Which parts can save the maximum cost through metal 3D printing?

1. Aerospace: The main beneficiaries of complicated flow channels and light structures.
The aerospace sector is the main market for metal 3D printing. Its main goal is to use topology optimisation to reduce the weight of structures and increase their performance. In traditional manufacturing, items like engine turbine blades and fuel nozzles have to be put together from several pieces or made using complicated moulds. With metal 3D printing, however, they can be made all at once, which cuts down on waste and processing time.
A normal case:
The LEAP engine fuel nozzle from GE Aviation combines 20 separate pieces into one using 3D printing. This makes it 25% lighter and 70% cheaper to make. This part is composed of cobalt chromium alloy, which needs a traditional casting assembly process with 160 parts. 3D printing, on the other hand, only needs 4 months of development time, which is 60% less than traditional methods. Also, a certain kind of rocket thrust chamber uses topology optimisation design for regenerative cooling channels. This breaks past typical casting barriers and lowers launch costs by 40%.
Logic for saving money:
Improving the material utilisation rate: In typical subtractive manufacturing, up to 90% of the material is wasted. In 3D printing, on the other hand, materials are only added to the areas that need them. You can boost the use of pricey materials like titanium alloys to 98%.
No cost for mould: Traditional moulds for aircraft engine cylinder blocks cost 2.3 million yuan to make. 3D printing sand mould technology, on the other hand, directly prints sand moulds. The cost of one piece only includes the cost of materials and equipment depreciation, which cuts the shared cost of traditional moulds by 92%.
R&D cycle compression: The number of design iterations for aircraft engine combustion chambers has gone up from 3 per year to 12 per year. This has made trial and error less expensive because rapid prototyping is now possible.
2. Medical implants: an example of how to customise and make the supply chain more flexible for each person
The personalised need for implants in the medical field fits well with the "mold-free manufacturing" features of metal 3D printing. Making moulds for traditional implants from patient CT data is a long and expensive process. With 3D printing, however, you can have "one patient, one design" while still satisfying biocompatibility and mechanical performance standards.
For example, Zimmer Biomet uses 3D printing to make hip implants that are 66% lighter and 100% stiffer. This part is composed of titanium alloy, and it takes 6 months to make in the traditional way. It only takes 2 weeks to make using a 3D printer and doesn't need to be stored. A particular type of knee joint implant also has a lattice structure that makes its porosity tunable, encourages bone cell proliferation, and cuts the time it takes to recuperate after surgery by 30%.
Logic for saving money:
The benefits of making things in small batches: The profit per unit of medical implants has gone up by 27% compared to typical batch production. Also, 3D printing's "on-demand manufacturing" mode cuts down on inventory expenses.
Making the supply chain easier: Traditional manufacturing needs 12 steps, such as design, mould creation, trial production, and modification. 3D printing, on the other hand, goes straight from digital models to final items, cutting the delivery time from 4 to 8 weeks to just 9 days.
Innovation in materials lowers costs: Domestic titanium alloy powder is more cheaper to make because of atomisation production lines. This makes it more popular for use in consumer electronics.
3. Automotive manufacturing: two big steps forward in making cars lighter and better at cooling down.
Metal 3D printing is an important technology since the auto industry needs production to be light and efficient. 3D printing helps automobile firms "reduce weight and improve efficiency" by optimising structures and integrating functions. This includes anything from engine parts to mould flow channels.
For example, 3D printing has made the titanium alloy nose landing gear bracket of Airbus planes 29% lighter and 100% stiffer. This part uses electron beam melting (EBM) technology to mould things very precisely in a vacuum, which avoids the porosity problems that might happen with traditional casting. In the mould sector, a certain company has cut the injection moulding cycle by 40% and raised the product qualification rate by 15% by using 3D printing to make conformal cooling channels. This has changed the market from "price competition" to "efficiency competition."
Logic for saving money:
Economy of a complex structure: To make automotive engine pipe fittings the old-fashioned way, you need five sets of moulds that cost more than 500,000 yuan. With 3D printing, you can make the parts directly, which cuts the cost of each component by 63%.
Optimising energy use: The 3D printing sand mould process uses 40% less energy and releases 52% less carbon per piece than traditional methods. This is in keeping with the trend towards green manufacturing.
Accelerating R&D iterations: The time it takes to make new energy vehicle motor housings has gone from 6 months to 6 weeks, which has helped the company take advantage of market opportunities.
4. Mould making: a tool that lowers costs by combining shape cooling and functionality
Mould is an important instrument in industrial manufacturing, and how well it works has a direct impact on the quality of the product and the speed of production. Metal 3D printing fixes the problems of distortion and shrinkage that happen when traditional moulds cool unevenly by using conformal cooling channels. It also allows for the integration of many parts.
A particular company produced a 3D-printed conformal cooling channel for plastic product moulds. This cut the cooling time from 12 seconds to 7 seconds and the rate of product distortion from 3% to 0.5%. The mould is made of H13 tool steel. It takes three months to build a product with traditional manufacturing, but just three weeks with 3D printing. After that, there is no need for welding and assembly. Also, a special sort of die-casting mould uses 3D printing to combine 8 elements into 1, which cuts the weight by 40% and doubles the life of the mould.
Reason for saving money:
Better production efficiency: The conformal cooling channel cuts the time it takes to make an injection mould by 30% to 50%, and it also lets one device make 20% more units each day.
Reducing material waste: In traditional mould making, the sand loss rate is 15% to 20%. With 3D printed sand mould materials, the utilisation rate has gone up to over 98%.
Lowering maintenance expenses: Integrated design cuts down on mould seams, cleaning and repair frequency, and annual maintenance expenditures by 120,000 yuan.