Low Volume Manufacturing 3rd December 2013

Polymer Innovation Team, WMG University of Warwick b.m.wood@warwick.ac.uk @benjaminmwood

2013

Welcome

#IIPSI
2013

#PolymerInnovation

Agenda
0830-0900 0900-0915 0915-0930 0930-1045 1045-1100 1100-1230 1230-1315 1315-1445 Registration, tea and coffee Welcome and Introductions Why low volume manufacturing? Making parts with Additive Manufacturing Refreshments Break Designing a 3D Printed mould tool CAD Practical Lunch Injection Moulding practical session PI Team Ben Wood Paul Milne Greg Gibbons Ben Wood PI Team

1445-1500
1500-1545 1545 on 2013

Refreshments Break
Options for low volume manufacturing 1 to 1s with the Polymer Innovation team projects

PI Team PI Team

Introductions
Greg Gibbons

Ben Wood

Paul Milne

Martin Worrall
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Why Low Volume Manufacturing?

Paul Milne
IIPSI

2013

Issues for manufacture

End of life
Technology readiness Scale-up Methods Form and function Development Materials Specification Time Risk Requirements Investors Production Qualification Acceptance Cost Orders

PRODUCT

Technology transfer Manufacturers

Number of Parts

Prototypes Quality

Product facilities

Trials
Partners

Customers

Market readiness

DESIGN
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Investment

Lifecycle for Polymer development

Prototyping

Formulating New Materials

Low Volume Manufacturing

Recycling

Adding Functionality

2013

Product Lifetime

Sales

Prototype Low volume

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Mass Production

End of Life

Process Comparison
Process Compression Moulding Rotational Moulding Vacuum Forming Extrusion Blow Moulding Injection Moulding Capital Equipment Cost Low Medium Medium Medium Medium High Production Rate Tooling Cost Part Volumes Slow Slow Medium Fast Medium Fast Low Medium Medium Low Medium Medium High 100 1 mill 100 1 mill 10,000 1 mill Med - High 1,000 100 mill 10,000 100 mill

High Volume Injection Moulding 2013

Mass Production
72 parts every 3 seconds
750 million parts per year

VERY expensive tooling/equipment

~500,000

But
750million x 0.1p = 750,000 Payback in 8 months

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Low Volume Manufacturing- recap

Part of product development Finalise design , secure funding/orders, user trials. Bridge between prototype and production Highlighting production issues helps refine methods before moving to scale up production Cost effective manufacture Routes to reduce risk, time and cost of manufacture Several low volume manufacturing routes possible Machining, casting, low cost mould tools etc
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ALM for Low volume manufacture

How can additive layer manufacture help?
Very good at going from design (CAD) to part

but
Only makes one part at a time Cant compete with mass production methods No economies of scale

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The Problem

Injection Moulding

Tooling Cost

ALM 1

Low Volume Manufacturing 100 1000 10,000

100,000

1,000,000+

Number of Parts 2013

Rapid Tooling
Early definition of Rapid Tooling:
a process that allows a tool for injection moulding and die casting operations to be manufactured quickly and efficiently so the resultant part will be representative of the production material. - Karl Denton 1996

With Rapid Tooling now covering a wider range of applications, this has generalised to:

a range of processes aimed at reducing both the cost and time for the
manufacture of tooling.

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Rapid Tooling with ALM

Indirect
Use of a Rapid Prototype (RP) pattern to manufacture a tool in a secondary operation
ALM original Mould tool from original Make parts

Direct
Directly produce the tool using a layer-additive process

ALM tool
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Make parts

ALM tooling
ALM tooling has potential to reduce manufacturing time and cost Developing technology area Increased technical risks- currently limited by complexity, size, resolution and material Useful additional method for low volume manufacture

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Making Parts with Additive Layer Manufacturing (ALM)

Dr Greg Gibbons

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Contents
Current processes, materials
Process economics Barriers and needs to achieving market penetration

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CURRENT PROCESSES, MATERIALS, ECONOMICS

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Polymer Processes
Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) Stereolithography (SLA)

Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM)

Most Common Primary Processes

Multi-Jet Modelling (MJM)

3D Printing (3DP) 20

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Stereolithography
How?
Laser scan of each layer and solidification of a liquid resin by UV light

Capability?
Up to 1500 x 750 x 550 mm 0.05-0.15 mm thick layers 0.76 mm resolution

Summary:
High resolution Good surface finish Relatively complex parts Large parts possible

Applications?
Form, fit, function Snap fits, living hinges Master patterns for PU casting Investment casting patterns

Materials?

Thermosets (e.g. epoxies) that replicate thermoplastics (e.g PP, ABS) Stiff and flexible materials Investment castable materials Transparent materials
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Selective Laser Sintering

How?
Laser scan of each layer and solidification of a thermoplastic powder by IR heat

Capability?
Up to 700 x 380 x 560 mm 0.1-0.15 mm thick layers 0.1 mm resolution

Summary:
High resolution Complex parts Relatively large parts Mostly PA-based material No transparent materials

Applications?
Form, fit, function Snap fits, living hinges Investment casting patterns

Materials?

Thermoplastics (PA, carbon-filled PA, aluminium-filled PA, PEEK) PS for investment casting All opaque
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Fused Deposition Modelling

How?
Polymer wire feed Melted in hot nozzle Extruded out onto platform

Capability?
Up to 914 x 610 x 914 mm 0.178-0.33 mm thick layers 0.1 mm resolution

Summary:
Medium resolution Complex parts Large parts Range of thermoplastics No transparent materials

Applications?
Form, fit, function Snap fits, living hinges Tooling (metal, composites, plastics) Jigs and fixtures

Materials?

Thermoplastics (ABS, PC, PC-ABS, PEI, PPSF) Mostly opaque, some translucency

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Multi-Jet Modelling
How?
Liquid resin polymer inkjet printed onto a build plate and solidified using UV light

Capability?
Up to 1000x800x500mm High resolution 16micron layers 600x600 dpi

Summary:
Very high resolution Very complex parts Large parts Multiple materials in one part Transparent and opaque Generally poor thermal tolerance

Applications?
Functional prototyping Simulating over-moulding Tool patterns

Materials?
Acrylates PP, ABS, rubber like Transparent and opaque Multiple flexibilities in one part
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3D Printing
How?
Liquid binder ink jet printed onto powder bed, selectively solidifying the powder

Capability?
Up to 4x2x1m 0.08-0.2mm layers 600dpi resolution

Summary:
Very large parts Fast build rates Limited range of materials No transparent materials

Applications?
Functional prototyping Tool patterns

Materials?
PMMA (Voxeljet) Ceramic/polymer composite (3D Systems)

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Other Polymer Processes

Digital Light Processing (DLP) Micro Light Switch

Digital Wax

Multitude of other competing processes

Selective Mask Sintering (SMS) Selective Heat Sintering (SHS) freeformer

Laminated Object Manufacture (LOM)

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Metallic Processes
Powder Bed Electron Beam Melting Powder Bed Laser Melting Laser Direct Metal Deposition

Most Common Metallic Processes

Powder Bed Metal 3D Printing

Electron Beam Direct Metal Deposition

27

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Powder Bed Laser Melting

How?
Powder layer deposited onto platform Laser selectively melts powder which subsequently solidifies

Capability?
Around 250x250x320mm 200W-1kW laser 20-100micron layers 70 micron resolution 30 micron accuracy Around 0.2kg/hr

Summary:
High resolution Small part size capability Slow build rates

Applications?
Additive Layer Manufacturing
Autosports Aerospace Medical Tooling

Materials?
Practically any metal
Tool steel, stainless steel Aluminium Inconels, Titanium 28

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Powder Bed Electron Beam Melting

How?
Powder layer deposited onto platform Electron beam selectively melts powder which subsequently solidifies

Capability?
Around 350x380mm 3.5kW electron beam 100micron layers 0.2mm resolution 0.2mm accuracy Around 0.4kg/hr

Summary:
Medium build rate Medium resolution Medium accuracy

Applications?
Additive Layer Manufacturing
Autosports Aerospace Medical Tooling

Materials?
Practically any metal, but commercially:
Titanium Ti 6Al 4V Co-Cr alloy

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Laser Beam Direct Metal Deposition

How?
Powder feed into laser beam focus, melting metal Clads molten metal in layers

Capability?
Around 3x3m x 360o 1-10kW laser 1.2mm accuracy 0.8-1.5kg/hr

Summary:
Relatively high build rates Low accuracy Mix materials during build Add material to existing parts

Applications?
Additive Layer Manufacturing Restoration of components Shafts, blades, diaphragms, tools

Materials?
Practically any metal
Tool steel, Stellites, Inconels, Titanium

Multiple material feeds for material combinations

30

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Electron Beam Direct Metal Deposition

How?
Wire feed into electron beam Clads molten metal in layers

Capability?
Around 6x1x1m 1mm accuracy Up to 9kg/hr

Summary:
Very high build rates Very large parts Low accuracy Add material to existing parts

Applications?
Additive Layer Manufacturing Restoration of components Shafts, blades, diaphragms, tools

Materials?
Practically any metal
Tool steel Stellites Inconels Titanium 31

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Powder Bed Metal 3D Printing

How?

Deposit layer of metal powder (coated) Ink-jet print binder onto powder Post-sinter in furnace

Capability?
Around 780x400x400mm 60 micron resolution 0.1mm layers Up to 15kg/hr

Summary:
Large build volume Very high build rates Medium accuracy Requires furnace consolidation

Applications?
Additive Layer Manufacturing Aerospace Energy / Oil / Gas Automotive

Materials?
Limited proprietary metals Stainless steel Bronze Tungsten
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The 3DPrinting Promise

Reduced need for tooling
Enables low volume production Simplified supply chain and reduced capital investment

Enables complex geometries

Part consolidation Optimised geometries Personalisation and customisation

Enables new business and supply chain models

Distributed manufacture with reduced transportation Production closer to the consumer

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Component Cost Barriers and Needs

Deposition Rates Too Low 3DP systems too small

Component Costs Too High

Non-optimal business models High material costs High capital costs

New scanning methodologies or energy sources New business models for maximising usage New larger machines and formats

Reduce Component Costs

Shared ownership New powder supply methods Reduce BOM through supply chain

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Process Robustness Barriers and Needs

Inconsistency between batches Lack of inprocess monitoring and control

3D Printing Processes Are Not Robust

Lack of standards Lack of capable NDT / QA

Consistent materials supply

In-process machining Materials and process standards

Postprocessing required to meet spec

Make 3D Printing Robust

New inprocess stress relieving New inprocess thermal control In-process monitoring and control

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Process and Product Data Barriers and Needs

Limited performance data for components

Lack of awareness of 3DP

Lack of Process and Product Data

Limited performance data for materials and parameters

Develop shared performance database Open source access to materials data

Lack of training for designers to design for 3DP

Poor, fragmented supply chains AM awareness events

Provide Access to Process and Product Data

Develop best practice guides and training Develop network to develop 3DP end-user supply chain

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Additive Manufacturing

THE REAL DEAL

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Additive manufacturing the real deal

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Materials Accuracy Resolution Sizes Time Costs non added value activity

Polymers
Most common thermoplastics are:
SLS (PA, PS) FDM (ABS, PLA, PC, PEEK)

Most common thermosets are:

Acrylic (MJM) Epoxy (SLA) Wax-like (for investment casting)

The HDT of FDM materials is equal to the IM grade The HDT of other polymers is usually lower than 500C High temperature polymers are available
PEEK (SLS) PPSF, ULTEM (MJM)

Transparency is available but not for FDM and SLS

Translucency is available for FDM (ABSi - Methyl methacrylate-acrylonitrile-butadienestryrene copolymer)

Fire retardancy is available (most systems) Biocompatibility is available (non-implantable) for most systems

2013

Metals
Most metals processed using SLS Wide range of commercial materials
Ti, Ti alloys, stainless steel, Inconels, CoCr, Maraging steel, tool steel, aluminium

Now systems processing Ag, Au, Pt (EOS-Cookson Metals tie-up) Mechanical properties usually approach or match those of wrought materials

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Accuracy, Resolution
Resolution and accuracy are not the same! Accuracy and resolution are complex and are highly dependent on system and component size, and on quality of calibration
Accuracy x SLS metal SLS polymer MJM 3DP 2013 30 100 20 250 y 30 100 20 250 z 20 100 16 89 Resolution x 100 50 40 100 y 100 50 40 100 z 20 50 16 89

Size
Polymers
Wide range of size capabilities (50mm-3m+) Small bed sizes often have higher resolution Large bed sizes often have faster build rates

Metals
Most metals systems have beds <300x300x300mm Soon to be released have 500x500x300mm
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Time
Time is very difficult to assess from an STL file since: Time is dependent upon:
Part volume Part dimensions Part orientation Material used (even in the same process) Level of finishing required How much you want to pay (premium for queue jumping)

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Costs (using a bureau)

Not easy to assess just from an STL file since: Cost is very much dependent upon:
Volume of the component (amount of material) Part dimensions Cost of the material Amount of support material Resolution required (number of slices) Orientation required (taller the dearer) Number of parts required (often cheaper per part to have multiples especially for SLS) Level of finish required
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Costs (in-house)
If you have system in-house, need to consider:
Maintenance costs Material costs (including scrap, waste) Consumables costs Infrastructural costs Labour costs (set-up and clean-down)

Costs can vary widely depending on the system

2013

System - 500-1m+ Maintenance 100 30k PA Material - 1 - 600 /kg Infrastructural - 0 - 100k + Labour - 5 - 200 per part

Low Cost Systems

Recent huge rise in ultralow cost systems
Makerbot, BFB, Cubify

2013

Based on FDM technology 500 - 2,500 Material costs ~20/kg No dedicated computer No training Simple post-processing

Low Volume Manufacturing

HOW TO 3D PRINT AN INJECTION MOULD TOOL

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ALM Tooling
Why ALM Injection Mould Tooling?
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Directly produce the tool using a layer-additive process Quick to manufacture; hours rather than weeks Lower cost than metal tooling Easy to update/modify component designs during NPD Make parts in proper plastics Try out different tool designs for maximum production efficiency

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ALM Tooling
Additive Manufactured tooling isnt new But
SLA can pricey, slow and not that durable FDM doesnt give us the resolution we need

ALM has moved on!

Higher accuracy Rapid build times Choice of materials
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ALM Tooling
Concept:
Manufacture a tool overnight (<12 hours) No additional machining required Cost competitive for <1000 parts Makes production ready parts
Material Finish Accuracy

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ALM Tooling
Inserts are comparatively cheap
Less durable than metal tooling

Easy to change geometry/design Suited to low volumes Crossover point depends on material, part design, etc

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Material Compatibility

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ALM Tooling
Polypropylene
14000
12000

Total Production Cost []

10000

8000

6000

4000

2000 ALM Tooling 0 0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 Number of Parts 1800 2000 2200 2400 Metal Tooling 2600 2800 3000

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ALM Tooling
50% Glass Filled Nylon
14000 12000

Total Production Cost []

10000

8000

6000

4000

2000 ALM Tooling 0 0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 Number of Parts 1800 2000 2200 2400 2600 Metal Tooling 2800 3000

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Time to split into groups

HANDS-ON SESSION

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Insert Tool Design

Things to think about:
Draft Ejection Minimum thickness Split line Weld lines etc etc

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Whats the right solution for your product?

OPTIONS FOR LOW VOLUME MANUFACTURING

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Options for Low Volume

ALM mould tools arent a perfect process
Dont suit every component Dont suit all materials

There are other options available in the market for low volume manufacturing

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Options for Low Volume

Direct manufacture:
Additive manufacturing (see this mornings notes) CNC machining http://youtu.be/PbdgUBwKcsg

Indirect rapid tooling

Investment casting http://youtu.be/1rgfT-PlXqU RTV silicone mould tooling http://youtu.be/ciQQb9L5JBM

Direct Rapid Tooling

Metal rapid tooling http://youtu.be/3ciyG_hidhE ALM rapid tooling
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Low Volume Options

Process Price per Part Production Rate Tooling Cost Parts per Tool

ALM
CNC Machining

Medium/High
Medium/High

Slow
Slow

Zero
Medium

N/A
N/A

RTV Silicone Tooling

ALM Tooling Machined Aluminium Tooling Metal Laser Sintered Tooling

Low/Medium

Slow

Low

20-50

Low Low Low

Medium/Fast Fast Fast

Low High Very High

50-250 5000+ 10,000+

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Summary
Many potential manufacturing routes for low volume
Making the right choice depends on product

ALM mould tooling can work for ~1500 parts

Between 40-150 shots per insert Not suitable for really complex tooling

2013

Please stay in touch:

b.m.wood@warwick.ac.uk p.milne@warwick.ac.uk go.warwick.ac.uk/iipsi #IIPSI #POLYMERINNOVATION @wmgsme @benjaminmwood

2013