Daimler DyeMansion spare parts
Left: an SLS raw part; Centre: an SLS spare part finished with DyeMansion technology in Daimler EvoGrey; and Right: an injection moulded spare part.
The printing of replacement parts seems like an easy win for additive manufacturing (AM). The ability to perfectly align supply with demand at the same time as cutting the costs of manufacture, storage and shipping by printing parts in-situ when needed is surely a no-brainer.
Unfortunately, the job is not as simple as that. Despite the many attributes 3D printing has for low-volume on-demand manufacturing, there's a rate-limiting step that has brought the replacement part application grinding to a halt – poor quality surface finish.
For a company like Daimler AG, whose attention to quality is so deeply rooted in its culture that it’s even embodied in the corporate motto – "Das Beste oder nichts" (nothing but the best), the surface finish quality of parts directly from a 3D printer would never make it onto a Daimler vehicle. However, Daimler is also a pioneering company and has turned that problem into an opportunity by investing in a post-processing solution with the potential to revolutionise the automotive industry aftersales value chain.
Daimler’s long-standing experience in AM prototype development laid a strong foundation for new ways of thinking about spare parts management at its EvoBus subsidiary. Under the leadership of Ralf Anderhofstadt, Head of CSP 3DD Daimler Buses, and in conjunction with DyeMansion and Additive Minds, an EOS consulting group, Daimler was able to rework its Customer Service and Parts (CSP) group’s replacement parts development processes to eliminate the quality and scalability barriers presented by traditional AM techniques.
With the help of a series of workshops and some off-site support, EvoBus was able to determine the entire supply chain and realise how it could exploit the potential of industrial 3D printing for replacement parts.
In close collaboration, the partners assessed the technical and economic feasibility of the project within a few months. The final implementation of these additive manufactured parts is currently being investigated in detail.
Daimler Dyemansion spare parts
DyeMansion's Powershot C system removing excess powder from SLS 3D printed parts.
The Challenge and the Solution
In its initial attempts to use industrial 3D-printing techniques, EvoBus experienced difficulties in reproducing the colour and surface quality of the injection-moulded original parts. EOS's SLS machinery has fantastic repeatability for printing precise geometries but direct from the machine those parts are generally white, and the surface finish is rough.
The main challenge for Daimler was reaching the required glossy finish of a Daimler corporate colour like Evogrey to match the injection moulded counterparts. Printed parts were going to need several stages of post-processing.
In step fellow German post-processing experts, DyeMansion and its three-stage 'Print-to-Product' workflow. Since winning the formnext powered by tct Start Up Award in 2015 DyeMansion has worked tirelessly to perfect and automate its technology.
The DyeMansion 'Print-to-Product' workflow can transform 3D-printed raw parts into high-quality replicas of the original injection-moulded parts, matching the visual appearance, individual colours and tactile properties.
daimler dyemansion
SLS spare part finished with DyeMansion technology in EvoGrey.
Reproduction of the original parts
Here’s how DyeMansion turns standard, grey or white 3D-printed output into high-quality replacement parts on-demand and at scale:
First, DyeMansion's Powershot C system removes excess powder in a surface-friendly manner. Next, the sintered parts' open pores are closed in DyeMansion's specially developed blasting process, and the surface is prepared for a homogeneous colour image. This process provides the desired matt gloss and improved functional properties, including scratch resistance and dirt repellence.
During the 'Print-to-Product' workflow’s third and final stage, the parts are dyed in the desired colour in the DyeMansion DM60 colouring system. DyeMansion created Daimler-customised corporate colours based on colour samples from their injection-moulded parts. Since dyes react with the raw material when subjected to pressure and heat in DM60 systems, it is critically important to develop colour tones based on all material and surface requirements.
What’s more, once customised by DyeMansion, Daimler’s corporate colours can be reproduced on-demand at the customer site with no external assistance. DyeMansion's dyeing process and plug & play operation work regardless of batch sizes or product geometries and can be incorporated into the manufacturer’s existing processes to support the production of on-demand spare parts globally.
Ralf Anderhofstadt, Head of CSP 3DD Daimler Buses - Evobus GmbH
Ralf Anderhofstadt, Head of CSP 3DD Daimler Buses - Evobus GmbH.
"With DyeMansion we found an experienced partner who could support our additive manufactured spare parts production across the globe," says Ralf Anderhofstadt, Head of CSP 3DD Daimler Buses - Evobus GmbH. "We can now produce spare parts at scale using on-demand, industrial 3D printing processes that meet Daimler exacting technical specifications and surface quality standards.”
The benefits
The project has delivered high-quality spare parts that mimic the look and feel of the originals, which can be manufactured on-demand to meet individual customer requirements, such as colour and quantity.
The value chain is optimised significantly – in the future; spare parts can be made available exactly at the locations where they are needed. Being pioneers in its field, Daimler's CSP application could permeate the entire spare parts market with its demonstration of the versatility and opportunities of AM.
Industrial 3D printing has solved the current challenges faced by EvoBus for its CSP requirements and has the potential to increase the profitability and innovative strength of the company in the long term as well as to safeguard its pioneering role. In the further course of the project, the AM portfolio will be expanded to include additional spare parts made of polymer and metal. In the future, the analogue components will be fully digitalised with the aim of making the spare parts business more efficient overall.
In the end, it is the customer who benefits thanks to the shorter lead times; end customers can reduce the unproductive downtimes of their buses to a minimum.
