Why Move to Additive Manufacturing?
To AM or not to AM? That is the question. All new technology requires a balance of evangelism and pragmatism. The suite of processes known as additive manufacturing is no different.
We must understand the art of the possible but also balance that with the technical requirements, qualification plans, business case, and people and skills required for success.
When used wisely, AM can improve schedule, scope and cost; these opportunities have only increased with recent supply chain issues related to a pandemic, war, and rising global tensions.
When considering a move to AM, some players are driven by the blue-sky opportunity and others by a fear of missing out. AM adoption should be driven by the ability to solve a problem or achieve an outcome of which there are many; increase product customization, reduce inventory, improve performance, reduce low volume pricing, decrease lead time, enable point of use manufacturing, etc. However, not all AM use cases are created equal.
Prototyping a new design for a fish tagging hook, replacing a long lead time casting for a nuclear submarine, and building an integrally cooled rocket nozzle are all interesting AM use cases, but they all have very different requirements.
Pulling from our deep industrial experience, TBGA leverages data and custom-built tools to produce insights and actionable plans. The TBGA toolbox includes our Qualification Framework, Process Economics Models, Training, Maturity Model, Readiness Model, and Elements of Safety Checklist, all aimed at breaking down the customer journey into manageable steps, understanding requirements, and aligning to a common language.
One of the first tools TBGA uses when discussing AM applications with customers
The Maturity Model describes the application criticality and associated increasing risk and requirements, with the knowledge and skills required to successfully implement. The application maturity then drives the investment, time and skills required to execute; we advocate for a crawl-walk-run philosophy that achieves ROI and builds knowledge and skills to tackle increasingly difficult requirements. Every group, whether a start-up, precision manufacturer, or the US government, follows a similar approach; understand requirements, choose the right AM process, work through the process to qualify, and guide the business case.
Our job is not to convince you to use AM but rather to arm you with the data and insights to decide whether or not you move to AM.