Page 46 - ETP-April-May2020

ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING

Each process and piece of equip- “ADDITIVE
ment has pros and cons associated MANUFACTURING
with it. These usually involve aspects IS AT THE CUSP OF
such as speed, costs, versatility with
respect to feedstock material, geo- INDUSTRIALISATION
metrical limitations and tolerances, GLOBALLY. IT HAS
as well as a mechanical and appear- MOVED FROM
ance properties of the products such BEING USED ONLY
as strength, texture and colour. IN PROTOTYPES
3D printing uses two materials TO BE A PART OF
for printing across industries namely EVERY COMPANY’S
polymers and metals. MANUFACTURING
PLANS.”
Which are the ideal applications of
additive manufacturing?
Additive manufacturing initially was fraction of a cost of traditional tool- manufacturing technology of today,
started a process for concept model- ing. manufacturers can print entire com-
ling and rapid prototyping. From Quicker Speed to Market: A ponents, moving pieces and all, with
prototyping and tooling to direct critical method for churning out a extremely precise tolerances. Thus,
part manufacturing in industrial complex part to the market is to the improving product quality and re-
sectors such as architectural, medi- reduce production lead time. By lev- ducing failure risk.
cal, dental, aerospace, automotive, eraging additive manufacturing, an
furniture and jewellery, new and in- organisation can enter a new market How has the Covid19 pandemic
novative applications are constantly in days, not weeks or months. affected your business?
being developed. AM can be used in Easily Test Complex Compo- Business will never be the same
the ideal applications such as fully nent Geometries: Bringing a com- again mentally, emotionally, finan-
functional prototypes, production plex component to market carries cially. Covdi19 has and will have a
tools, tooling such as molds and in- much more risk than something deep impact on business for some
serts, rigid housings, ductwork, spare that has a more simplistic design time to come. However, I anticipate
parts and heat exchangers, heatsinks because more can go wrong with recalibration of business and process
and so on. complex geometry. To de-risk a post the war against Covid 19. Digi-
product launch, it’s important to tal manufacturing will emerge as a
What are the key advantages of test and retest the designs so that result.
additive manufacturing vis-à-vis when your company enters the At Intech, we are using our time
traditional manufacturing? market, you’ve already worked out to realign our focus, our vision and
Since the introduction of AM in the failure modes associated with a mission. Our teams are busy, re-
the 1980s, the benefits of producing specific design. grouping and re-strategizing. We
small amounts of complex parts have Traditionally, this was done af- have charted a long list of activities
The Economic Times POLYMERS | April-May 2020
been well understood to manufac- ter production tools were cut and covering online reskilling and train-
turers. With new technology evolv- the initial parts were produced from ing activities including virtual re-
ing and so many companies adopt- them. This required new tooling or search & knowledge accreditation,
ing AM in recent years, more and tooling adjustments, which often use of digital tools, teamwork and
more advantages are being explored. carry expensive price tags and sched- closing in on existing gaps. It’s busi-
Some of the key advantages of AM ule impacts. ness as usual for the software teams.
are: Better Component Qual- We are also encouraging teams to
Reduced Tooling Costs: A major ity: Components that have intricate read more and indulge in brain ex-
cost driver in manufacturing is tool- parts, especially small components, ercising.
ing cost, and for many low-volume can benefit from the additive manu-
manufacturing companies it can be a facturing processes. Typically, com- What are the lessons we need to
sizable impediment to entry because ponents with small moving pieces re- learn from this pandemic?
it requires a significant amount of quire strict manufacturing tolerances There will be a big thrust for Make
capital expense before the first unit is and highly controlled assembly pro- & Made in India. Government of
produced. However, additive manu- cesses to reduce the number of com- India is most likely to enhance its
facturing uses tools built on site at a ponent defects. Using the additive support to such initiatives.

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