may suit manufacturing which is high volume, low value, a lot of CREAT3D’s customers are now adhering to high minimum order quantities, not to mention the changing needs of consumers. This means that the design of a component today may not be appropriate in 12 months’ time. Not only that but if a company has paid to have a product produced, shipped in huge quantity and then stored, it can be very costly if that design changes further down the line – not only is this bad for the environment, but it is also damaging for business and the UK economy.
The third trend is the acceleration of change within the consumer marketplace, which is driving the need for more flexibility within the UK’s engineering and manufacturing companies. These three trends of localising supply chains, sustainability and changing consumer/customer demand play perfectly into the wheelhouse of additive manufacturing and the technology’s capabilities.
Key benefits of additive manufacturing for manufacturing businesses
Traditionally, when the use of 3D printing within a manufacturing environment was mentioned, thoughts would immediately turn to prototyping; and for good reason. When the technology first emerged as a feasible industrial tool, prototyping was a natural fit as new products and components could be designed, produced and tested relatively quickly.
“When it comes to additive, this is what companies are fairly comfortable with,” Simon added. “However, the truth is that utilisation within UK companies is still relatively low. There are many areas where product could be iterated a lot faster and cheaper if 3D printing was embraced fully.”
In addition, 3D printing has long moved beyond the realm of prototyping and can now add real value in terms of supporting current production methods i.e., jigs, fixtures, tooling; improving rather than changing how manufacturers operate. And it’s here where many CREAT3D customers are seeing the most significant gains.
“We’re talking double digits in some cases,” Simon added. “90% plus savings on the cost of production and time. In addition, our industry is now in the early stages of 3D printing larger batches of end use components.”
Within end part production, additive is helping companies who are suffering from component sourcing caused by supply chain problems, but it’s also helping companies who want to launch new products, but at a much lower risk.
So, rather than significantly investing in injection mould tools, for example, manufacturers are now able to launch products with 3D printed components inside, enabling those businesses to evolve the design and iterate as they receive customer feedback, de-risking the whole operation.
What barriers to entry still exist?
In terms of ROI on any investment, additive manufacturing may seem like the ultimate no-brainer. However, the reality is that many organisations simply do not have enough knowledge of the technology in-house to cash in. Simon explained that often a young graduate engineer who has just joined the company, may be given the task of commissioning a 3D printer because they may have used one at university; and as such are considered the company expert.
“However, it should be a director level topic,” he added. “We work to help those individuals understand the technology. At the very least this gives them a basis for comparison, so they can start putting the building blocks in place. There’s no doubt that the UK needs a greater overall awareness and knowledge of this technology and the impact that it can have within UK manufacturing.”
Alongside the knowledge issue there is also time. Manufacturers, particularly SMEs, are often time poor and investigating a new technology and looking at its potential applications within the business can take up a lot of resources that often the business does not have. The irony however, is that a key benefit that additive manufacturing can give to a business is time itself.
“People just aren’t fully aware of the capabilities of the technology,” said Sabina Gonzalez-George, CREAT3D’s Marketing Director. “However, there’s a lot of very quick wins; behind the scenes applications that make assembly easier, production faster, replacement of components cheaper, and products longer-lasting. And change can be made quickly, easily and you can see return on investment immediately.”
Furthermore, she added that once a manufacturer starts with those applications, it’s often only a matter of time before more come to light, as understanding around the technology’s capabilities increases. The 3D printer then becomes just another tool in the box of an engineer, and an option to solve more problems.
“Historically our industry has done a very bad job,” Simon continued. “There was huge hype when the technology first arrived with some extravagant claims being made; 3D printers were being portrayed as wonder devices that could print anything. Those claims did a huge amount of damage, because that’s obviously not the case.”
He explained that 3D printers do have limitations and need to be used for the right job in the right instance. To this end CREAT3D has made it part of its ethos to cut through the hype that still exists. Its showroom in Reading is equipped with all the necessary technology which customers can see in action, test proof of concepts and look at how the equipment performs.
What’s the cost vs. ROI?
Because the technology often opens the door to more solutions (beyond its original deployment), return on investment is relatively swift. While manufacturers are looking at an ROI of around three to five years for most emerging technology, CREAT3D estimate three to six months.
However, even that is a conservative estimate. The company works with its customers to identify one application where additive could have the biggest impact. However, as soon as the tool is placed in the hands of talented engineers, the tech’s capabilities are laid bare and those engineers will often then present solutions to problems that hadn’t previously been considered.
As such, the initial ROI for 3D printing often gets brought forward massively as additional applications for the technology are discovered.
“As an example, we’ve worked with an endurance racing team called Jota Sport,” Simon continued. “They had an issue when a new piece of regulation stipulated that all teams were required to have a camera system installed above their pit lane.
“Jota purchased a printer from us, designed, developed and produced a camera system, which they installed in their pit. However, they immediately realised they weren’t the only ones experiencing the same problem. So, they went to market with their system and got payback on their machine from one application. We constantly see examples like this across the board.”
CASE STUDY
A global manufacturer of safety and security door solutions has been at the forefront of digitising their production. Since adopting additive manufacturing a few years ago, the company has proved out the technology and is now starting to invest and roll it out across other areas of the business.
One of the classic cases for the business was a component that was required for a lock. This was a project undertaken by the company a few decades ago. Spare parts were required, but the quantity and the frequency of the spare parts were very low.
However, the minimum order quantity that had to be adhered to would mean approximately five years’ worth of stock sat in inventory. The company took a completely different approach, where the component was reiterated and then the design stored in the cloud. Whenever a customer needs a component, it’s printed on demand and then sent out.
This means there is no more stock holding or cash tied up in inventory. There is also a far lower environmental impact as there is no longer components being manufactured which might actually never go into use.
“We typically find that once a company deploys a 3D printer, the applications for use then spiral,” said Sabina. “For example, LISI Aerospace initially bought and rolled out in-house printers for prototyping. However, they then developed the technology to produce tooling, jigs and fixtures to assist in assembly in the production line.
“Once the company had its 3D printer in operation, the company discovered a process where a particular fastener was being damaged, resulting in thousands of pounds worth of scrappage every year. As a solution, the company 3D printed a component which cost around a penny to produce, replacing the original stainless steel version.
As a result of this small change, the company saved thousands of pounds a year just in scrap alone; which is normally a hidden cost and not something that stands out as a reason to invest in technology.
How to get started
Simon commented that the first port of call for manufacturers wanting to get started with 3D printing is a simple conversation. The technology is not for everyone so it’s important that CREAT3D can visit any prospective customer site to understand more about the business and the challenges it’s facing. The company will then make suggestions and offer some examples where other similar businesses are already using the technology.
“Give us an hour,” said Sabina. “Whether that is here at our site, we come to you, or we meet at one of our workshops or big trade shows like Smart Manufacturing Week. Come and see us, because we just want to get the conversation started.
“From there we can narrow down how and indeed if, the technology fits with what you’re trying to achieve, and what applications it will work with. We can then help with the business case and your return on investment.”
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