3D printing transformed from emerging tech to industry standard

Bilby 3D explains how 3D printers help manufacture products in new and cost-effective ways for more efficiency in facilities.

3D Printing is no longer an emerging technology reserved for the cutting edge development labs. It is industry standard and rapidly being adopted by Australian companies, micro to multinational, to dramatically shorten the time to market.

People might be surprised just how much 3D printing has touched the goods and services they use every day. From the design and development of household appliances and motor vehicles, to being used to manufacture on-demand warranty parts. When looking deeper into the companies, people are likely to find 3D printing incorporated somewhere in a product life cycle.

The maintenance of warranty parts has long been a hidden cost to manufacturers. Electrolux started trials within the Asia Pacific region in 2017, 3D Printing on demand spare parts. Porsche Classic, a division of Porsche, is similarly looking to 3D printing production of rare parts in small quantities. With a parts catalogue exceeding 52,000 parts, the cost savings have the potential to be considerable.

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Heineken latest to harness 3D print power

The Dutch brewing company is utilising the power of 3D print at its manufacturing site in Spain.

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Despite still being in the early stages of its use, Heineken has seen increased productivity and a reduction in production costs by using 3D printing technology to create tools and parts on-demand.

Using a set of Ultimaker S5 printers, engineers at the site in Seville can design and print safety devices, tools and parts on-demand, taking away the need to outsource to external vendors.

“We’re still in the first stages of 3D printing, but we’ve already seen a reduction of costs in the applications that we found by 70-90% and also a decrease of delivery time of these applications of 70-90%,” says Isabelle Haenen, global supply chain procurement at Heineken.

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The time is now for introducing AM in the oil and gas industry, says Aidro CEO

Valeria Tirelli highlights evident benefits in optimized hydraulic manifolds

Northern Italy-based Aidro Hydraulics & 3D Printing is part of a Joint Innovation Programs (JIPs) focused on 3D printing of functional production parts for the Oil, Gas and Maritime industries. Participating companies in the project include giants such as Equinor, BP, Total, Rolls Royce Marine, TechnipFMC, Vallourec. Members include companies specialized in additive manufacturing such as Aidro, SLM Solutions, Additive Industries, Voestalpine, OCAS, Ivaldi Group, Quintus, HIPtec, University of Strathclyde and Siemens.

The adoption of additive manufacturing in the oil and gas segment can generate advantages in areas such as fast delivery of spare parts and stock reduction, fast prototyping, accelerating R&D and introducing new and innovative solutions. SmarTech Analysis just published a new 180-page report on the upcoming business opportunities for AM in the oil and gas segment. The future looks bright.

Aidro contributes to the JIPs with its technical expertise as a valve manufacturer and as a first adopter of metal additive manufacturing. Aidro’s CEO, Valeria Tirelli, established an internal department dedicated to the design and production with laser PBF systems. The technical experience acquired by Aidro in AM, certified AS/EN9100, enables Aidro to be taken as a model to be compared with the requirements of the guidelines. 3D Printing Media Network spoke with Valeria Tirelli to learn how AM is changing the oil and gas segment for the better.

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Optisys to speak on how Metal 3D Printing will miniaturise satellite antennas

Michael Hollenbeck will show how Metal 3D printing will encourage mass customisation, where the constrained volume in a satellite can be filled with a high-performance antenna that conforms to the space around it and provides lower loss and higher performance.

Michael Hollenbeck, Chief Technology Officer of Optisys, Inc. will speak at Satellite 2019 about Metal 3D printing and how it can help build the smallest and lightest functional antennas in the industry.The presentation will cover how Metal 3D printing will usher in an era of mass customisation, where the constrained volume remaining in a satellite can be filled with a unique high-performance antenna that conforms to the space around it and provides a lower loss, higher performance solution than any competing alternative.

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Additive Success Brewing on Factory Floor: Ultimaker’s new president (AMERICAS) talks about a recent Heineken case study and how additive opportunities can could bubble up throughout enterprises.

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Having a 3D printer on the factory floor has always been an intriguing proposition, as who wouldn’t want to bypass the supply chain entirely and whip up a quick replacement part, or even better, a brand new optimized tool or maybe even specialized robot grippers, right then and there? That is perfectly reasonable and could do everything from truncate downtimes and lead to safer and more efficient operations. Several manufacturers have found certain 3D printers as invaluable new tools that cannot only create prototypes, but also the jigs, fixtures and tooling to enable production.

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3D Printing in the Supply Chain Industry Is Booming Across the Globe by 2025

“3D Printing in the Supply Chain Market – Global Industry Trend Analysis 2012 to 2017 and Forecast 2017 – 2025” is the latest addition to MarketResearchReports.Biz industry research reports collection.

The global 3D Printing in the Supply Chain Market, which is extensively assessed in the report contemplates the best need development angles and how they could affect the market over the figure residency under thought. The experts have taken careful endeavors to thoroughly evaluating every development factor of the 3D Printing in the Supply Chain Market, other than indicating how certain market restrictions could represent a danger to players in the coming years. In addition, the report additionally gives data on top patterns and openings and how players could take advantage of them to take up the difficulties in the market.

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Identify3D updates software suite for secure distributed manufacturing

Digital supply chain software company Identify3D is introducing its latest suite of software solutions to enable manufacturers to facilitate additive manufacturing and decentralize manufacturing models. The software update addresses intellectual property protection, manufacturing repeatability and traceability in order to secure the digital manufacturing process from ever-evolving security threats.

Identify3D software suite

The software suite includes Identify3D Protect, Identify3D Manage and Identify3D Enforce applications, which together offer a comprehensive and encompassing solution for protecting the digital supply chain.

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3D printing industry growth tied to specialized applications — for now

Specialized production manufacturing drives 3D printing in three industries, but prototyping will remain the key use case in more mainstream applications.

DETROIT — The 3D printing industry continues to grow by developing specialized applications for three industries: aerospace, medical and automotive. But widespread adoption across industries is still a long way off.

Several announcements made at the Rapid + TCT 3D printing industry trade show and conference reinforce the growth in innovation for 3D printing’s main industries. The announcements included the following:

  • Smile Direct Club, a service that sends teeth alignment devices directly to consumers, will use HP Multi Jet Fusion 3D printing machines to produce individualized molds.
  • Medical startup Marvel Medtech will use the XJet Carmel 1400 3D printer to produce ceramic cryotherapy probes that can identify, freeze and destroy breast cancer cells when they are first detected.
  • The Renault Formula One racing team will use 3D-printed parts from Jabil Inc., one of the world’s largest contract manufacturers.

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Jabil and Renault F1 Team to collaborate on 3D printed racecar parts

“We’re excited to be part of Renault F1 Team’s strategy to improve performance with additive manufacturing.”

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Manufacturing solutions provider Jabil has announced an agreement with the Renault F1 Team to 3D print parts for use in the 2019 Formula One World Championship series. The cooperation is intended to speed up the development and delivery of 3D printed racecar parts for the Renault R.S.19. According to Jabil, the Renault F1 Team will benefit from the Jabil Additive Manufacturing Network, which provides “fast and efficient access to top-quality parts”.

“We’re excited to be part of Renault F1 Team’s strategy to improve performance with additive manufacturing,” said John Dulchinos, VP of digital manufacturing at Jabil. “Our ability to consolidate a global supply chain and scale qualified processes as needed will enable the production of chassis and on-car components in record time.”

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US Navy holds event to promote 3D printing at shipyards

The US Navy has conducted Print Sprint II event in San Diego to encourage the use of 3D printing technology at naval shipyards to support fleets.

Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) Tactical Innovation Implementation Lab (TIIL) organised the event designed to enable navy maintenance providers to work collaboratively to develop new 3D printing solutions and applications.

Print Sprint II comes after the first print sprint was conducted last year at Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) Division Keyport to gauge the fleet and shipyards’ abilities to create a random part in a short time through additive manufacturing.

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