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Equipment manufacturing firm Atlas Copco has considerably lowered manufacturing prices and lead occasions by transitioning to in-house polymer-based AM utilizing EOS expertise.
This shift has lowered manufacturing prices by 30% and lead occasions by 92%, whereas additionally decreasing the corporate’s environmental impression by streamlining the provision chain.
Over the previous 18 months, Atlas Copco carried out in-house 3D printing for elements utilized in industries corresponding to automotive. With its consulting division Additive Minds, EOS offered a full resolution past simply the tools, together with cost-per-part evaluation, powder choice, post-processing, and coaching applications. This complete assist helped Atlas Copco efficiently transition to polymer-based AM serial manufacturing.
Nathan Rawlings, Gross sales Supervisor at EOS UK, mentioned, “This mission exhibits how necessary the belief and collaboration is between all events if an organization is to embark on such a dramatic change to its core manufacturing enterprise. No firm ought to really feel that it can not transition to AM, and EOS helps organizations to verify it’s a success via sturdy communication, cooperation, and a unified crew spirit.”
EOS expertise allows large effectivity features
Atlas Copco chosen the EOS P 396 3D printer for its reliability, flexibility, and high-quality manufacturing, supporting 14 supplies and 26 parameter units. Alongside this, Atlas Copco employed the DyeMansion DM60 coloring resolution via the EOS accomplice community to paint sure merchandise, together with these utilized in automotive security tools.
By bringing 3D printing in-house, Atlas Copco was capable of cut back its reliance on third-party suppliers, reducing lead occasions from 6-12 weeks to only 3-4 days. The corporate has additionally achieved near-zero waste, down from round 7%, as a result of precision of the EOS P 396. This shift has additional lowered the environmental impression of manufacturing, as fewer transport assets are wanted.
Resulting from its funding in AM, Atlas Copco additionally obtained a return on funding (ROI) inside 18 months. The corporate can now prototype new merchandise, simplifying designs and accelerating manufacturing quickly. For instance, a spool provider beforehand made via casting and machining has been redesigned right into a single, lighter, printed part, which is less expensive to fabricate.
Atlas Copco mentioned it plans to proceed scaling its 3D printing capabilities, utilizing AM’s flexibility to develop new merchandise whereas remaining aggressive. Its collaboration with EOS and Additive Minds gives ongoing assist in course of optimization, enabling Atlas Copco to adapt to future manufacturing wants with larger effectivity.
Is polymer 3D printing a rising area of interest?
Polymer 3D printing has seen elevated use for its customization, value financial savings, sooner manufacturing, and sustainability. Whereas Atlas Copco has leveraged its potential, different entities have explored totally different avenues on this expertise.
Final 12 months, the POLYLINE mission efficiently established an automatic additive manufacturing manufacturing line for large-scale polymer components. Over three years, companions together with BMW, DyeMansion, EOS, and Grenzebach collaborated to advance 3D printing for serial manufacturing at BMW’s Additive Manufacturing Campus. Funded by the German Federal Ministry of Schooling and Analysis, with €10.7 million, the mission achieved automation throughout the manufacturing chain, integrating printing, post-processing, and transport programs.
In September 2022, researchers on the Metropolis College of Hong Kong (CityU) developed a technique to reinforce the power of 3D printed polymeric lattice components by 100 occasions and enhance their ductility by partially carbonizing them throughout pyrolysis.
By fastidiously controlling the heating course of, the crew created hybrid-carbon micro-lattices with enhanced mechanical properties that outperform conventional plastic components. This course of additionally improves biocompatibility, making it appropriate for medical functions corresponding to coronary stents and bio-implants.
One 12 months earlier than this, Karlsruhe Institute of Know-how (KIT) researchers developed a technique that mixes Digital Mild Processing (DLP) with polymerization-induced section separation (PIPS) to 3D print nanoporous polymers with complicated geometries.
This method allows the manufacturing of objects starting from 100 μm to a number of centimeters in measurement, with managed nanoporosity for optimized adsorption, catalysis, and separation. The crew printed intricate shapes, together with a hexagonal mesh field, crown, lattice dice, and gyroid, and achieved pore sizes from 10 nm to 1,000 μm.
What 3D printing tendencies do the trade leaders anticipate this 12 months?
What does the Way forward for 3D printing maintain for the following 10 years?
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Featured picture exhibits the EOS P 396 3D printer. Picture through EOS.
