Vickerstock looks at the effects of 3D printing on Industry
Although the current level of high-value engineering, 3D printing is on course to change the way we make things & revolutionise industry in the not so far off future.
3D printing is defined as being
1. a process for making a physical object from a three-dimensional digital model, typically by laying down many successive thin layers of a material.
We can all recognise the benefits and advantages in industry that 3D printing has brought about since it began to really gain traction & popularity from 2009 onwards, when the first commercially available 3D printer was offered for sale.
While the kind of 3D printers available on the high street print using plastics or resins, in industry the techniques are far more advanced, using lasers to melt powdered metal and ceramics into ultra-thin layers which are built up to create finished products.
The technology has existed since the 1980’s, back when it was referred to as rapid prototyping technology and used as a faster, more cost-effective way of creating prototypes for product development within industry, since then many global companies have been investigating & utilising the technology, but it is only lately that there has been a surge in its use throughout industry & its implementation from being a device to create a prototype to being a solution to creating an end product.
It is estimated that the worldwide 3D printing industry is expected to grow to £8.2 billion by 2018, and exceed £13.5 billion in worldwide revenue by 2020. As it continuously evolves, 3D printing technology is destined to transform almost every major industry and change the way we live, work, and play in the future.
In the UK & Ireland, the technology is making a big impact in high end manufacturing, a sector we specialise in with aerospace, automotive, medical devices & manufacturing sectors really beginning to embrace its advantages.
Rolls Royce for example is preparing to flight test one of its jet engines later this year fitted with a 1.5m diameter, 0.5m thick component built using ALM (additive laser manufacturing) a technique of 3D printing. The component is a titanium bearing structure for one of the company’s XWB engines which houses 48 titanium aerofoils.
Rolls has been investigating the technology for over two decades and has used it to repair components for the past five years.
The advantages range widely and the process allows for innovation in design with the way components and structures are developed, shapes & parts that can’t be made by any other method can be manufactured easily.
The process by nature is additive, not subtractive which means that only the necessary material needed is used. In the aerospace sector this is an enormous benefit as it reduces wastage with the high cost of metals that are used. It reduces the weight of components and in a sector where lightness is a key to efficiency, 3D printing has made a home for itself where the high costs involved, fine precise details & low volume is the norm.
Rolls Royce estimated that using 3D printing processes cut the development time for producing the bearing for the Trent XWB-97 engine by 30%.
In the Aerospace sector we can see that in the now & immediate future the focus for 3D printing is on weight reduction & niche, low volume parts. In the future it is likely that this will move onto printing entire aircraft wings and will most definitely have an application in space exploration, several companies are already investigating this. One day it is assumed we will have entire aircraft structures being printed. In defence, the future scenarios will likely be around printing directly on the battlefield, & the US military is already investigating the possibility of this and self-healing vehicles.
Other high value, lower volume sectors that seem tailored for 3D printing include the automotive sector, specifically motor-racing where high performance engineering is standard practice. Some of the parts being made by 3D printing and by a technique referred to as SLS (selective laser sintering) are exhaust manifolds, spindles, camshafts, valves, ducts, air intakes, covers, dashboards, an ever increasing list is being populated of parts that are being manufactured this way.
By substituting expensive and lead-time critical CNC-milled parts with in-house 3D printed parts, production costs are dramatically reduced. Printed parts also perform better technically, they weigh less, and are well suited for the production of complex bodies that, when using conventional metal-cutting processes, are very difficult and costly to produce.
Sometimes using CAD models alone is not as effective at finding design problems as a 3D printed physical part, you can easily identify a component issue that may have been missed in the initial design stage.
Also ramping up use of 3D printed parts are the very high end motor companies that are using 3D printing for the customisation that comes with bespoke models, Jaguar Land Rover are using a form of 3D printer with multi-material capability, which combines two different materials and draws on their best attributes to deliver superior parts.
Developing and creating new parts is sped up with 3D printing, it eliminates the need to create specialised tooling & designs can be altered right up to the moment the print button is activated.
In a more high-profile project, Renishaw is a company producing parts able to withstand the supersonic speeds and stresses they will be subjected to on the Bloodhound supersonic rocket car which will attempt to break the current land speed record of 763mph in the South African Desert in an attempt later this year and in 2016
Right now in the automotive sector, design & prototyping, aftermarket customisation, vehicle restoration and light weight specialist components are all being developed with 3D printing, this will move on in the future to more innovative & creative vehicle designs.
Within the manufacturing sector 3D printing is set to disrupt the manufacturing process, from design and development, to production.
We can easily identify the usefulness of 3D printing as a process and how it can impact the way we produce a product, if you use the technology, you will simply be able to go to market faster.
It has the potential to shrink supply chains, save product development times and increase customisation offerings to a changing customer base with expectations that products be tailored to their preferences and needs.
Essentially 3D printing has already arrived on the factory.
Within the sector, rapid prototyping, product design and low volume specialist manufacturing already exist and takes place. In the not so distant future it is likely that more new and innovative products will appear with printed components. 3D printing will coexist with traditional manufacturing and the task of retooling & reskilling will take place. Factories in the traditional sense will not disappear entirely but ultimately, they will change, a time will come when rows of 3D printers will fill the factory floor.
3D printing is also an energy-efficient & highly sustainable technology that can provide environmental efficiencies in terms of both the manufacturing process itself, utilising up to 90% of standard materials, and, therefore, creating less waste, but also throughout an additively manufactured product’s operating life, by way of a lighter and stronger design that imposes a reduced carbon footprint compared with traditionally manufactured products.
Furthermore, 3D printing is showing great promise in terms of fulfilling local manufacturing models, whereby products are produced on demand in the place where they are needed, eliminating huge inventories and unsustainable logistics for shipping high volumes of products around the world.
Traditional manufacturing processes will have to evolve to avoid being left behind or dying out completely. Being agile will no longer be a competitive advantage in the marketplace, it will be a necessity to stay in business.
The new world of manufacturing will see many new factors introduced over the next ten years.
Instead of having a large warehouse full of manufactured parts, you can simply print off how-ever many parts from a computer programme and they will be created there and then for you. You can instantly supply to your demands.
Whereas traditional methods go through many stage from idea/design to prototype, manufacture, assembly, distribution, warehousing, retail to the end user with transport in-between, 3D printing effectively makes it possible to go from idea/design straight to end user.
From the printing of jet engine parts to vehicle components and even food, the technology is being hailed as a revolution in how more and more products will be developed, produced and even sold.
Manufacturers, from small job shops to multinational industrial firms are crossing the threshold from tinkering with prototypes to the production of final products.
Rather than revolutionising manufacturing, hopefully 3d printing isn’t destroying it.
We have already seen many firsts, the first 3D printed bike by the European Aerospace & Defence group made from nylon is strong enough to replace its steel & aluminum counterpart. The first 3D printed car title goes to the Urbee vehicle made from additive manufacturing.
But 3D printing is moving well beyond making plastic objects, or even rapid industrial prototyping. Today 3D printers can not only handle materials ranging from titanium to human cartilage but also produce fully functional components, including complex mechanisms, batteries, transistors, and LEDs. Recently in china a company has been able to print 10 house structures within 24 hours. We have seen massive leaps and bounds considering that 3D printing is still considered in its infancy.
From another aspect of life we have recently seen that a young schoolboy was this first recipient of a 3d printed hand in Ireland. This has made a life changing impact on the young boy’s life and the designer of the hand created it specifically for him, right down to his preferred colour scheme. This was put into motion by a charity that matches an individual’s needs with an independent designer who can create a 3D printed solution for a disability similar to this boys. The medical sector has huge potential for the use of 3D printed products, from specific designed casts to nano injections. 3D printing is making its mark as it reshapes product development and manufacturing and turns individuals, small businesses and corporate departments into “makers.”
And while many challenges remain, such as the costs and variety of materials, constraints around high volume production and intellectual property agreements. Institutions, governments and multinational corporations are investing billions in the technology that many agree is powering the third industrial revolution, one where technology has developed to the point where we are rethinking the industry. It is opening up manufacturing to the whole world, where everyone can participate in the process.
Who would have thought that modern manufacturing could be done without a factory? Since the second Industrial Revolution in the mid-19th century, manufacturing has been synonymous with factories, machined tools, production lines and economies of scale. So it is startling to think about manufacturing without tooling, assembly lines or supply chains.
However, that is what is emerging as the future of 3D printing services takes hold. The trends are already visible and starting to take shape. The techniques are in place and the technology is ever developing and evolving to cater for more and more processes which we can see the benefits of and its essentiality in industry & future endeavors.
So is 3D printing really the 3rd industrial revolution? It might not be entirely clear yet if it is the only individual factor, but it is definitely a primary driving force behind it.