Industrial Automation Magazine India

The technology is flexible, reconfigurable, adaptable and above all, digital

Published on : Monday 11-11-2019

From composite sculptures to metal watches, 3D printing is rapidly evolving – what are the limitations?

There are always benefits and challenges with any emerging technology. And it’s the challenges that bring about the advancement in any technology and fuel its evolution to a proven technology. Let us all understand and accept that 3D Printing (3DP) is no exception to this.

It’s not an Easy A with 3DP/AM. A bird’s eye view of this technology may be quite promising on the scope of applications, but we still are a little sceptical as for now because no one knows how deep the rabbit hole goes. There is a need for more R&D in this; it has its own set of limitations such as high energy consumption, huge cost, material limitation (suitability and strength), toxic emissions from the filaments (usually nylon/Styrene), possibility of counterfeiting and patent violations, and increased unemployment of unskilled labour in manufacturing sector. Not forgetting that their socio-economic, environmental impacts are yet to be researched further in detail.

Just like alternative energy and energy from crude/fossil fuels, additive manufacturing can’t replace subtractive (traditional) manufacturing any time soon but can complement surely by exploiting its potential to disrupt and evolve product design and manufacturing of those products that would otherwise been not produced at all.

Cost of materials is right now an issue. How can this be controlled?

It’s emerging and R&D is in progress for cost control of 3D printing materials. While cost control is a continuous improvement process and as more and more business requirements demand 3D printing, some thumb rules can keep a 3D model on the lighter side of the budget.

1. Selection of best suitable material, sizing, finish, filament: Careful material selection can be a key to cost control. Avoid expensive materials if the property of the material is not needed for your model.

2. Scale down – remember its 3D world here. Size not an issue – then downsize. Realize that the volume of cube of 8x8x8 is almost twice than that of 6x6x6.

3. Hollow out the model when possible – you don’t always need a solid model. Remember to keep the minimum required wall thickness based on the material (may vary from 3mm to 0.2mm).

4. No support approach – eliminate the need for supports to reduce costs further. Play with overhang angle (try more than 45°) and try to split the model when possible (you can assemble/glue the parts later).

5. Periodic maintenance is a must. Reduce cost by minimising misprint waste.

Skills is another major problem in this area, as in other emerging technologies. Time for a thorough overhaul of engineering education?

Yes, there is an increasing concern of skilled manpower in this technology. Schools and colleges (Science, Design and Engineering) should be greatly poised to make a dent in the skilled manpower shortage. Some schools have started integrating 3D printing into their curriculum and aiding in fostering industry partnerships, attract funding, and capture the best students and faculty. Students of a renowned school in the US have already been invited for a special program by NASA called as NASA Hunch, where they get to use 3DP for the task in the project.

Engineering education should be revisited to include the emerging technologies such as 3DP, IoT, Big Data, Data Science, Blockchain, etc., into the overall curriculum and engage experienced and qualified faculty to share their expertise, and to guide students on multiple hands on projects in the colleges.

Industry professionals with live hands on experience need to proactively drive the thought and execution leadership in emerging technologies such as 3DP or any similar techs.

This shall immensely facilitate bridging the gap between industry and academia in 3DP technology.

How could companies exploit the potential of Additive Manufacturing to gain an edge?

As a digital way of making, 3D printing presents us with a range of compelling business benefits that can be exploited in various ways through the entire value/supply chain by companies in almost every sector of the economy.

3DP enables companies to think laterally about the products which they design and make, and the services provided to their customers. It surely has the potential to be the answer for the distress call made in situations such as design complexity, low volume production, life cycle sustainability, increased part functionality, supply chain realignment, design complexity, product personalisation. But not all businesses are the same and the benefits of 3D printing are different for different sectors.

“The capital-intensive industries are the ones that are most poised to have a deep impact by 3D printing, eliminating unwanted costs and time saving.”

 Experts believe additive manufacturing calls for new business models like leasing of printers and job shops. Will this work?

3D printing has the capability to be used to respond to many of the world’s changing megatrends. The technology is flexible, reconfigurable, adaptable and above all else digital. The smart companies of the future will be those that have a clear strategy for how and where 3D printing fits within their supply chain and their value chain. They will also understand the business drivers to adoption.

Having said all of the above, 3DP shall surely give rise to new business models, although there is some difference of opinion when it comes to predicting the growth of the 3D printing market, one thing is sure: Adopting 3D printing as an engine for growth and innovation is reaching levels where the disruption potential is soon becoming quite real.

Harish G Kashyap is a Design Engineering Professional and a digital disruption enthusiast. He has nearly 15 years of experience in delivering various large scale, high budget design and engineering projects across multiple engineering intensive sectors such as oil & gas energy and proactive in thought, and execution leadership of emerging technologies and their convergence with the traditional business domains.