Recently, Mr. Stefaan Motte, Vice President of Materialise and General Manager of Software Division reviewed the history of 3D printing, and highlighted the three stages of the development of this emerging technology and how Materialise has been an industry leader.
Make 3D printing available
This is not a new technology for anyone who has been concerned with 3D printing since the early days. The first 3D printer came out about thirty years ago, when 3D printing technology was still in its infancy. Our CEO, Mr. Fried Vancraen, purchased his first 3D printer in 1990, but he found that the print quality of this printer was not good, and it was even more impossible to print high-quality parts. So he formed a small team to start writing the initial software code to enable the printer to make the design a reality. This code is the origin of Magics software-the industry standard software currently used to prepare files for 3D printing.
So, what was the first part this passionate Belgian team was trying to print? Beer mug, of course. this is a true story. At that time, it was impossible to 3D print a typical Belgian star beer mug, which was also the first challenge for our Magics software. At the time, we focused on making 3D printers available and enhancing the connection between software and printers. As more new designs emerge, such as complex, lightweight structures and bionic shapes, we further develop software to make these designs a reality with 3D printing.
Make 3D printing make sense
After we and the industry made 3D printing available, the question quickly became: How do we apply this new technology? In other words: which 3D printing applications are valuable, influential and meaningful? 3D printing is not only "different ways of creation", but also "create different ways". The key to the successful application of this technology is to find applications that truly benefit from the process, design and manufacturing optimizations provided by 3D printing. Through a process of co-creation and deep collaboration, we help companies find meaningful applications that can generate real business growth.
Materialise 3D printed knee surgery guide
A very influential case is the application of 3D printing in the hearing aid industry. After the hearing aid industry discovered the transformative power of 3D printing, the industry has undergone rapid and irreversible changes. Within 500 days, more than 90% of hearing aid companies in the United States have switched from traditional manufacturing to 3D printing, and the entire industry has disrupted in just a few months. 3D printing has also had a huge impact on the healthcare industry. We created the first customized surgical guides and customized surgical implants, changed people's lives and helped researchers, engineers and clinicians achieve the ideal treatment. effect. Today, we are using these blueprints for change to transform the eyewear industry. We also see manufacturing companies increasingly using 3D printing. Leaders in the automotive, aerospace, and consumer goods industries are also turning to 3D printing because they recognize the design optimization capabilities that 3D printing brings to existing vertical industry applications and the potential of 3D printing to create significant business opportunities in emerging markets.
Making 3D printing pay off
So far, we have proven that we can make 3D printing available. The development of new materials, better and faster printers, and higher levels of automation continue to provide new impetus to the 3D printing industry. This helps to position 3D printing not only as a prototype technology, but also as an important alternative and complementary manufacturing technology for the production of the final product. We have also made 3D printing meaningful. At present, we have found and developed some meaningful applications that can truly benefit from the transformative power of 3D printing, and we are continuing to look for new applications. Our next challenge is: can we make it rewarding?
In order to make 3D printing pay off, we need to expand the production scale and realize batch manufacturing. We need to achieve mass production to make it economical, sustainable and profitable.
Productivity oriented software
Today, leading companies in the medical, aviation, and automotive industries are using 3D printing to produce end products. Our software helps companies address key cost drivers: labor, materials, and printers, thereby expanding their operations and increasing their profitability and productivity. The status quo of the 3D printing industry is that many small and medium-sized enterprises have a barely-balanced business and it is very difficult to make profits. Especially for homogeneous products, competition is particularly fierce. This is where our software can play a key role.
An outstanding example is our e-Stage for Metal software, which can automatically generate support structures for metal 3D printing. The software reduced the time to prepare the data by 90%, reduced the time to remove the support by 50%, and brought the powder recovery rate closer to 100%. Another example is our automatic nesting function for laser sintering. It can print 25% more parts at a time, increasing printer productivity. In addition, automatic nesting reduces manual processing time from 8 hours to 40 minutes.
In addition to automation, productivity can also be increased by using simulation software. Simulation helps operators to predict and analyze the behavior of parts during printing by creating virtual prototypes to optimize the print preparation process and reduce the high cost of reprinting and printing failures. In applying simulation to our own printing process, we found that printing the same parts with the same quality increased the speed by 42%. Today, metal parts have a print failure rate of 10% to 15%, and these parts need to be reprinted. The cost of failed or unqualified parts is very expensive, especially for metal 3D printing.
Let's look at a set of numbers. A metal printer typically costs about $ 400,000 to $ 500,000 a year to run. Our automated support generation software can reduce costs by 10% ($ 40,000). The software after adding the simulation module can help users reduce the failure rate of printing, and save tens of thousands of dollars on the previous basis, depending on the geometry of the part. Overall, software can reduce the total cost of a printer by 10% or more. For a plant that can operate at a 5% profit margin (not many plants actually operate at a 5% profit margin), this means a loss or a profit.
As more and more companies are using 3D printing as an alternative manufacturing technology, the cost competition environment facing print service agencies is more fierce than ever. As a result, they are looking for ways to increase the scale of operations, increase productivity, and reduce total costs. Software, especially simulation software, will help them gradually reduce major costs while expanding their business to meet the needs of future customers.