Thanks to the rapid development of 3D printing technology, the traditional supply chain model will usher in a disruptive change!
In today's market environment, the competition in the manufacturing industry is no longer limited to competition between individual companies, but competition between supply chains. To gain an advantage in the competition, new changes in the supply chain and resource integration must be implemented. The so-called supply chain management refers to the planning, coordination, and control of the logistics, capital flow, and information flow among enterprises and departments in the supply chain, so as to improve the efficiency of supply chain operations, reduce operating costs, and achieve benefits. Its purpose is to convert the original materials into parts for assembly and deliver the products to consumers quickly and at a low cost. You may ask, what does this have to do with 3D printing?
3D printing transforms the supply chain model
In fact, after in-depth understanding, it is not difficult to find that the development and application of emerging technologies such as the Internet of Things, big data, robotics, and artificial intelligence are at best a certain optimization of the existing supply chain. But 3D printing is very different. With its rapid development and large-scale adoption, the traditional supply chain model will usher in disruptive changes! Below, we will understand the impact of 3D printing on the traditional supply chain model from the three links of order management, manufacturing, and logistics:
I. Order a management link
Supply chain activities often revolve around order fulfillment, and the accuracy of orders will have a direct impact on the company's operating costs and customer satisfaction. The large-scale adoption of 3D printing technology will completely change the traditional order collection mode and realize customization. For example, the American Shapeways company, located in New York, is a platform that provides customized 3D printing services online. Its future factory has 50 industrial-grade 3D printers. It collects customer needs through social media such as Facebook and accepts customers’ 3D design solutions within a few days. Complete the order before sending it to the customer.
II. Manufacturing process
The traditional production model of parts requires not only the development of additional tools and molds but also a large amount of material waste and inventory accumulation. 3D printing can promote the optimization of cost, quality, and production cycle, greatly simplifying the supply chain and quality control of complex parts. For example, Daimler in the United States has used 3D printed auto parts close to 1,000, of which 780 are common parts and 150 are spare parts. Airbus has successfully completed the manufacturing of more than 1,000 aircraft cabin interior parts using 3D printing technology, and all of them have been successfully applied to the A350 XWB model.
III. Logistics and distribution links
In the traditional product supply chain distribution link, since the manufacturing end is usually far from the consumer end, it is necessary to build a central distribution center and a regional distribution center for distribution, not only the investment cost is high, but also the daily operation is more complicated. As 3D printing can adopt the mode of a micro-factory, it is possible to arrange production around the product consumption area, which greatly reduces the cost of long-distance transportation and shortens the length of the supply chain. For example, by using 3D printing technology, Local Motors in the United States limits the production of vehicles to local micro-factories to a large extent, simplifies the logistics and distribution links, and meets the needs of local customers with low cost and high efficiency. The US military uses 3D printers to quickly manufacture the required parts, which can be completed within a few hours. However, if the demand is fed back to the supply station thousands of miles away in the traditional way, and then the parts are transported to the war zone, it will take a few days or even longer.
FDM technology promotes supply chain innovation
Today, many companies have begun to try to use 3D printing technology to improve the level of supply chain management, optimize production, and then achieve agile manufacturing. With a history of nearly 30 years, FDM technology has a wide range of applications, not only for product prototypes, and functional testing but also for manufacturing tools and parts, especially in industry, automotive, and aerospace fields.
GKN Driveline is the automotive branch of GKN, providing transmission systems and solutions for more than 90% of the world's automakers. In order to maintain customer satisfaction, GKN Driveline needs to constantly look for ways to shorten the delivery time and achieve this by using 3D printing in several factory floor applications. Some time ago, the company's Florence, Italy factory-installed Stratasys Fortus 450mc 3D printer. It is worth mentioning that this 3D printer has proven to be very valuable for production tools and can help GKN Driveline accelerate product development, reduce costs and recreate the supply chain.
Carlo Cavallini, GKN's lead process engineer and team leader at the Florence plant, said: "Using a 3D printer, we have developed a tool that can significantly improve grease distribution and eliminate the need to clean up time-consuming oil spills. This is useful for simplifying the production of half shafts. Cycle time is critical, allowing us to provide customers with quality parts." The factory also uses 3D printing to create customized on-demand replacement parts. The team 3D printed a cable bracket for the robot, saving a lot of time. According to previous practices, it will take at least a week to obtain replacement parts from the supplier. They also 3D printed a custom end-of-arm tool that can move individual components from one stage of the production line to another.
In China, the additive manufacturing laboratory of Eastern Airlines Technology Co., Ltd. uses ULTEM 9085 materials that meet the relevant requirements of FAA and CAAC 25 and is used with Stratasys' Fortus 450mc industrial-grade 3D printer, making it the first domestic cabin interior to be 3D printed. The software is applied to airlines in commercial airliners. The laboratory has developed many cabin components, including seat armrests, door handle covers, luggage rack locks, electronic flight bag brackets, and newspaper racks. Through small batch 3D printing, China Eastern has solved the problem of long order cycles and the high cost of vulnerable parts in the past, while ensuring the safe flight of the company's fleet and improving the passenger experience.
In addition, 3D printing will gradually be deeply integrated with the aerospace spare parts market and change the supply chain system of this market. The aerospace field has a large number of parts and complex types. The 3D printing technology not only meets the flexibility of obtaining spare parts "anytime, anywhere", but also saves the cost of these companies holding a large number of spare parts, simplifying inventory management and reducing off-site transportation. need.