Why Send a Model When You Can Fax a 3D Print
Having the capability to produce models and prototype parts within a CAD design office provides designers and engineers with immediate feedback that can help compress product design cycles.
When most product developers consider
implementing a 3D printing system, they focus primarily on creating
physical models of new designs for review and evaluation on-site.
Having the capability to produce models and prototype parts within a
CAD design office provides designers and engineers with immediate
feedback that can help compress product design cycles. By validating
design concepts and uncovering potential design problems early in the
process, manufacturers can avoid the protracted delays and increased
costs associated with making changes late in the design cycle or during
tooling or production. While internal design feedback remains the
primary basis for investing in a 3D printing system, the changing face
of the product development and manufacturing landscape-from one located
almost entirely in North America to a worldwide enterprise-creates the
need to consider 3D printing from a broader, global point of view.
Of course, many manufacturers with overseas-based design divisions,
manufacturing operations, partners, or vendors print models at the main
design office and send them around the world for a variety of purposes.
However, the physical shipping approach is slow, costly, and does not
take advantage of 3D printing technology in an efficient,
cost-effective manner. Because CAD solid models consist of digital
data, they can be sent electronically anywhere in the world and
imported into a CAD system or outputted as an actual 3D-printed model.
Either way, model data can be faxed to a different geographic location
where prototypes can be created as 3D prints.
While still a relatively recent trend, the concept of 3D faxing-sending
CAD data over a network, telephone line, or by e-mail to support 3D
printing at a remote location-is catching on. 3D faxing not only pays
dividends for large multinational corporations but also for any
manufacturer that needs to collaborate with a colleague, partner,
vendor, or customer that is located far away. As the product
development world gets smaller-with more and more of the production
cycle taking place overseas-opportunities to benefit from 3D faxing
will continue to emerge and grow.Broadcast Faxing to Designers in the Field
One example of how 3D faxing currently benefits manufacturers is the
field design work being conducted by Motorola, Inc.'s Personal
Communi-cations sector. The group, which develops new concepts for
cellular telephones, has deployed design teams around the globe so they
are close to the customers they serve. As requests for concept models
from the global design team increasingly grew, Motorola decided to
install 3D printers-the ZPrinter 310 and the Z406 3D printers from Z
Corp. (Burlington, MA)-at its Asian design center in Seoul, South Korea.
Now, Motorola engineers can fax 3D CAD files of new concepts to the
Seoul facility, where prototypes are created, without any lag time or
shipping costs. The global design team can then review design concepts
with major customers and provide timely feedback before a product goes
into production. By leveraging the concept of 3D faxing, Motorola has
improved design communications with a strategically located design team
and accelerated its decision-making process on a global scale.
Manufacturers such as Motorola that compete in overseas markets can use
3D printers and 3D faxing to broadcast design concepts and obtain
valuable feedback from the field faster than ever.Partner Integration Points
Another emerging application of 3D faxing is supporting a central
design integration point for product development efforts that involve
multiple partners located around the world. Xerox Ltd., a leading
producer of printers, copiers, multifunction devices, and document
centers, leveraged this approach to support Trans-Atlantic design
efforts between a partner company located in Toronto, Canada and the
Xerox design team based in the UK.
To coordinate Trans-Atlantic design efforts, Xerox installed a 3D
printer-the Dimension 3D printer from Stratasys, Inc. (Eden Prairie,
MN)-at its UK headquarters, which served as the central design
integration point. With this system in place, designers in Canada faxed
CAD files to the integration team in the UK, enabling the production of
prototypes the very next day.
3D faxing can help companies with a geographically dispersed design
organization, such as Xerox, integrate design efforts at a central
location while avoiding shipping costs and delays.Facilitating Vendor Interaction
Perhaps the most obvious application of 3D faxing technology is to
reduce lead times and minimize errors when manufacturers interact with
vendors. Union Footwear (Bangkok, Thailand), one of four principal Nike
subcontractors, took advantage of 3D faxing to accelerate and improve
the quality of its bidding process.
Until recently, Union Footwear had to supply the first article run from
production tooling with its bid to Nike. But when the company learned
that Nike had begun accepting models from 3D printing with bids instead
of actual production runs, Union Footwear installed a 3D printer-the
Z406 printer from Z Corp.
By faxing 3D prints of Nike designs to the company in Thailand, Union
Footwear realized significant savings related to initial tooling
expenses, especially because Nike frequently required changes to the
initial mold design. Now, the company leverages 3D faxing to both
prepare bids and obtain final customer approval, an approach that has
proven to be significantly more efficient and profitable.
With manufacturers and vendors located thousands of miles from one
another instead of down the street, 3D faxing can facilitate
manufacturer/vendor interaction, providing benefits for
manufacturers-faster bids with fewer errors-and vendors-savings on
initial tooling costs that support more competitive pricing.
Although most product developers focus on the immediate, onsite
application of 3D printing technology, its use across distances through
3D faxing is an important trend, especially as the product development
and manufacturing landscape becomes more and more global in nature.
