Can 3d-printing improve your business and aid you within a crisis? (Yes, it can.)
- Posted by Daniel Bernhart
As we all know, the COVID-19 pandemic has hit every industry like a hammer back in 2020. Some companies suffered more than others and still are suffering from the effects of the crisis. For us at MinProSol we were relieved to have multiple ongoing projects on site, that got us over the apex of the crisis. However, it also made us rethink. This resulted in our personal discovery of 3d-printing options, more specifically FDM. A few years back, working with FDM was rather difficult compared to nowadays, but the potential has been recognized by engineers involved in the developing process who kept following their passion to craft more refined and user-friendly devices.
Nowadays, many companies completely rely on their supply chains. So, what if the structure starts to fall apart when the supplying process starts to stall? Do you have a plan “B”? You can´t just stop working on various projects just because delivery times became unreliable. Even though gloves and masks become rare and insanely expensive you have to live with the situation and accept the long delivery times. Unfortunately, when it comes to vital machine parts such as the impeller or hood diffuser of your Denver D12, you can´t accept the situation and need to find a workaround in order to keep the machines running. If the client needed a helping hand for improving a final concentrate, you can´t just tell them to wait. Therefore, we adapted to the situation by manufacturing our very own spare parts designing and printing them with an “Ultimaker” 3d printer.
This innovative decision lead to a great number of benefits. When printing your own parts, you have little to no delay, assuming the design is already given. With the CAD file completed it’s only a matter of hours until your spare impeller is ready for wear and tear. Depending on the size and volume, printing time will of course vary. Also, the responsibility for designing needs to be solved. Somebody will have to be motivated enough to engage themselves with handling a sliding caliper and get familiar with all the groundbreaking functions of SOLIDWORKS.
Besides self-sufficiency flexibility of material choice is another positive aspect of DIY-manufacturing. Most of the time, you are bound to the variety of materials your supplier offers. But what if you need something specific? What if you need additional toughness against abrasion or chemical resistance? Not only do you pay extra in order to receive the desired material but you are also facing longer delivery times. With 3d-printing you can independently choose from a wide variety of materials like TPU, PLA, TPE, Nylon, PET, PVDF, CPE+ and many more.
Last but not least, efficiency is a factor that can be positively influenced through 3d-printing-techniques. If you seek for enhancement by designing and redesigning parts in order to maximize efficiency, there is no way past a 3d-printer. Today you design, tomorrow you test, that´s how R&D works.
To wrap it up, 3d-printing technology has already come a long way and can now be very beneficial for your company. Self-sufficiency, flexibility of material characteristics and time efficiency are the most mentionable effects we achieved by implementing FDM into our projects. For a company like us, 3d printing has been true game changer not only in times of the current crisis but also for any future projects to come.
If you´d like to share your opinion on this fascinating topic, please, feel free to comment! Stay safe and healthy!