3D Printing Supports Collaboration with Suppliers Around the Globe
Fast, affordable 3D prints facilitate interaction between product design and manufacturing.
Efficient collaboration-not only among
engineers on a design team, but between product designers and vendors,
suppliers, and manufacturing specialists-has long been a strategic
objective for many manufacturing organizations.
The term "collaboration," which Webster's New World Dictionary defines
as "to work together, especially in some literary, artistic, or
scientific undertaking" has become a common buzzword in product
development circles. Many manufacturers have adopted design practices
and invested in technologies, such as 3D computer-aided design (CAD),
product data management (PDM), and teleconferencing systems, which
support increased collaboration based on the rationale that by
involving more people in the design process, manufacturers can achieve
greater design creativity that results in fewer design errors and
higher quality products.
But how do product developers collaborate effectively in the current,
global product design and manufacturing environment? Today, product
design often occurs at different locations, and manufacturing
facilities are often located on the other side of the world. Unlike
internal collaboration, during which engineers generally speak the same
language and have common work experiences to draw from, working with
overseas vendors, suppliers, and manufacturing partners presents unique
communication challenges that make efficient collaboration difficult.
In addition to language and cultural barriers, many international
partners use different CAD systems and are asleep when design engineers
are awake, and vice versa. CAD files, 3D images, e-mail, and
teleconferences can be effective communication vehicles for supporting
collaborative design reviews, but nothing bolsters collaboration with
suppliers on a worldwide scale like a physical prototype part, and
today many manufacturers are using fast, affordable, 3D-printed models
to facilitate and streamline interaction with partners located around
the globe.What You See is What You Get
The greatest benefit of using 3D-printed models and prototype parts to
collaborate with production partners is that 3D prints leave no room
for any doubt, confusion, or misunderstanding. High-resolution
prototypes constitute the universal language of engineering. It does
not matter if the person receiving a 3D print speaks another language,
works in some other CAD package, or uses a different measurement or
dimensioning system. The actual physical part simply imparts more
information than any other means of communication.
Because manufacturing partners can touch, feel, and hold a 3D print,
they can be far more thorough, accurate, and efficient in assessing
potential tooling, production, and assembly problems. In the case of
plastic injection-molded parts, for example, overseas mold specialists
can use the physical part to identify areas of insufficient draft,
unnecessary features such as undercuts that increase the cost of mold,
or cosmetically displeasing knit-line locations.Will mating parts fit
correctly? Will non-moving parts interfere with moving parts in an
assembly? Will a mold wear too quickly? These are the types of
questions that partners can more readily answer by evaluating an actual
proto-type.
Something as seemingly trivial as the placement of a company logo can
become a big deal if a manufacturing partner gets it wrong; a misstep
that is far less likely when a designer supplies a 3D print.
By sending 3D-printed models, or e-mailing STL file attachments that
can be printed at the other end, manufacturers can collaborate more
effectively with overseas partners and more efficiently work through
potential production issues upfront, before they become costly or
result in protracted delays. A physical model translates the same in
any language, and 3D printing provides manufacturers with a fast,
cost-effective means for improving communication and interaction with
domestic and international partners.Streamlined, Cost-Effective Production
Strottman International (Irvine, CA) is one company that is benefiting
from the use of 3D prints for collaborating with overseas suppliers.
A leading manufacturer in the extremely competitive promotional toy
industry, Strottman develops design concepts in the U.S. and works with
production facilities in China.
Aside from creativity, the most important aspects of Strottman's
designs are safety and material usage. Strottman's products must pass
rigid safety requirements because they are marketed to children.
Material cost is also important because of the large volumes and slim
margins involved.
The company's engineers use finite element analysis (FEA) and 3D prints
to validate design concepts and make sure that they will satisfy all
applicable safety standards, including a 100-pound bite test. Instead
of throwing plastic at areas of concern, they also use FEA and 3D
prints to optimize designs so they use as little material as possible
without sacrificing strength and safety.
Sending a 3D print of the final, validated design to its production
facilities in China helps the company ensure that the final product
matches the analyzed, validated design.
Collaboration, communication, and manufacturing needs vary greatly from
company to company and industry to industry. But in today's global
product design and manufacturing environment, in which design and
manufacturing often take place at different locations around the world,
efficient collaboration has become critically important to avoiding
unnecessary costs and delays.
3D prints facilitate efficient collaboration because they provide
little room for misinterpretation. With 3D prints, what you see is what
you get.
Industry consultant, analyst and speaker Terry Wohlers, is principal
consultant and president of Wohlers Associates, Inc. (Fort Collins,
CO). Visit www.wohlersassociates.com for more information.
