Additive manufacturing
Introduction
Additive manufacturing (AM), also called 3D manufacturing, refers to the technologies and manufacturing processes that build 3D objects by adding layer upon layer of the material. This method differs from the conventional fabrication processes and has met varied reactions from different business leaders with some being in support whereas some consider the method has no commercial value.
There is a challenge in determining the types of products to be fabricated using 3D manufacturing due to the fact that a large diversity of products can be manufactured using this technology. Some factors to consider when selecting these products include:
- Availability and cost of 3D manufacturing raw materials.
- Shape and geometry of the parts
- Conformation to the industry standards
- Development and post-processing time.
AM eliminates the possibility of mass production, therefore, product selection methods such as Design for Manufacturing and Assembly (DFMA) no longer apply. It is important to identify the guidelines to be adhered to in the selection of products to be manufactured using this approach. Don't use plagiarised sources.Get your custom essay just from $11/page
Discussion
In order to build a reference system, it is important to identify the following key manufacturing attributes;
- Volume of production; it’s the quantity of parts to be produced within a given time.
- Complexity; it’s the description of the parts in terms of their geometry and location.
- Customization; it involves making a product to be unique based on the customers’ desires.
Most traditional methods focus on mass production. These methods have limited customizations and complexity, therefore are able to reduce costs and support high volumes of production.
It explains goods which are not only less complicated and have little customizations required but also need to be produced in low volumes. The process of tooling becomes cheaper and faster when using AM technologies as compared to traditional methods. These products belong to region 2 of the product map. For instance, 3D binder jetting of sand has been applied in the fabrication of molds thus saving on labor costs.
Products in region 3 are more complex. In AM, complexity does not increase the cost of production since the cost and time taken to produce a simple part and a complex part is the same. This method of manufacturing also saves on the cost of raw materials since it saves on material which would otherwise be lost during machining.
The products in region 4 have no customization but volumes of production are higher, for example, the metal acetabular cup used in hip replacement.
The products in this region have low volumes of production and are less complex. They are categorized in region 5 of the product map. Most of them are manufactured using desktop 3D printers.
In region 6, the products pose a great challenge when manufactured using the conventional manufacturing methods because of their high volumes of production requiring customization.
AM has enabled the production of artisan products that are highly complex and customized. Such products can be fabricated in less time and at a lower cost. This method is being applied in the prosthetics and racing industry.
Every manufacturing technology aims at producing complex and customized products with no restrictions to the production volume. These products fall in Region 8 where there is complete manufacturing freedom.
It is important to calculate customization and complexity scales. These scales for customization and complexity enable grouping of the products into suitable categories and maps.
Finding the Modified Complexity Factor (MCF) can be done by considering parameters such as volume, surface area, bounding box and other features. The geometric complexity factor should be developed so as to properly categorize castings.
CPR
Next is the area ratio (CAR) i.e.
CAR
It is important to determine the number of cores parameter (CNH) which represents the number of holes (NH) in the part,
CNH
Each parameter then contributes to the Modified Complexity Factor (MCF) where weighted factor:
MCF
In order to find the level of customization the following levels are created based on increasing level of personalization. These are seen from a discrete levels view
Level 0: No customization.
Level 1: Pre-defined options (restricted customizability).
Level 2: Limited customization (product has only one customizable feature)
Level 3: higher freedom of customization
Level 4: Truly unique product
A break-even-point would then be determined by comparing the complexity and the cost per part. When the complexity levels exceed the break-even-point, it becomes cheaper to use AM approach to manufacture the product.
Results and discussion
There is a need for business leaders’ to constantly seek opportunities and quickly exploit these opportunities. The flexibility offered by AM can be used to design complex castings which would need a lot of energy when traditional manufacturing conventions were to be used. This gives the company a competitive advantage over other companies without the AM technologies.
Conclusion
The product map provides a criteria used in examining products and the appropriateness for Additive manufacturing. In order to determine whether to use additive manufacturing, business leaders should consider the frequency of producing the particular parts, and the size of the parts in terms of geometry and shape. They should also put into consideration if the particular technology will meet the expectations of the business in terms of product quality and profitability so as to ensure the business makes a worthy investment. In the future, mathematical continuous scales will be developed so as to define the levels of complexity and customization.