Building the Future, Layer by Layer (Pt 1)
A conversation with Frank Defalco, the Director of Member Relations for NGen (Canada’s Advanced Manufacturing Supercluster)
Additive Manufacturing (AM) comprises a diverse, growing group of technologies, processes, and materials. Numerous applications exist for AM, ranging from rapid prototyping to mass customization and even some forms of mass manufacturing. Although AM is used for design and prototyping across the manufacturing industry, adoption of AM for other purposes is more limited.
Canada is a relatively small player in the global AM ecosystem, which is dominated by the US, Germany, and China. Nevertheless, Canada is home to many firms focused in developing AM-related technology, adopting it to production, or both. Canada shines for its strong vertical integration, high levels of research output, and strong relationships between academia and industry.
By disrupting manufacturing paradigms world-wide, COVID-19 has given AM an opportunity to demonstrate some of its strengths. Yet, it has also cast light on many areas in which can be improved, such as supply chains, ecosystem collaboration and general business culture.
Chris Herron (Junior Research Analyst) at ICTC spoke with Advanced Manufacturing expert Frank Defalco (Director, Member Relationship) on his work with NGen and the state of AM in Canada.
Chris: To start, can you tell me a bit about what NGen does?
Frank: NGen focuses on accelerating the adoption of advanced manufacturing technologies among Canadian companies. We distribute funding and we help companies form consortiums to introduce new processes in advanced manufacturing. We do this to help companies become globally competitive. We also coordinate organizations to take on larger-scale projects and we have about 12 clusters active right now.
Chris: Does that make you an accelerator as well as a sort of ecosystem builder? What is the difference between your supercluster and an accelerator?
Frank: We don’t use the word accelerator, although there are some similarities between what we do and what an accelerator does. The key distinction is who we work with; we focus on helping mature companies adopt advanced manufacturing to scale up production. Accelerators are usually focused on start-ups. We don’t focus on start-ups. Sometimes they work with us, but it’s usually established companies that participate with NGen projects.
Chris: Can you tell me about the significance that Additive Manufacturing (AM) has for NGen? Obviously, your focus is on Advanced Manufacturing, of which AM is just a small part.
Frank: We are quite focused on AM. That’s not part of our objectives, rather, it’s just a result of the technology itself. We don’t push AM over other Advanced Manufacturing technologies, we are technology agnostic. We have no preference for what our members adopt. But in practice, AM is one of the biggest areas we see adoption in among Advanced Manufacturing technologies.
Chris: Can you tell me a bit about some of the AM-related projects you are involved in or will be involved in?
Frank: There is a project we’re funding with a consortium led by OIC in Winnipeg for the medical sector. They’re looking to get customizable implants. Customizability is one of the key capabilities of AM. They can go from a 3D image, put it into the software, and automate that whole process of creating a custom medical implant. This way, they can get a perfect fit instead of having to restrict yourself to a few sizes. Another project we’re funding is in the energy sector in Alberta (led by Exergy). We’re helping them adopt AM for creating nozzles and custom tooling parts.
Chris: Based on what you are saying, there’s a lot of diversity in terms of sectors that are adopting AM. But, you mentioned being “technology agnostic” a bit earlier, and advising organizations on how to adopt technology. Can you tell us a bit more about your role as an advisor for companies seeking to adopt AM?
Frank: It’s varied. I’m actually in the process of creating a technology adoption portal for NGen members that will automate some of those functions. At this point, it mainly consists of letting people come in and talking to them about the technology. Lots of SMEs will come in and they want to explore options for increasing manufacturing productivity. They’ve often heard of AM, but they don’t really know much about it. I think we provide something useful because we don’t force the technology — we help them make the right decision based on evidence and their specific need. Buying 3D printers is often a very expensive decision (especially in case of a metal 3D printer), so you really want to get that advice from someone who doesn’t have an agenda.
Chris: And for some organizations, it might not be the right decision to invest in a 3D printer.
Frank: Absolutely. Sometimes, the best advice is to not use it. I’ve had companies, particularly machine shops, asking me about a metal 3D printer. Right off the bat, I ask them what their most expensive machine is. They might say $150,000. And then I tell them the facts — if you want a metal printer, you’ll probably spend a million dollars and you’ll likely not make anything decent for six months. I ask them first if they have a business case, or if there is a specific client who is looking to buy AM-based products from them. If they don’t have a business case that can keep their machine going at least 50% of the time, I tell them not do it. Or to at least take their time. You don’t want to rush into it.
Chris: AM is a rapidly evolving field. What developments in AM are you looking forward to the most?
Frank: That’s hard to answer. I’ve been at it since 2014 when I first started to immerse myself in it, that was the peak of the hype. A lot has changed since then. At this point, I think what I’d most like to see is a better mindset among businesses about the realistic uses of AM. Maybe that sounds kind of dull in a way, but I’ve gone through the hype of it, and I think we need people to understand where this technology has value. It’s not everywhere, at least not for the expensive stuff. Any shop probably will benefit from having an inexpensive 3D printer on the floor to make jigs and fixtures. But not every metal-based manufacturer needs a metal AM printer.
I don’t mean to sound negative. There are some sectors that can definitely make more use out of AM than they are right now. I’d like to see more exploration, but cautious exploration. And I’d love to see some winning applications of AM from Canadian companies. That would get more people excited about it and make them more willing to try it out.
Chris: What do you think are the biggest challenges to companies adopting AM?
Frank: The big challenge is building a market. That’s actually going to be a focus of the online tool that we’re building. It’s one thing to buy a machine, it’s another thing to use it to create something that people are going to want to buy in sufficient quantities to offset the cost of the machine.
Chris: Tell me more. What do you think will allow companies to beat this challenge?
Frank: I think that the willingness of companies to use AM will come if they look at the technology in a serious way and are able to use all of its potential. You can’t be just comparing a part you have made traditionally to the same part made with AM. That’s not the way to look at it. You need to look deeper, at how the technology allows you to design in an entirely new way. That is where most of the value can be found. There are things you can do with AM that you can’t do with anything else.
Chris: It seems that a lack of knowledge about the technology is a factor as well. What about cost?
Frank: Cost has always been an issue, but in a way, it relates to the general lack of awareness. People sometimes ask me for a side-by-side comparison of how the same part will cost with Additive vs. traditional manufacturing. And as I was saying, you can’t really compare that. Some of the key benefits with AM are the ability to redesign, to look at the problem from a new way. I think when people are more aware of the unique benefits of AM, cost won’t be considered as much.
Chris: What you say about AM being a “new way” resonates with me. It’s not just an alternative method of producing the same things; it opens a whole universe of design possibilities. Do you find that it’s a challenge to get manufacturers to look at problems from that bold new perspective?
Frank: Sometimes. One of the challenges with pitching AM among SMEs, particularly in Canada, is that they’re very eager to settle on something that serves them well. I can understand that to an extent — it costs a lot to set up a manufacturing plant. It’s risky enough as it is. If something is working, why wouldn’t you stick with it? Additive is a big change for these little companies. They are often focused on the day-to-day necessity of acquiring new contracts, and new business. They don’t have the money to go all out on AM, and even if they do, they don’t have the time.
I have often had this sort of situation happen to me — a company reaches out to me about the technology, we talk a bit, and then suddenly I don’t hear from them. I get a hold of them and they say they’ve had a contract come in and they have to dedicate all their time to it. They don’t have hours and hours for people to work on the R&D, testing out a new machine with an unclear use case. And that’s fair. But with AM and Industry 4.0 technology, you can’t get much out of it if you do it piecemeal. You need to commit if you want to get something out of it.
Chris: That’s one of the main things I learned working on this project, it can take a lot of time to get familiar with AM. There are also a lot of different variations of the process, and expertise from one kind of AM doesn’t necessarily transfer to another kind. If you want to get the most out of it, it seems like you really need to focus on it.
Frank: Yes, exactly. You need to take a serious look at it. I think companies can determine fairly quickly if there is some value that the technology can bring to their business. It’s not like you need to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars just to find out if you can do something with it. There are people you can get advice from. The costs are still there, along with some risk, and it think, that’s one thing that the government could definitely help with, the de-risking component.
Chris: Let’s talk a little bit about talent. Do you think there’s a shortage of AM-skilled professionals?
Frank: Yes. In fact, it brings me back to something from the ICTC report, where someone talks about PhDs ending up as technicians. I know some of those guys. It’s a real challenge, because there are so few people with AM-related skills that it’s sometimes all you can do. At the same time, you don’t want a PhD doing the day-to-day loading and unloading of powder into a metal machine or doing post-processing work. That’s super inefficient. It’s a real chicken and egg situation — you don’t want to invest in a technology, because you can’t find people to run the machine. But then there’s not enough machines to train the people to run the machines! And I think even the educational institutions are facing a problem of their own — you need machines to run the programs, but it’s hard to justify the investments in machines, if there isn’t a solid demand for the courses. Is there even such a thing as an AM-focused technologist course in Canada? I don’t think so.
Chris: How do you feel about the future of AM in the short term, given the COVID-19 pandemic?
Frank: Mixed. Very mixed. I mean, everything is mixed up due to COVID-19. I think AM will be adopted and continue to grow. It’s not a matter of if the technology will succeed and be adopted, it’s a matter of when. Perhaps in 10 years or so, we will have a better understanding of its capabilities in key sectors like aerospace, and it may be in widespread use in certain sectors by then, but it’s very hard to say at this point. Aerospace, for example, has been hit hard by COVID-19. It’s easier to predict the long run than the short run. There are some things that are just total no-brainers for adoption in the long run. I’m sure there’s going to be a ton of adoption for space.
Chris: So, you have no doubt that that in the long run, there are going to be lots of new use cases?
Frank: Yes, definitely. Although I wouldn’t use the word lots. I think it could have a big impact, but I don’t think it’s going to be as big as some people think. I have seen a bunch of hype cycles for different kinds of things. People often overestimate the impact of things at the outset. I get the same feeling about this, and I think it’s just in the last few years that we’ve started to move past the hype.
About the Interview Participants:
Frank Defalco is the Director of Members Relations with Next Generation Manufacturing Canada (NGen). In 2014, Frank established Canada’s Premiere Additive Manufacturing Network, Canada Makes. In his time leading Canada Makes he delivered the Metal Additive Demonstration Program, which introduced additive metal manufacturing capability to over 200 Canadian companies. In this capacity Frank developed a keen knowledge of Canada’s Additive Manufacturing ecosystem. Previously, with Harris Corporation, Frank was part of the first manufacturing team in North America to successfully introduce just-in-time (Lean) manufacturing to the fabrication of printed circuit boards.
Chris Herron is a Junior Research Analyst at ICTC. He graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from the University of British Columbia in 2019. He has worked with ICTC since graduating and his research has covered a range of topics including cybersecurity, Artificial Intelligence, Additive Manufacturing, Smart Mobility, Intelligent Retail, Digital competitiveness, and Canada-EU trade in the ICT sector.
