Lean Manufacturing gets a boost from Additive Manufacturing

ATLANTA - Sept. 18, 2013 - PRLog -- Major manufacturers and plant operators are starting to take notice of additive manufacturing across many industries.  When implemented correctly, it can also mean big savings and successes in their lean manufacturing operations.  However, most manufacturers have a hard time identifying these opportunities, partly due to the fact that most people have an inaccurate concept of the strengths of this new technology and fail to correctly identify where additive manufacturing is useful and where conventional methods are better suited.

Industry veteran IMI therefore now offers companies an on-site evaluation to determine the optimal way how an industrial customer can utilize the full potential of this revolutionary production method which is currently changing entire industries.  On-site additive manufacturing evaluations present boundless options for manufacturers of all sizes to use additive manufacturing to better their lean operations throughout the entire production life cycle.

“A thorough on-site manufacturing evaluation within a factory will result in a customized report for that specific production facility.  These reports typically point out where additive manufacturing can be utilized in the most efficient manner to increase profits, decrease lead times, decrease time to market, extend tooling life, etc.” IMI president Steve Van Duzen explains.  “In lean manufacturing, whether Six Sigma or Toyotism, the entire goal is to drive up value through the elimination of processes and waste which prohibit this from happening, and additive manufacturing in the production environment accomplishes this with powerful results,” he continued.

Many companies have the initial impression that additive manufacturing is only good for rapid prototyping or producing something which is a manufactured component or finished part which the factory actually makes.  The reality is that it can go way beyond that, and when combined with the proper finish know-how or post process applications, that the possibilities generate some tremendous cost savings, lead time reductions, eliminate waste, save significant energy and more.  The Advanced Manufacturing Office with the US Department of Energy states in their Additive Manufacturing publications that “additive manufacturing could reduce energy use by 50% and reduces material costs by up to 90% compared to traditional manufacturing.”

An additive manufacturing evaluation will point out not only where AM can be used, but help determine the best approach with the best possible outcomes.  In some cases, SLS or DMLS can be used to manufacture tooling or molds, with immediate cost savings over traditionally manufactured tooling combined with a significant decrease in lead time to acquire the tooling. In other cases, it may mean not making the tooling but manufacturing the part itself.  If the part has components which get assembled into it, then each component that can be printed into the part during the initial AM-process which eliminates further assembly down the line.  All of these examples yield measurable and tangible lean operation benefits.

There are many manufacturers which have old machinery which is no longer supported by the OEMs.  Sourcing purchasing and inventorying these parts is time consuming and costly.  A proper on-site additive manufacturing evaluation will also take this into consideration, further reducing the stress on MRO and production machinery maintenance needs.

On-premise additive manufacturing site evaluations are typically less than the costs for one average set of precision manufacturing tooling, and can yield immediate and significantly bankable results.

The response to this new service is enormous: IMI recently added several new representatives across the country to its team to ensure sustained availability and customer satisfaction.