Cummins has sold its first metal part printed on one of its own 3D printers, moving the company a significant step closer to the exciting potential of additive manufacturing. The part was a low-volume bracket for a customer in Cummins’ New and ReCon Parts division and did not have a current supplier. The company is focusing first on printing low-volume parts as it studies how best to use 3D technology in higher volume manufacturing.
With this technology you can really unshackle the designer to do things you just can’t do using traditional forms of manufacturing,”
.Brett Boas, Director-Advanced Manufacturing at the Cummins Technical Center in Columbus, Indiana
It is possible to create lightweight parts, stronger and more effective using metal Additive Manufacturing compared to parts created using more traditional methods that employ molds, molten metal, and equipment to precisely cut and shape the part.
The 3D Printing Revolution
At Cummins, Industry 4.0 includes everything from collaborative robots to artificial intelligence, augmented reality and the enhanced integration between IT and manufacturing operations.
The company currently has a metal 3D printer at the Cummins Technical Center in Columbus and three printers at the company’s technical center devoted to aftermarket products in Mexico. Cummins’ operations in San Luis Potosi include a large remanufacturing plant.
Remanufactured engines and parts provide customers with a low-cost option compared to new parts and engines to meet their power needs. They also require far less energy to produce than new parts while keeping products in use and out of landfills. The tech center at San Luis Potosi only opened in 2017 and the company has already built an addition for the printers. Cummins plans to print parts there that no longer have a supplier or are made on an extremely limited basis.
This provides an avenue for customers looking for hard-to-find parts. Metal 3D printing will potentially shave months off the process for customers to get low volume parts.”
.Kelly R. Schmitz, Executive Director of New and ReCon Parts Engineering.
Brett Boas is looking at how the printers could work in high-volume settings. He says that will likely mean investing in the next generation of printers. Binder jet printers use an adhesive between powder layers, which can increase printing speed 20 times or more over the printers the company currently owns.
It’s that next generation of technology that could make a seismic change in manufacturing. From a supply chain perspective, it means parts are printed on demand, or closer to demand, so fewer parts would need to be stored for use at manufacturing plants.
From an environmental perspective, additive manufacturing also means less waste because the cutting required as part of the tool and die process is eliminated. And it could mean fewer resources used for transportation because parts are no longer made in one location and shipped to another.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, metal 3D printing enables geometry not possible with traditional methods, creating opportunities to improve product performance.
When Additive Manufacturing comes to high volume manufacturing?
“It’s coming faster than many of us might believe,” Boas answers. “I’m thinking as soon as five years. We are at the start of a really interesting time in manufacturing.”
Find More Additive Manufacturing Industry News
on
additivenews.com
- Sources & More information
-
Related article categories:
IndustryArticle and featured image:
Source: Blair Claflin, Cummins Newsroom Cummins Takes Next Step in 3D Printing and the Future of Manufacturing https://www.cummins.com/news/2019/03/07/cummins-takes-next-step-3d-printing-and-future-manufacturing, published on Mar7, 2019 and was re-edited by João Andrade on Mar10, 2019;
