Top-5 Biggest Issues of On-Demand Manufacturing. Part 1
On the frontline of the fourth industrial revolution, additive manufacturing (AM) holds its position, allowing to create all kinds of three-dimensional objects with plastic, metal, ceramics and other materials. Over the last few years, 3D printing and CNC manufacturing have been flourishing, making companies move in the brand new directions. From medical and energy to automobile and aerospace industries, additive manufacturing has been gaining the momentum as the world saw the value and potential of the new technologies.
According to Wohlers Report 2018, the global share of AM products and services increased by 21% in 2017, amounting to $7.336 billion, which included investments from hundreds of companies — big and small ones. An amazing number of companies are now investing in AM research and development. By 2025, the global market for 3D printing and services is expected to grow to almost 50 billion dollars.
The benefits of 3D printing are undeniable: single-step process, reduced lead time, freedom in design and complexity, timely inventory, out-of-the-box personalized solutions, less waste… It may seem that all this should make every entrepreneur want it right now. But in reality, it doesn’t happen. Why? Because there are certain challenges that are keeping additive manufacturing from the ubiquitous adoption. In spite of all these inspiring figures and facts, companies are still not sure how to apply these technologies to their businesses. Below are the top-5 challenges faced by startuppers and entrepreneurs working in the industry.
1. Cost of equipment and materials
While printing process with plastic materials involved is quite budget-friendly, metal printing equipment may cost dozens of thousands of dollars. High-end AM machinery can cost from $300,000 to $1.5 million, and materials may cost from $100 to $150 per pound. Moreover, the manufacturing process is not fast: modern metal printers can only grow 5 to 40 cm of material per hour.
Thus, companies should find solid reasons for choosing the new technology over traditional processes and equipment, like milling or injection-molding machines. First, the companies, which are involved in on-demand manufacturing and which introduce new hardware projects to the market, need to develop their strategy based on the analysis of their supply chains. It may be reasonable to try working with an external provider that facilitates the process of getting a 3D product.
Shams Syed, CTO at ZVerse, Inc. and the principal architect of the LAYR, a proprietary 3D printing content creation and automation platform, says,
‘The major problem in on-demand manufacturing is that it’s a complex process involving multidisciplinary expertise to be able to produce anything. 3D printers work with 3D models. So if you don’t have a 3D model you can’t do anything with 3D printing. Unlike Word or Excel, not many people can use 3D design applications such as 3D Studio MAX or Maya, or 3D CAD software like SolidWorks or Inventor. That’s where expert 3D designers and engineers come and create a 3D printable model from technical drawing or concept. Once you have a 3D file you can go to any 3D printing hub and get it printed in any material or size you want.
But what if you don’t have a 3D file, don’t know what it is or how to create it, don’t have access to expansive 3D printers and 3D design applications? What if you just have a concept and want to make it a reality? That’s where LAYR platform comes in, solving all the 3D modeling and printing challenges. The platform offers you the access to all the resources that you need to realize just a concept into an actual 3D printed object. The platform utilizes machine learning to identify and predict the cost of 3D part design and is able to provide instant quotes. The process is organized through all the stages starting from the single point of contact and finishing with a shipment of the final product.’
One should also remember that AM manufacturing is a long-range investment. The situation in the market can’t change at the drop of the hat. Another startupper we had a conversation with –Vasily Hurynovich, Head Designer & Co-Founder at VOLUMATIK MEDIA FZ-LLC, — explained,
‘The high price is to a large extent conditioned by printing monopolists’ actions that hamper the competition and don’t let the prices go down. Well, the prices for plastic have already dropped, but this material is far from the perfection on various parameters. What should be done now globally is to make all this process cheaper and bring it to the acceptable quality. With these issues resolved, on-demand manufacturing may become a truly widespread phenomenon.’
2. Insufficient in-house expertise
With on-demand manufacturing’s rapid development, a gap in the skills and knowledge occurred since there are not enough specialists who are able to work with the machines.
Eric Geboers, Co-Founder of CONCR3DE, says,
‘Costs etc. are of course a problem but in our sector (construction focused mainly) there is also a huge knowledge gap so companies find it difficult to integrate it into their existing processes. Basically, it’d require them to completely change the way they design and engineer.’
Hopefully, it is already changing, and new solutions, such as generative design, are appearing, which are aimed at bridging the gap between traditional CAD techniques and newer technologies.
Edgar Bolivar, CEO at Petricor, also expresses his lamentations:
‘First, the amount of people currently involved in automation and advanced manufacturing is too little, which brings about a shortage on all these solutions in question. Second, there is the lack of organization amongst individuals and the creation of barriers to entry for them first through the school system and then through the IP system. My personal view on IP is that it is the single thing (along with money) that has restricted the development or technological evolution of the human cultures. It cripples innovation and it’s a dream killer. So maybe money and patents worked at some point in the development of our societies, but now they could really use a revamp to adjust to the needs of a growing population.’
What can be done? If legislative regulation may be disputable by its nature, the issue of knowledge gap can be addressed right away. You can train your current employees and invest in training of the newly coming talents. Besides, you may consider cooperating with universities that already started teaching students the new technology (e.g., the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Georgia Institute of Technology). There are some initiatives like National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute (NAMII) in the USA and ADMIRE in Europe, which demonstrates the need in the transformation of educational programs related to the topic.
3. Lack of standards and regulations / Quality
A certain degree of chaos and temporary anarchy is what follows any revolution. In our case, we speak about the technological revolution, and on-demand manufacturers indeed have to deal with the lack of formal standards set. This is what directly affects the quality and reliability of the goods or parts produced via 3D printing and CNC machining.
‘The difficulties our company has been facing are associated with the recency of the technologies in question; issues with production lines, problems with prototyping for moldings and parts themselves — all those pretty obvious things. In fact, 3D printers are not reliable enough at the moment — sometimes they just act up or break. We need to make them more consistent.’ Brian Bischoff, President of SmartPrint3D
Many 3D printed goods are still conceding traditionally manufactured ones in terms of quality. Particularly, there are problems with parts’ fragility, their low-resolution output, the and imperfection of the materials used. Besides, the products very often require post-processing and fail to meet the consistency requirements.
Gregory Paulsen, Director and Applications Engineer at Xometry, confides his ideas with us:
‘Yes, the consistency and reliability are our key goals. We ask ourselves, “What can we offer to the customer that can keep consistent expectations throughout the particle’s lifecycle?” I.e., can this customer order that part now, and can they order 300 of these parts 3 months from now, and get a consistent product in the end? When we answer this question, we really want to guarantee the specific level of consistency to our clients.’
The industry is in need of clearly established standards that would ensure that every single part is produced with the same consistency of quality and reliability. Sadly, as for now, it can’t be guaranteed, and no wonder why many producers remain wary of 3D printing technology. Fortunately, the situation is already changing for the better. America Makes and ANSI AMSC are working on developing standardization in the sector to advance its development.
‘Since the technology is a brand new one, we don’t have many competitors, and it’s a plus. The minus here is that we have no one to look up to and know what pitfalls can be faced at this or that stage. That is, we have to learn mostly from our own mistakes.’ Vasily Hurynovich.
To be continued…
Very soon, we will discuss the other two burning issues in the sphere of on-demand manufacturing, as well as their possible solutions. Stay tuned! Many startuppers shared their thoughts with us, and you may find their experience valuable for your own endeavors.
