TCT
Representatives of the eight founding members of the Leading Minds consortium.
Eight people from eight companies sit, a tad uncomfortably, in a single room.
Each organisation has been called to Leuven, Belgium because of their status as an additive manufacturing leader.
A delegate from one company remarks how strange it is for the eight of them, some of them competitors, to be in the same room, working towards a common goal. It is not the last time they will agree.
But by virtue of the common ground they discover, and because they identify similar challenges and barriers ahead of them, they decide to keep the conversations going.
Six months on, they are ready to announce their Leading Minds consortium at a press conference hosted by Materialise on day one of Formnext 2024.
Ansys, EOS, HP, Materialise, Nikon SLM, Renishaw, Stratasys and TRUMPF each provide a representative for the obligatory photo op, as well as a 3D printed gear which would be incorporated into a showpiece that, as the lever is pulled, spells out the word ‘together.’
Together they are as they attempt to develop a ‘common language framework’ for the additive manufacturing sector, and together they might be at aerospace, consumer products and medtech events in the future. Together they are in doing what the industry has long called for: working cooperatively to address the barriers limiting customer success.
But how will they go about it? What will they focus on? How tangible will the output be? How can users affect the change the consortium wishes to make? How do we measure its success?
Perhaps more crucially, is it just a box-ticking exercise?
At this stage, the answer to many of these questions is unknown, though the eight founding members would hasten to reassure the market that the consortium is an intentional effort to combine resource and expertise as they plot to change the fortunes of the AM market – it's not just for show.
For all the success of additive manufacturing – from its disruptive impact in certain healthcare applications and the space exploration industry to the opportunities in future land, air and marine vehicles – there is an awareness that the market can be in a healthier state. Many companies – and big names at that – are struggling. Just this month, the Forward AM business that spun out of BASF has filed for insolvency, Velo3D has concluded it has ‘substantial doubt’ the company can meet its financial obligations and continue as a going concern, Nexa3D has become the latest to confirm a round of lay-offs, and KIMYA has withdrawn from the 3D printing sector altogether.
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The Leading Minds consortium think they know of a solution.
“From what I see in the last year, the AM industry is struggling because we’re not on a bigger island,” Materialise Executive Vice President of Software Udo Eberlein told TCT. “We need to get off the small island onto a much bigger island. I think it’s really important that we solve this together.”
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How Materialise is contextualising this movement is that there is an ongoing shift from ‘why manufacturers should adopt AM’ to ‘how manufacturers should adopt AM.’ The why is easy for additive companies to explain – who doesn't want to integrate potential cost, time and energy savings, while boosting the performance of their products? – but for manufacturers to understand how is more complex. Especially when you consider the industry's clunky and confusing lexicon.
Materialise Head of Communication Kristof Sehmke cites the Tower of Babel parable, whereby a tower that is designed to reach the sky goes unfinished because those building it don’t speak the same language. If OEMs and manufacturers can't communicate effectively, the Leading Minds consortium suggest, the impact AM makes will be hindered. It is their opinion that the AM industry’s grand catalogue of trademarks, acronyms and new terminology might not be so helpful for those trying to get to grips with the technology.
So, high up on the agenda of the Leading Minds consortium is a common language framework that will, hopefully, counter the ‘very confused AM nomenclature.’ The aim is to create a standardised AM vocabulary – without actually developing industry standards like organisations such as ASTM might – so communications with existing and prospective users resonate better. The consortium accepts it can’t force anybody to use certain words and phrases, but hopes for terms agreed upon by the consortium to naturally emerge as the go-to sayings. An example might be the use of the phrase ‘build processor’, initially coined by Materialise in the industry’s early days, quickly adopted by the rest of the industry, and still in use today. It was an organic adoption of a phrasing led by an industry leader.
This first agenda item is a long-term play; not one that is going to be easy to regard as an outright success or failure. Because of its abstractness, the impact is not going to be quantifiable. But the eight founding members agree it is an area where room for improvement exists. They also think they can pool resources better to market themselves, raise awareness and spread evangelism in vertical markets, while there is the potential for the partners to ‘share best practices’ and ‘learn from each other,’ according to Materialise.
The facilitating company told TCT that progress has been made on the development of a 'common lexicon,' but they are yet to agree on ‘any other concrete projects.’ Materialise did confirm, however, that the consortium should not be considered a ‘technology initiative.’
“We’re not talking about user interfaces, we’re not talking about a common user experience, or anything like that,” Eberlein said. “We’re talking about mindshare more than anything.”
That mindshare will include feedback from users, with the consortium members collating information from their customers, sharing with the group, and then coming to a joint decision on how best to respond. A regular exchange between the partners is ongoing already and is set to happen at regular intervals.
Leading Minds has also already received enquiries from other leading additive manufacturing companies on how they can participate in the effort. How additional companies will be onboarded is not known, but there is an appetite for more contributions. Not too many, though. The consortium is wary of diluting the conversation and slowing down progress by adding too many cooks, while it is also being cautious about the entry criteria. Those involved in the consortium have to be considered market leaders, but that’s not to say companies not participating aren’t market leaders.
Core to the consortium’s approach is going to be solving customer problems, and the group will grow to a number in line with that aim. It is TCT’s understanding that the consortium will not seek to placate companies and grow the collaboration infinitely, but rather onboard those who can match the collaborative spirit that exists. Materialise was keen to point out that although EOS and HP are direct competitors when it comes to their polymer additive manufacturing offerings, they have embraced the opportunity to work together, even insisting that EOS’ Virginia Palacios and HP’s Francois Minec present side-by-side during the press conference that launched the consortium. This level of cooperation, the consortium believes, will be key to its success. As will having a focus and sticking to it. Leading Minds will try not to take on challenges beyond their means.
“The way you kill initiatives like this is you try to make a standard, you put too many companies in it, and you don’t have concrete action,” Eberlein said. “It’s about getting it right. When I was at the [initial] meeting in April, I was observing some of the members and the need is the same for everybody. There’s a big willingness to make this happen.”
“Everybody was pretty much on the same page,” added Sehmke. “That was eye opening to see those companies coming together and saying, ‘if we want to do something that’s meaningful and relevant, this is going to have to happen.’ After all these years, the recognition that we need to combine our efforts and our expertise to move the entire industry forwards, while remaining competitors on some level. That’s the key takeaway here.”
Those present at the launch of Leading Minds were upbeat about the potential of this collaboration. And potential is the operative word, as for now that's all it is. But – although some of its goals might seem intangible on the face of it – encouragement can be taken from there being no timeline, finish line, or limits on their objectives.
As an ever-evolving effort, the effectiveness of Leading Minds might be calculated better by a feeling than any hard numbers, it might be indirect rather than direct, but that eight leading members of the industry have set aside their competitiveness for the betterment of the industry can only be seen as a good thing.
It is, as one Formnext attendee put to TCT last week, a start. Now to see where it goes.
