3D printed injection mould
3D printed injection mould with resulting part, produced on a Stratasys Objet Connex 3D printer.
During the Diamond Sponsor Panel at the Additive Manufacturing User Group back in May the gathered experts almost unanimously agreed that while there was still room for 3D printing to grow in the prototyping sector and that we are pushing towards printing end-use products, there was one application that was “low-hanging fruit” - the 3D printing of jigs and fixtures.
The panel surmised that the technologies were perfectly ripe in their technology life-cycle to make an immediate impact for companies large and small. Using Stratasys technologies one €26.6 billion company has already plucked that low-hanging fruit enabling it to launch 400 new products this year alone with an approximate cost and time saving of 90 percent.
Working in over 100 countries Schneider Electric is one of those companies that although not an immediately recognisable brand is essential to the way we live our lives. When it comes to energy Schneider is anonymously ubiquitous. From simple dimmer switches in your living room to uninterruptable power systems for hospitals, its scope is extensive and takes pride in being first to market across its entire range of solutions.
Schneider Electric's 3D printing facility
Schneider Electric's 3D printing facility
In order to maintain a standing of market leader, Schneider devotes 5 percent of sales to research and development. As such the R&D teams in Schneider look towards future proofing its manufacturing technologies, which, of course, means the company has invested a substantial amount in 3D printing. Stratasys Marketing Manager North & East EME, Simon Brandon tells TCT that Schneider is not your average multi-national.
“You tend to find smaller companies innovating a lot,” says Brandon. “They get a 3D printer and because they’re small they’re flexible, everyone has access to it and all of a sudden it is touching all areas of the business. What is really good to see is a big company like Schneider Electric, who initially had a machine for prototyping, progressing to make jigs, fixtures and moulds with 3D printing.”
The Money’s in the Mould
At its Openlab model shop facility in Grenoble, France, Schneider is using a combination of Stratasys PolyJet and FDM solutions for product development, prototypes and industrialisation. At Openlab a team design and 3D print for multiple applications including assembly-line tooling, product prototypes and injection moulding. The cost saving in injection moulding has been dramatic.
“We decided to make injection moulds with a 3D printer and for that we used a (Stratasys Objet) Connex machine,” according to Materials Expert at Schneider Electric, Jean-Marie Maldjian. “The cost of the (3D printed) cavity is some hundred Euros and an equivalent aluminium tool costs thousands of Euros. (With 3D printing) We can achieve the complete process within one week whereas for an aluminium tool it can take one or two months.”
“That’s roughly a 90 percent saving again,” adds Sylvain Gire, Vice President GSC Transformation-Industrialization at Schneider Electric. “Which would be unfathomable with any other technology.”
Like many companies Schneider Electric first bought a 3D printer to speed up the prototyping process of final parts but it has found the technology and materials are also capable of producing heavyweight prototypes for fixtures on assembly-line tooling.
A 3D printed jig
A 3D printed jig, produced using a Stratasys, Objet Connex 3D Printer, enables quick functional tests and required design iterations on the production line.
When you’re creating a new product at the rate of more than one per day your assembly-line needs to be adaptable to whatever is thrown at it and the old way of validating fixtures using CNC prototypes would have taken at least three weeks per iteration. Using both Connex and Fortus technology to create jigs that exactly mimic the functionality of the final part in order to validate the ergonomics, the mechanical design and engineering department can now produce iterations in less than a week.
Why stop there?
“This technology has changed the way we work and changes the way we think about doing things in the future,” says Yann Sittarame, Mechanical Design Manager. “Looking ahead, we plan to 3D print the final tools, which is perfectly achievable given the accuracy and durability of our 3D printing process.”
Although Schneider Electric is able to act with the agility of a small company when it comes to adopting new technology, its innovation comes from the philosophy of a company dedicated to remaining a Fortune 500 company in the long term. Schneider has a clearly defined strategy for creating the “factory of the future” 3D printing is at the very heart of that.
Some 3D printed electrical casing
Some 3D printed electrical casing that could be used as spare parts.
By harnessing the power of 3D printing firstly to improve prototyping and secondly, to implement Stratasys’s technology into moulding and tooling Schneider has saved incalculable amounts of time and money. The next foreseeable step is to begin using 3D printing in the manufacture of low-volume products and it is particularly interested in the potential benefits the technology offers towards the production of spare parts.
“3D printing has speeded up Schneider’s whole product development cycle,” Stratasys’s Simon Brandon says. “It is a nice example showcasing where the industry has been with rapid prototyping, where it is now with the printing of jigs and fixtures and, with the ‘factory of the future’ vision, where it is heading.”
“3D printing has speeded up Schneider’s whole product development cycle,” Stratasys’s Simon Brandon says. “It is a nice example showcasing where the industry has been with rapid prototyping, where it is now with the printing of jigs and fixtures and, with the ‘factory of the future’ vision, where it is heading.”
The printing of spare parts and low-volume parts is perfectly possibly with the current generation of 3D printing but Stratasys is keen to show blue-chip companies like Schneider Electric how it can work with them to adapt technology to its specific needs.
At IMTS 2016 in Chicago the public got to see the two 3D Demonstrators (covered in-depth by Deputy Group Editor, Laura Griffiths in the previous issue of TCT) for the first time. Both the Infinite Build 3D Demonstrator and the Robotic-Composite 3D Demonstrator were in full flight with intrigued onlookers imagining how such a radically different 3D printing technology could be implemented into their workflow.
“You're no longer just limited to some 3D printers, the 3D Demonstrators are a real step-change,” explains Brandon. “Stratasys is increasingly seeing companies, such as Schneider Electric, who approach us with suggestions of where 3D printing could fit into their business. Often the vision these companies have allows them to integrate Stratasys technology into their business model to a much greater extent than originally assumed. These customers often say ‘if this is possible with 3D printing, what else could we do with the technology’.”
