Whirlpool Partners with Spare Parts 3D to Create a Digital Inventory

The problem with appliances is that they inevitably break down at some point, in major or minor ways. If it’s a really major breakdown, the only option is sometimes to buy an entirely new model. If it’s only one part that is malfunctioning, however, it can often be replaced by a spare part directly from the manufacturer. Appliance manufacturers understand that good business involves taking care of the customer beyond the initial purchase, and that means having parts available for repairs – ideally immediately available, because as anyone with a malfunctioning washer or dryer knows, the sooner the problem is taken care of, the better.

The problem is that having spare parts available at a moment’s notice saddles appliance companies with huge inventories of parts that may or may not be required anytime soon. This requires investment in storage space and presents other issues, as well. Often appliance models go out of production, replaced by newer versions, well before customers stop using their older models. Where, then, do those customers turn for spare parts once their machines are no longer manufactured? It’s not always realistic for companies to carry parts for appliances that are no longer in production, which can leave a customer struggling with how to repair an otherwise perfectly good machine that simply needs a single part that is no longer available.

On the other hand, if companies carry too many spare parts, they can wind up with excessive amounts of inventory that never gets used, especially once certain products become obsolete. This is a tremendous waste of money and space. So what’s the best solution for both manufacturers and customers? It may be 3D printing.

If a company decides to adopt 3D printing for its spare parts, it can eliminate the need to carry physical inventories of parts at all, instead relying on a virtual inventory of parts that can be 3D printed as needed. Even truly obsolete parts can be reproduced by 3D scanning them and creating 3D models that can then be printed. It saves time, space, and money, and allows customers to receive parts within days – if not hours – of requesting them.

Singapore startup Spare Parts 3D was founded in order to help companies digitize their spare parts inventories for 3D printing, as well as handling the 3D printing itself for companies that do not wish to invest in 3D printers. Recently, home appliance company Whirlpool agreed to a partnership with Spare Parts 3D. The two companies will work together to scale up the inclusion of 3D printing in Whirlpool’s after-sales services.

“Spare Parts 3D gave me a pragmatic view on how to use 3D printing in our business,” said Franco Secchi, Head of Consumer Services and Quality for Whirlpool EMEA. “I know we won’t make large production batches with this technology, but there is an excellent value to solve obsolescence and shortage issues which generally fold into low volumes demands. This way 3D printing can have a direct significate impact on our customer care.”

The partnership initially started in November of 2017, with a pilot project in Singapore that involved 150 parts. The technical feasibility of the project was evaluated by January 2018, at which point Whirlpool gave Spare Parts 3D access to perform a catalog analysis that allowed them to review more than 11,000 SKUs. These SKUs were reviewed one at a time through Digipart, a proprietary online software that allows the user to estimate the benefits they would get from using 3D printing and determine which parts would be the most profitable.

The review found that seven percent of the SKUs were economically profitable and therefore suitable for 3D printing. The first 3D printed part has already been made: a push button printed in Nylon using Multi Jet Fusion technology.

“We are proud to count Whirlpool as one of our most valuable partners,” said Paul Guillaumot, CEO of Spare Parts 3D. “Committing in 3D printing is proof of a creative mindset and leadership for such a well-known company. We are glad to inspire them trust and innovation.”

According to Spare Parts 3D, all of the 3D printable Whirlpool spare parts can be produced using three technologies: MJF, FDM and SLA. Five different materials – ABS, ABS V0, PA12, Rubber-like resin, and PP-like resins, will be used to 3D print the parts. While the number of parts being produced with 3D printing is currently limited, the partners expect to deepen their collaboration in the future and 3D print a larger number of parts.

Discuss this and other 3D printing topics at 3DPrintBoard.com or share your thoughts below. 

[Images: Spare Parts 3D]

 

3D printed parts save Lockheed Martin F-35 program $45 million

Lockheed Martin, the global aerospace and defense company, has reported price reduction of its F-35 Full Mission Simulator (FMS) unit by $3 million per unit with the help of 3D printed parts. Amy Gowder, Lockheed Martin Vice President and General Manager, said, “We’re serious about driving out costs and excited to generate continued production savings […]

3D Printing News Sliced: IKEA, EnvisionTEC, America Makes and a giant elephant

Today in Sliced, our 3D printing news digest, we collect all the latest business updates, applications and additive manufacturing research. In addition to the title companies, we feature Organovo, BigRep, Etihad, Graphene 3D Lab, PrintLab, Renishaw and UNYQ in a quick-fire round up of stories from across the industry. The 3D printed elephant bursting out […]

“Sexy Cyborg” Naomi Wu Says Community Is Key To Successful Open Source

In this speech at a recent Chinese open source conference, YouTube star Naomi Wu explains the benefits of open source from a Chinese perspective. She ought to know. She is the only person from China who holds a OSHW certification. She talks of her experience in developing the sino:bit educational hardware device and her relationship with Creality 3D printer company and helping them understand the importance of open source.

Although this speech is in Chinese with English subtitles it is well worth your effort to watch.

3d.fab’s BioAssemblyBot Wants to 3D Print Skin onto People

3D bioprinting continues to diversify as more and more companies and research organizations join the field, each bringing their own take on the technology to the table. French collaborative platform 3d.fab has an intriguing approach towards bioprinting that involves a freeform robot capable of directly printing on a part of the body. In the video below, the BioAssemblyBot prints what appears to be a bandage directly on an arm:

The “bandage” is actually a bio-ink made from the skin cells of a patient. When applied to the patient’s skin, it forms an autograft that will, within a couple of weeks, create new skin. The BioAssemblyBot is capable of both additive and contour 3D printing, as well as pick and place and assembly thanks to its interchangeable tools. It’s only one of 3d.fab’s bioprinting technologies; the platform has a few other bioprinters in development as well, including another skin printer.

3d.fab works with other 3D printing technologies as well, including FDM and Polyjet, but everything is geared toward the pursuit of new developments in healthcare. Skin 3D printing is a major priority for the platform, as evidenced by the “Stresskin” project, one of several projects 3d.fab is pursuing. The approach of directly 3D printing on a body part is highly promising; while other organizations have worked on 3D printed skin, the samples generally are too fragile to be sutured, according to 3d.fab. The direct 3D printing concept would eliminate the need for sutures, creating a living bandage that would incorporate itself into the surrounding skin.

This is exciting news for victims of burns, illness or trauma who have lost significant portions of skin. Traditional skin grafts are painful and prone to infection or rejection, and the larger the wound, the more difficult it is to repair with a graft. 3D printing new skin cells directly onto a wound would reduce the risk of rejection, as it uses the patient’s own skin cells to grow new skin, and there would be no limit to the size of the “bandages” that could be applied, thanks to the free-form robot.

3d.fab’s other projects include a 3D printed device for faster and more cost-effective diagnoses of diseases. The goal of the project is to avoid further contributing to antibiotic resistance by thoroughly genetically analyzing pathogens. The platform is also working on improving silicone materials for 3D printed medical models and implants, as well as developing 3D printing technologies that can repair nasal cartilage loss.

Those are just a few of the initiatives 3d.fab is working on to advance 3D printing in the medical field. The platform collaborates with multiple partners and is open to further collaborations; if you are interested in working with 3d.fab, you can contact the organization here.

Discuss this and other 3D printing topics at 3DPrintBoard.com or share your thoughts below. 

 

Jorge Rojas’ New Jewelry Collection is Meant To Be Gifted

Jorge Rojas is a Spanish jeweler and designer based in Hamburg, Germany. Rojas has developed his passion and craft over the years as a jewelry maker, training in the workshops of master jewelers in New York and teaching as a professor of Jewelry Design at the Centro de Estudios Joyeros de Madrid for more than 10 years before opening his own atelier. Rojas still collaborates with the school, and is an active contributor to the jewelry magazine Gold & Time as a columnist and to the design magazine Experimenta as a blogger. His work has been exhibited at the Miró Foundation in Barcelona, Círculo de Bellas Artes in Madrid, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Málaga, the German Gemstone Museum in Idar-Oberstein, and the Cervantes Institute in Hamburg.

Now, with 4 years of 3D design experience under his belt, Rojas is utilizing the state-of-the-art 3D printing services offered by Shapeways to create a new, ultramodern collection which marries organic forms, shapes and elements with cutting-edge technologies to create unique, evocative pieces of wearable art.

The New Collection

In his new collection, Rojas utilizes strategic void space in his designs to create sculptural “containers of emotion” within each piece. To Rojas, a piece of jewelry’s true value lies in the emotion it is imbued with, both by the creator during the design process, and by the wearer when it becomes a part of their life story. According to Rojas, when a jewel is gifted, it then takes on an emotion, which becomes a memory, and is rendered an intrinsic part of the jewel.

The dynamic forms and fundamental structures which comprise each piece of this collection echo the essential building blocks of our universe, and indeed, through this collection Rojas is recreating and refining his own creative universe, with a series of offerings which hold space for the emotions of those who would use his pieces to celebrate and commemorate life.

Why Rojas Uses 3D Printing

Using 3D printing as a means of production offers many benefits to Rojas, including the opportunity to create realistic visual renderings of ideas quickly and effectively, before producing the designs in more precious and costly materials. As a designer and project manager who offers customized design services to clients from all over the world to help them realize their creative visions, this is very helpful to ensure structural quality and customer satisfaction. With 3D printing as their production method, Rojas and his clients also have the freedom to create jewelry from more novel materials, such as splintered black steel and laser-welded polymers.

“For the creative, it is a tool that multiplies the development options, making possible designs and production of pieces that before were technically impossible, or that they required an impossible investment of time,” explains Rojas. “I think there is a new way to enjoy jewelry, more personal and free, and that’s why I’m using the new technologies of 3D design and printing, applying all my knowledge of the trade and my creative freedom to offer original, fresh and very current [pieces].”

VISIT JORGEROJAS.COM

 

The post Jorge Rojas’ New Jewelry Collection is Meant To Be Gifted appeared first on Shapeways Magazine.

Bamboo Mixtures Improve Polypropylene Filaments

With the increasing number of printable materials, one area in particular is seeing a lot of growth: green-based filaments. From peat to hemp, there’s been a surge in “natural” filaments that are recyclable and often reusable. Now joining this illustrious list of naturally-derived materials is bamboo, used to add material characteristics to PP. Researchers developed […]

The post Bamboo Mixtures Improve Polypropylene Filaments appeared first on 3D Printing.

Radiological Society of North America post guidelines for 3D printed anatomic models

A special interest group of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) has posted a set of guidelines, suggesting standard approaches for 3D printing in healthcare. Recognizing the need for evidence-based recommendations in the sector, these guidelines have been developed over a period of two years, in review of over 500 recent papers published on […]

Purmundus 2018 winners lead future of 3D printing design and innovation

The Purmundus Challenge 2018 3D printing design award took place on the 15 November in Frankfurt as part of Formnext 2018. A registered trademark of cirp, a German prototyping and small-batch production company, Purmundus invites challengers from around the world to participate in a theme-based 3D printing design contest.   Christoph Behling, founder of Christoph Behling Design, and […]

3D Printing an Improved DMLS Automotive Component Using Topology Optimization and DfAM

Engineers frequently use topology optimization to optimize the design and layout of parts to create lightweight and optimized structures. The technology often results in organic, complex shapes, however, which can be difficult to produce using traditional manufacturing methods. That’s why 3D printing pairs so well with topology optimization – it allows for the kind of freedom of design necessary to create those complex shapes. In a paper entitled “Application of Topology Optimization and Design for Additive Manufacturing Guidelines on an Automotive Component,” a group of researchers uses topology optimization to create a lightweight automotive component “while conforming to additive manufacturing constraints related to overhanging features and unsupported surfaces when using metallic materials.”

Specifically, the researchers use Design for Additive Manufacturing (DfAM) along with topology optimization to study the tradeoffs between the weight of the part, support requirements, manufacturing costs, and mechanical performance. They redesign an upright on the SAE Formula student race car to reduce support structures and manufacturing cost while using Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS).

The upright is responsible for transferring loads from the ground to the chassis, and is an important component of the race car. The initial optimized design had a theoretical weight of 1.62 lbs. (735 grams). The model was analyzed for two orientations: flat on the build platform and on its side. A costing tool was used to calculate the overall manufacturing costs of the build. The calculated costs of the part printed flat and on its side were $2015 and $2995, respectively. FEM simulations were carried out to ensure that the mechanical performance of the final parts satisfied the loading conditions.

The researchers then worked to improve the design using a program called OPTISTRUCT, with the original design as a reference.

“Since the optimization problem involves multiple loading cases, a weighted compliance approach is used to determine the optimized layout while considering four different loading cases,” the researchers explain. “The objective function is defined as minimize compliance response subjected to 20% volume fraction as the optimization constraint.”

The aim of the redesign was to reduce the need for supports, and the researchers were able to do so, although the weight of the part was increased. After reviewing the FEM analysis, the part was redesigned once again to reduce the weight. The final part required 91.7% less support structure, and the total manufacturing cost is reduced by 51.7%.

“Future work entails formalizing an approach that integrates topology optimization, FEM, support design, and DfAM rules into a more coherent framework,” the researchers conclude. “We also plan to fabricate and test Redesign 2 using EOS M280 machine and collect actual fabrication data similar to Design 0 to get a more accurate measure of the support requirement and trapped powder. Also, geometry affects the residual stresses and deflections caused by frequent heating and cooling cycles in a laser-based additive manufacturing process. Hence, for functional parts like this, it is important to know the performance of the design during the AM process. Thermo-mechanical simulations will be carried out to estimate the deflections in the part and this data will be used to redesign, if required.”

Authors of the paper include Nithin Reddy, Vincent Maranan, Timothy W. Simpson, Todd Palmer and Corey J. Dickman.

Discuss this and other 3D printing topics at 3DPrintBoard.com or share your thoughts below.