{"id":40543,"date":"2020-06-18T18:40:10","date_gmt":"2020-06-18T22:40:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/?p=40543"},"modified":"2020-06-18T18:43:37","modified_gmt":"2020-06-18T22:43:37","slug":"improving-plant-efficiency-with-3d-printed-production-aids","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/improving-plant-efficiency-with-3d-printed-production-aids","title":{"rendered":"Improving Plant Efficiency with 3D Printed Production Aids"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/business\/additive-manufacturing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"Additive manufacturing (opens in a new tab)\">Additive manufacturing<\/a> (or popularly known as 3D printing) has proven itself to rapidly manufacture strong and functional parts. The technology is changing the way products are being manufactured but alternatively it is also improving the efficiency of traditional manufacturing processes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To put this in\nperspective, all manufacturing factories require the help of production aids to\nmanufacture and assemble the products. A production aid is any device type of\ntool, jig, fixture, or a device used to enhance, optimize, and assist or\nspeedup the manufacturing or assembly process. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">More often than not, production aids are customized to suit the product being manufactured but manufacturing such customized tools in limited quantities is always costly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Considering the importance of production aids and its limited quantities, 3D printing can be a perfect fit in this scenario. Factories can leverage the capabilities of 3D printing to produce them at reduced costs. 3D printing can hand a powerful tool to organizations to improve its overall plant efficiency. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We\u2019ll first look at the benefits of using 3D printing in creating production aids.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>VALUE OF 3D PRINTED\nPRODUCTION AIDS<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Faster\nTime-to-Market<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With 3D printing,\nproduction aids can be manufactured rapidly. This starts a chain reaction to also\nspeed up the pace of production and assembly, thus cutting down the\ntime-to-market to take your product from factory to customer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Improved\nPlant Efficiency<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With faster production\nand assembly leading to faster output and delivery, plant efficiency can be\nconsiderably improved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Reduced\nCost of Production<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By improving part\nrepeatability and accuracy, rejections can be reduced, leading to reduced cost\nof production. When manufacturing jigs and fixtures, 3D printing can eliminate\nthe time needed for iterations before finalizing on the desired jig or fixture.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Performance\nImprovements<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By using the design freedom capability of 3D printing, innovative and complex fixtures can be designed and printed to improve the production and assembly performance with fewer constraints. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Better Production\nAids <\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Compared to traditionally manufactured production aids, 3D printed production aids can be more efficient. It can be made from lighter materials but still offer comparable strength and durability. Alternatively, the tools can be topology optimized to reduce weight and material usage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Part\nConsolidation<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">3D printing offers the\ncapability to consolidate multiple jigs and fixtures into a single production aid\nthus operators are able to perform multiple operations at the same work station\nusing a same fixture, saving costs, storage, and handling. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Worker\nSafety<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As factories are\ngetting more advanced there is even more impetus on ensuring workers\u2019 safety.\nBy 3D printing customized safety aid solutions such as safety latches, casings,\nlocks, and even obsolete safety parts, the workplace safety can be improved. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>TYPES OF 3D PRINTED\nPRODUCTION AIDS <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Let\u2019s take a look at some of the different types of production aids that\ncan be 3D printed to improve overall plant efficiency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Jigs &amp; Fixtures<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jigs&nbsp;and fixtures\nare customized tools used to hold, guide and control the movement of a workpiece\nwhile other operations are carried out. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Examples of\ncustomizable jigs and fixtures include guides for burr removal, dimensional\naccuracy testing, sticker pasting in packaging operations, etc. All can be\nmanufactured on demand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Guides<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Drill guides are a\ncommonplace tool on all shop floors. They ensure that holes are drilled in\ntheir intended center and are not deflecting from this position in either\nlinear or angular terms and are staying within the prescribed tolerance limits.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Marking Tools<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In traditional manufacturing a part travels from one work station to the other as different operators perform cutting operations and it is important that the cutting accuracy and repeatability is maintained in all parts. For this, a tool can be 3D printed to perfectly identify the marks to perform accurate cutting operation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Safety Latches, Casings\nand Locks<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Apart from making sure\nthe production is carried out efficiently, the plant also has to ensure the\nsafety of its workers. For this a plant employs multiple safety tools like\nlatches, casings, locks and more. These safety tools help minimize on-site\naccidents. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Go \/ No-Go Gauges <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Go \/ No-Go gauges are\nused in a manufacturing plants as a testing tool to test weather a finished part\nmeets the dimensional standards. A Go\/No-Go gauge can easily identify any\ndeflection of the part in terms of its form, shape and dimension. It can\nrapidly conform or reject a part according to the fit in the gauge instead of\nusing other measurement tools like calipers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Maintenance Parts<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Custom quality check and maintenance parts a can be rapidly manufactured.\nSimple customizable tools such as stopper tools used to tighten nuts and bolts\ncan be kept in the individual machine\u2019s toolbox, thus increasing maintenance\nefficiency while saving time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>3D PRINTING OF\nPRODUCTION AIDS<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Production aids can be 3D printed through\nvarious 3D printing technologies. For industrial printing, the commonly used\ntechnologies include Selective Laser Sintering (SLS), Selective Laser Melting (SLM),\nDirect Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS) and Binder Jetting. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>SLS 3D Printing<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) is a\npowder-bed fusion technology. It uses a powdered material that is sintered via\na laser to form the object. This technology offers greater design freedom than\nsome of the other 3D printing technologies. For parts involving complex\ndesigns, SLS can be effectively used. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>SLM &amp; DMLS 3D Printing <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">FDM printing can offer cheaper production\naids, SLA can offer aids with smoother surface finishes while SLS can provide\ngreater design freedom but all these technologies print only with polymers. For\nindustrial parts requiring heavy-duty jigs, metal 3D printing is recommended.\nMetal 3D printing technologies suitable for production aids include SLM, DMLS and\nBinder Jetting. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Selective Laser Melting (SLM), Direct Metal\nLaser Sintering (DMLS) are both powder-bed fusion technologies but for metals.\nBoth of these technologies can be used for small-size precision production\naids. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Binder Jetting<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Binder Jetting technology can be used in\ncase of large parts. This technology also uses powdered metal material but uses\na binder material to fuse the metal particles together. The greatest advantage\nof binder jetting is that it can manufacture parts at a fraction of the cost\ncompared to DMLS\/SLM and Material Jetting. Moreover it is suitable for low-to-medium\nbatch production when multiple tools need to be mass produced for the entire\nfactory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>CONCLUSION<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Factories can leverage 3D printing to create high-quality production tools to improve their plant efficiency. With 3D printing\u2019s wide applicability, range of materials, design freedom and manufacturing flexibility, this technology provides many benefits that should not be overlooked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/business\/additive-manufacturing\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/learn-more_.png\" alt=\"learn more\" class=\"wp-image-39411\" width=\"137\" height=\"60\"\/><\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Additive manufacturing (or popularly known as 3D printing) has proven itself to rapidly manufacture strong and functional parts. The technology&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":40146,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[510],"tags":[2219,850,2555,2557,2554],"class_list":["post-40543","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-3d-printing-industry","tag-3d-printing-manufacturing","tag-additive-manufacturing","tag-fixtures","tag-guides","tag-production-aids"],"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Shapeways-manufacturing-lab-3D-printers-1100x733-1.jpg","yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v23.9 (Yoast SEO v23.9) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Improving Plant Efficiency with 3D Printed Production Aids - Shapeways Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Additive manufacturing (or popularly known as 3D printing) has proven itself to rapidly manufacture strong and functional parts. The technology is\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/improving-plant-efficiency-with-3d-printed-production-aids\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Shapeways Admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/improving-plant-efficiency-with-3d-printed-production-aids#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/improving-plant-efficiency-with-3d-printed-production-aids\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Shapeways Admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/prodshapeblog.wpenginepowered.com\/#\/schema\/person\/e1c3db18f25181bb62057f021ce2e64d\"},\"headline\":\"Improving Plant Efficiency with 3D Printed Production Aids\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-06-18T22:40:10+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-06-18T22:43:37+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/improving-plant-efficiency-with-3d-printed-production-aids\"},\"wordCount\":1079,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/prodshapeblog.wpenginepowered.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/improving-plant-efficiency-with-3d-printed-production-aids#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Shapeways-manufacturing-lab-3D-printers-1100x733-1.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"3D printing manufacturing\",\"additive manufacturing\",\"fixtures\",\"guides\",\"production aids\"],\"articleSection\":[\"3D Printing Industry\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/improving-plant-efficiency-with-3d-printed-production-aids#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/improving-plant-efficiency-with-3d-printed-production-aids\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/improving-plant-efficiency-with-3d-printed-production-aids\",\"name\":\"Improving Plant Efficiency with 3D Printed Production Aids - Shapeways Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/prodshapeblog.wpenginepowered.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/improving-plant-efficiency-with-3d-printed-production-aids#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/improving-plant-efficiency-with-3d-printed-production-aids#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Shapeways-manufacturing-lab-3D-printers-1100x733-1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-06-18T22:40:10+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-06-18T22:43:37+00:00\",\"description\":\"Additive manufacturing (or popularly known as 3D printing) has proven itself to rapidly manufacture strong and functional parts. 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