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Supply Chain 3D Printing Adds a New Dimension By Akhil Oltikar, Vice President of Supply Chain Strategy and Technology Solutions, Riverwood Solutions I
n the last year or so, 3D printing seems to have found its feet in terms of technology and applica-
tions, confirming its place in our fu- ture. It is now impacting the elec- tronics supply chain from innovation to fulfillment; this is in part due to price. We are currently seeing 3D printers priced below $2,500, open- ing the technology up to consumers and innovators, while creating the opportunity to build “print farms” with multiple printers producing small runs efficiently and economi- cally. Another factor driving adop- tion is the use of more 3D printable materials, making more complex and more usable products possible.
Design made simple. Today’s 3D printers are providing inventors with the ability to test their ideas much earlier than would normally be possi- ble. 3D printed versions of products can be produced from CAD files and shared with potential consumers, in- vestors and manufacturing partners.
The ability to create products in three dimensions on a CAD system was seen as revolutionary 20 years ago, and those 3D renditions of products helped designers share their vision. We are now in an era where that on- screen rendering can be produced with accurate weight, size and texture and used to finalize a design early in the product realization process.
Rapid prototyping. People are looking to get prototypes built quick- ly and cheaply, often as proof of con- cept, but also to test the validity of a design before going into more tradi- tional manufacturing processes. Bringing 3D print into the prototype environment can accelerate the process hugely, negating the need for complex tools or processes. At a re- cent event at a Silicon Valley EMS company the conversation was around an environment where inno- vators could start the day with an idea, complete a design by lunch and leave that evening with a working
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prototype. This kind of rapid proto- typing is exactly what the fast-mov- ing consumer goods market is look- ing for, as windows of market oppor- tunity become shorter and con- sumers become more fickle and de- manding.
Tooling gone soft. Another area showing huge potential for 3D print- ing is eliminating some of the expen- sive tooling iterations, which are costly in time as well as money. Cre- ating 3D printed tools, even if they are just to prove a design, might mean fewer iterations, fewer engi- neering changes, shorter times to production and perhaps fewer $50,000 invoices for traditional hard tools that need to be remade for the smallest change.
Fixtures for manufacture and test. Contract manufacturers are starting to use 3D printing for their own manufacturing needs rather than just for the products they make for their customers. Many are using 3D printing to build jigs and fixtures to hold odd-shape components during the production process. This could be a test support fixture, a jig to hold an odd-shape subassembly while it is being assembled or soldered, or a one-off tool used to assemble a part into a hard-to-reach area of a prod- uct. These are all things that simpli- fy the process and make the EMS provider more flexible and agile.
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Print Farms. We think of 3D print- ing as a serial version of a parallel process, building one component slow- ly, while traditional manufacturing builds many parts as quickly as possi- ble. Print farms turn that paradigm on its head with rows of 3D printers being used to make volumes of prod- ucts that go well beyond the one-off. More competitive pricing of printers is making this possible and it may even- tually have an impact on the way manufacturing is geographically de- ployed. Recently at IoM 2016 in San Jose, California, (
www.internetof-
manufacturing.com), keynote speaker John Dulchinos, Jabil’s VP of automa- tion, talked about print farms being located close to the consumer, con- trary to the more recent trend of larg- er and larger centralized manufactur- ing facilities. The idea that 3D print- ing could be in every town, or even in retail stores, as part of the manufac- turing supply chain is indeed a fasci- nating prospect opening up all kinds of possibilities to innovators.
Mass customization. Part of the re- cent trend in manufacturing towards Industry 4.0, IoM or Manufacturing 4.0 is the idea of a “batch size of one,” where the product can dictate the manufacturing processes as it passes through production. One driver of
“batch size of one” is mass customiza- tion, along with the concept of taking a platform and adding customization to the last point to make something unique and specific to the consumer. 3D printing has a role to play here and because it’s a data-driven process it can produce every version of a product in a unique configura- tion for each unique consumer. This creates an interactive experience for the consumer as they design their own device online while offering full traceability from order to fulfillment.
Show me the cupcake. The phrase “show me the money” is used very of- ten, but recently, during Frost & Sul- livan’s Manufacturing Leadership Summit in Southern California, I heard the phrase “show me the cup- cake.” The panelist was referring to a design philosophy where, rather than looking at drawing and render- ings, he wanted to see a simple sam- ple. Make me a cupcake; if we like it we’ll try a birthday cake, if that works a wedding cake and so on. To- day, we can 3D print the “cupcake,” getting us out of the innovation gate quickly and effectively. As can be seen from these exam-
ples as well as applications in med- ical electronics and many other sec- tors, 3D printing has a lot to offer. It is doubtless an important tool for the future of manufacturing and is find- ing its way into many design and production environments.
August, 2016
Akhil Oltikar has over 15 years of global supply chain planning and management experience and a strong track record delivering supply chain solutions that optimize operational and financial performance for the clients. At Riverwood Solutions, Akhil identifies strategic and tactical issues that affect profitable growth and works with multi-functional teams to define, develop and imple- ment business process and technology solutions that enable profitable growth for their clients.
Web:
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