Multi-Laser Series - Making a Slow Decision on a Fast Technology: Evaluating the Business Case for Multi-Laser Powder Bed Fusion

John Barnes, The Barnes Global Advisors

In our first article in this three-part series, we explored the potential benefits of using multi-laser powder bed fusion (PBF) systems considering bed size and therefore part production, laser power and parameters. We then compared that to another form of AM, binder jet processing, where we looked specifically at print speed, effective print speed, and actual part cost. In this third article, we will bring it home with a look at the overall investment, impact of throughput and the output of multi-laser powder bed fusion systems. What implications are there in using a multi-laser system? Once again, we will use a data driven approach.

“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and take a look around, you could miss it.” —Ferris Bueller. This statement is perhaps truer in 2021 than it was in 1986. Since our first article in this series, three new machines have been introduced with laser counts of 9, 10 and 12. After the first two articles, we are all astute enough to ask good questions like: Is more better? Is print speed everything? What if we take a hard look at what it takes to be successful in the AM parts making business?

Understanding the Business Case

When running a contract manufacturing business, buying the latest equipment every year really is not an option. Productivity (yes, you knew it was coming), is critically important. Multi-laser systems can produce parts faster, but the equipment is also more expensive; the key is to be more productive (i.e. turn out more product per unit cost). There is an important reason an entire section of our TBGA AM training courses is focused on business case and process economics; we must appreciate the role of cost drivers.

The main cost driver in the TBGA control arm made by PBF is the 3D printing versus the materials and processing completed after printing. A key driver within that printing cost is the depreciation of the 3D printer itself. Depreciation essentially allows a business to take the cost of the equipment and spread it over the useful life, giving you a true cost of operation in a $/hr figure. When you are in series production, the $/hr goes down with productivity, or increased output and/or reduced cost of equipment. As AM equipment rarely goes down in price, we are primarily interested in getting the productivity up and therefore the $/hr basis down.

We once again rely on our data-driven methods. Using the TBGA control arm, we test how to get cost out of our part by examining depreciation and productivity and their contributions to making our contract manufacturing business successful.

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ArticlesAllie Kunkel