croft additive manufacturing - future watch case study
TRANSCRIPT
CROFTADDITIVEMANUFACTURING– CASESTUDYTEAMFINLANDFUTUREWATCHREPORT,JANUARY2016DIGITALIZATIONEXAMPLESFORTHEMANUFACTURINGINDUSTRY
Case-kuvaus verkossa:bit.ly/digicase-croftam
CROFTAM– THECOMPANY • CroftFiltersLtd(www.filters.co.uk)isafamilycompanysituatedinWarrington UK,nearManchester.Thecompanyemploys23peopleandhasanannualrevenueof1,5millionpounds (about2,1millioneuros).
• CroftFiltersdevelopsandmanufacturesindustrialfiltrationsolutions.Allfiltersaredesignedandmanufacturedbasedoncustomerneeds.
• ThecompanyoperatedforalongtimeasCroftEngineeringServices,butthenamewaschangedin2013tobetterreflecttheoffering.
• AsCroftFiltersdecidedtoinvestinmetal3DprintingtheyestablishedaseparatecompanycalledCroftAdditiveManufacturing Ltd(CroftAMforshort,www.croftam.co.uk)in2013.
• CroftAM’syearlyrevenueisaround200000eurosanditemploys7people,mostofthemsharedwithitssistercompanyCroftFilters(totalof4full-timeequivalents).
• ThiscasestudyisbasedonaninterviewwithNeilBurnsDirectorofCroftFiltersandCroftAMinOctober2015.
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DirectorNeilBurns
CROFTAM– DRIVERSFORCHANGE
• IndustrialfiltersthatCroftFiltersmakesarecustomproductsandmanufacturingthemrequiresalotofmanualwork,likecuttingandwelding.Automatingthefilterproductionhasbeenimpossiblebecauseofone-offproducts.
• OneofthedirectorsofCroftFilters,MarkBurns,alsohadanideaforanewkindof“eco-filter”forindustrialuse.Intraditionalfilterstheholesareperpendiculartothefiltersurface,whereasMarkvisioned afilterthatwouldhaveholesalignedwiththefluidflow,soastocauselessresistanceandthussaveenergy.• CroftFilterstriedproducingtheeco-filterwithtraditionalmanufacturing
methods,likedrillingandmilling,butfoundthatitcouldn’tbedone.Mark’sbrother,Neil,happenedtoseeaplastic3Dprinterataneventandhadaplasticprototypeofthefiltermade.Theprototype filtershowedclearperformancegainsinflowtests,sotheideaprovedvalid,buttheystillneededawaytomanufacturethefilteroutofmetalsothatitwouldbestrongenough.
• Accordingtoastudydonein200713%ofthetotalindustrialenergyusageinUKindustrygoestopumping,socuttingdowntheenergyusewouldoffersizablefinancialbenefitsandmaketheeco-filteranappealingchoiceforcustomers.
• Metal3Dprintingseemedtooffertheperfectsolution forproducingtheeco-filterandinadditionitcouldprobablybeusedtoimprovealsootherfiltersandtodeveloptheproductionprocesses.
• ThisleftMark,Neilandtheircolleagueswiththechoicetoeitherinvestintheirownmetal3Dprinterandventureintoanewbusiness area,ortofindapartnerwithsuchamachineanddesignknow-how.
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CROFTAM– THECHANGE
• Thedecisiontobuythemetal3DprinterwasmadeasapartofabiggerinvestmentprogramatCroftFilters.Theyalsodecidedtosetupthenewbusinessasaseparatecompany,tobettersupportgrowingthebusinessandminimizerisks.CroftAdditiveManufacturingLimitedwasestablishedinlate2012andthecompanyreceiveditsReaLizer SLM250printerinApril2013.• ReaLizer SLM250hasasizablebuild volume(25x25x30cm),whichmakesitpossible toproduceratherlargeparts
comparedtomostmetal3Dprintersandlowerstheproductioncostperpartasmorepartscanbebuiltduringasingleproductionrun.
• Theprinterutilizesselectivelasermelting(SLM),whichmeansusingalaserbeamtomeltthinmetalpowderlayerstogethertoformasolidobject.ProducingpartswiththeSLMmethodisarelativelyslowprocess.Ifthebuild chamberisfilledwithparts,thebuildprocesscanlastuptocoupleofdays.
• Buyingtheprinterandtheneededaccessoriesandmaterialsrequiredaninvestmentof500000pounds (about600000euros).
• CroftAM’sbusinesshasbeensupported inthebeginningbyCroftFilters.Currentlyabouthalfoftherevenuecomesfrommakingfiltersandhalfisdividedamongavarietyofclientsfromdifferentindustries.• Alotofthecustomerprojectsareconductedunderstrictnon-disclosure agreements,astheycaninvolvedevelopingnew
productsinhigh-technologyfields.
• Collaboratingwithuniversities– e.g.LancasterUniversity– andtheUKgovernmenthashelpedtogetthenewbusinessstarted.Croftreceivedasmallgrantfordevelopingtheeco-filterandhasutilizedstudentprojectsinbusinessdevelopment.CroftAMhasalsobeenamemberofabusiness incubationcenterprograminUK,whichhasenabledittoworkwithCERNandtapintotheirexpertize.
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CROFTAM– BENEFITSBenefitsofadditivemanufacturing
• Additivemanufacturingoffersalotofbenefitsoverconventionalsubtractivemanufacturingmethods,likemilling.Mostimportantlythepartscanbeverycomplexwithoutlengtheningtheirproductiontimes,theycanbelighterwithoutsacrificingstrengthandinsomecasesseveralpartscanbecombinedtoasinglepart,leavingoutassemblywork.
Business benefitsforCroftcompanies
• AdditivemanufacturinghasenabledCroftFilterstocreatebetterfilters,thatsaveenergy,havebetterandmoreuniformfiltrationcapabilitiesandthataremoredurable.• Straight-linerfilter – Croft’seco-filterhasholesalignedwiththefluidflow,whichcausesless
resistanceintheflowandsaves10%ofpumpingenergy.
• Easytocleanfilters – Traditionalmeshfiltersareveryhardtocleantoahighstandard,becauseoftherecessesbetweenthemeshandtherim.Whenthefilteris3Dprintedtherearen’tanyrecessesasthemeshandtherimareasinglepart,whichmakesthecleaningaloteasier.
• Fasterturnaround – Deliveringwedgewirefilterstocustomersusedtobeslow,asthewedgewireproducerhasaleadtimeof4-6weeks.Nowthere’snoneedtowaitforthewedgewiredelivery.Inonecustomercase,awedgewirefilterwasdesigned,manufacturedanddeliveredtothecustomerintotalof2days.
• Moreeffectiveproductionandbetterquality– Theamountofmanualworkinfilterproductionhasbeencutsignificantlyandtheproductionprocesssimplifies from6stepstoasinglestep.Alsothere’snoneedfortoolingandmanyfilterscanbeprintedasasinglepart,thuseliminatingassemblywork.
• Possibilityfornewgrowth – Havingabasebusiness, thatbenefitsfromadditivemanufacturinginmanyways,madeitmucheasiertoexpandtoanewbusiness area.Alsohaving2companiesmakesiteasiertoshareresources.
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CROFTAM– LESSONSLEARNED
• “Theworldisn’treadyforadditivemanufacturing” – Asmetal3Dprintingisarelativelynewtechnology,CroftAMhashadtospendalotofeffortineducatingthepotentialclienteleaboutthepossibilities andbenefitsofadditivemanufacturing(AM).NeilBurns thinksthatAMissetforexplosivegrowth,butdoesn’tknowwhenthatisgoingtohappen.• ExpandingintoAMbusinesshasalsoputalotofpressureontheCroftmanagementandstaffnotonlytolearnnewtechnologies,buttobe
moreactiveinsalesandmarketing.
• NeilhimselfhasstarteddoinguniversitystudiesandcompletedhisMBAin2013.Hehasalsohadlearnhowtodeliverpublicpresentationsandspeeches.
• Metal3Dprintingstillisn’tplugandplay– Evenafter2,5yearsinthebusiness, CroftAMisstilllearningmoreaboutmetal3Dprinting.AccordingtoAMexperts,therearearound150variablesaffectingthebuildprocess,likeorientationoftheobjects,supportstructures,laserpowerandscanningspeed,andsoon.• Theartisannatureofthemetal3Dprintingmakesitsometimeshardtorespondtocustomerrequests.Withdemandingprojects, it canbe
actuallyeasiertoproduce thepartfirstandonlyafterthatgiveapricequote, soasnottocommit todeliveringimpossibleprojects.
• Workingwithonlyonematerial– TheReaLizer SLMmachinethatCrofthas,inprinciplesupports changingthebuildmaterial,butthechangewouldbesolaborious thatthecompanyhasdecidedusestainlesssteel– themostcommonmaterial– only.
• Forgettingtheoldlimitsishard– Forpeoplehavingalongexperienceinthefieldit ’sstilltooeasytobeconstrainedbythelimitsofconventionalmanufacturing.Unlearningtheoldlimitationsandutilizingthenewpossibilities tothefullestneedslookingattheproductswithafreshperspective.
• Findingtherightbalancewithopenness – CroftAMhasbeenveryopenintalkingaboutmetal3Dprintingandsharingtheirexperiencesand,butdoesn’twanttobecomeanunpaidAMtrainingcompany.Theircorebusiness istooffermanufacturingandconsultingservicesforAM,nottoteachothershowtodothatontheirown.• Therearealsocompanieson themarketcurrently,thatofferbothequipmentor softwareandmanufacturingservices.Thismakesthema
supplierandacompetitoratthesametime,whichmakesitnecessarytoshareonlysomeoftheinformation.
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TeamFinlandFutureWatchReport– DigitalizationExamplesfortheManufacturingIndustry– www.insyke.fi
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CROFTAM– COMMENTSONTHECASEEXAMPLEThisslidecontainssomecommentsabout thepresentedcaseby(MSc)Harri Lakkala (CEO,IntosomeOy),whohasalsocompiled thiscasestudy.Thisslideshouldn’tbeconsideredtobepartofthecasedescription,butanalysisofitfromtheFinnishmanufacturing industryperspective.
• Additivemanufacturingasatrendholds alotofpotential,butit’sstilluncleariforwhenthegrowthtakesoffandhowthebusiness willbedivided betweendifferentkindofplayersinthefuture.Themachinesarestillratherexpensive andslow,andoperatingthemrequiresalotofknow-how. ThishadledtothebirthofAMproductionhubs orcenters,thatassist inthedesign processandrunalargenumber ofdifferentkinds ofmachines, andbigcompaniesbuytheirownmachines.
• CroftAMhasbeenoneoftheforerunnerswithAMintheUK,whichhasmeanttherehasn’tbeentoomuchcompetition,butalsothattherehasn’t beenverymuchexistingmarketdemandeither.ThereforeCroftAMhashadtospend alotoftimeandeffortinsharinginformationaboutmetal3Dprintingandthateffortishopefully startingtobearfruit.
• Buyingtheprinterwasasizableinvestment,andaccordingtoNeilBurnsmadewithlittlefinancialcalculations,whichmakesitaratherboldmove.CroftAMstillhasasmallturnover(200000euroslastyear),whichprobablymeansit’schargingsmallerfeesforthefilterproduction andsomechallengesinfinding enoughothercustomers.
• TheReaLizer 250machinemakesithardtochangethebuildmaterialandhasonly onelaser,whereassomeofthenewermachinessupport fastermaterialchangesandsportseverallasers.Stillthemachinehasabigbuild volume comparedtomostothermetal3Dprinters,whichmakesitpossible toproducebiggerpartsorlargerbatchesofpartsononerun.
• ThecustomfiltersproducedbyCroftFiltersofferedaverynaturalbaseforexpandingintoadditivemanufacturing.Thetechnologyhasmadeitpossible toimprove theproductoffering,cutdownmanualproductionworkandachievefasterturn-around timesforsomebought-inproducts.
• ProducingmetalpartswithAMseemstogatheralotofinterestinFinland, aswitnessedbythenumber ofpeople attheSubcontractingfairqueuingtolearnmoreabouttheAMmachines ondisplay andbythe300people attendingthefirstbigmetal3DprintingseminarinTampereinOctober.Stillthere’s currentlyonly onesmallcommercialmetal3dprinterinFinland andacouple ofthematresearchinstitutes.NeilBurnsfeelsthatFinnish manufacturingcompanies aremuchbetterawareaboutthepossibilities ofadditivemanufacturingthancompaniesintheUK.
CroftAM’sjourneyshowsonepossiblewayforanSMEcompanytoexpandintoanewbusinessarea.Inthelongertermmetal3Dprintingcouldshakeupalotofthings,socompanieswouldbewisetofollowthetopiccloselyforthenextfewyears.
LauraNurmi,[email protected]+358295055623
HarriLakkala,[email protected]+358452603884
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