TECHNOLOGY | PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
Right: The ability to 3D print functional organs and medical scaffolds on demand is a rapidly growing field
printing is beneficial is for prototyping and for generating customised parts in low volumes. Functionality also plays a big part. Just because you can print anything you want, it does not mean that the design or materials will perform any better than the current methodology of injection moulding.” He says: “For several years now the medical sector has successfully used 3D printing to produce highly bespoke components. Among them prosthet- ics, implants, hip replacements, hearing aids and even dentures. For these individual parts, injection moulding would not be a financially viable option due to the cost of creating a mould tool. Similarly, aerospace manufacturers are embracing 3D printing to upgrade components and create replacement parts for maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) which is big business.” He points to a report issued by Airbus, which forecasts MRO spend to double to over $120bn per year in the next two decades. For those parts which may have a long lead time, a complicated supply chain or no longer be in production, 3D printing offers a viable and agile alternative to the aerospace sector, he says. Flowers continues: “When designing a proto- type using injection moulding, the process can again be quite lengthy. Whereas a 3D printer will let you create the part using the end material, injection moulders will typically use foam and adapt the design until it is approved and the tool can be designed and tested. Here, an industrial 3D printer is often used to scope out and fine-tune the part, which can then be used as a blueprint to design the mould tool. The tipping point for injection moulding will come relatively quickly once mass-production ramps up. Calculating the payback would involve comparing the unit costs and production time for 3D printing and offsetting this against the cost for tooling development, making, testing and shipping the tool, plus the new
unit costs and any assembly. Typically, a contract mass moulder producing electronic casings estimates a return on investment of 10,000 parts.” Flowers emphasises that there is room for both techniques and technologies. “3D printing is great for iterating designs and we are increasingly seeing moulders using them to test out new concepts and create tooling prototypes,” he says. “Rather than pitching the two against each other, recognise that they each have distinct advantages and that the level of innovation will continue to accelerate for both.” GF Machining Solutions, a division of Georg
Fischer, has inaugurated its new innovation and production centre for machine tools in Biel, Switzerland. Constructed over two years, GF invested around CHF100m in the new building, which provides space for around 450 employees. The new centre combines three former GF Machining Solutions’ sites in Nidau, Ipsach and Luterbach (all in Switzerland) in one site. On a total area of 44,000 m2
, GF brings the entire Swiss
milling machine and laser production together. The new building, which is also the division’s headquar- ters, provides more than 13,000 m2
of space for
production and assembly, as well as a research and development facility and application centre. This enables customers to experience the division’s portfolio first-hand and attend training courses on-site. GF provides machine tools, automation solutions and customer services for the production of moulds, dies and high value-added metal parts. The division has manufacturing facilities in Switzer- land, Sweden, China and USA, and serves custom- ers in more than 50 countries. The AddUp Group and IPC have joined forces to
GF Machining Solutions has inaugurated its new innovation and produc- tion centre for machine tools in Biel, Switzerland. On a total area of 44,000 m², the entire Swiss milling machine and laser production facilities have been brought together. Photo: Georg Fischer
70 INJECTION WORLD | October 2019
create Addilys, a dedicated platform for upgrading additive manufacturing in the area of tooling and plastics processing. The goal is to provide manu- facturers with global solutions, from advice through to maintenance, including tooling design, demon-
www.injectionworld.com
PHOTO: SUMITOMO SHI DEMAG
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