Industry4.0: will 3D printing replace the traditional gear manufacturing?
giugno 11, 2021
In recent years we have often heard of revolution 4.0 and 3D printing for the production of components and tools in the mechanical field. Now, technology is evolving at great speed, on the one hand it has the desire to streamline and optimize processes, on the other hand to be able to make products as customizable as possible. The market is now moving in this direction: increasingly complex projects, for which it is necessary to shorten the distance between design and reality. In this regard, 3D printing could help in speeding up the prototyping of valuable and efficient products.
Prototyping and 3D printing
One of the advantages of prototyping through 3D printing is to be able to test the mechanical characteristics and then have a product that can be spent on the market. Certainly, implementing a machine of this type involves not a few investments in economic terms, time and knowledge for use, however the advantages are much greater. First of all is the speed of execution on small orders, which also allows to reduce production costs and to fully customize the products. In addition to this it is possible to reduce the amount of waste material from processing by using 3D printing.
3D printed gears
Currently, the components produced with 3D printing are made with mainly plastic materials; however, recently it is also possible to start with metal ones. This machining reduces errors, shortens delivery times and eliminates noise in a variety of applications. Nevertheless, the challenges are many, because printers are still slow, the availability of materials is not as wide as for traditional production and their costs are not comparable.
At the moment, to answer the question at the beginning of this article, the most interesting formula is to integrate additive manufacturing with the traditional one. This means that there will always be a need for gear manufacturers, but they need to open up and be interested in new perspectives. The advantage is being able to easily and quickly satisfy all phases of the project from prototyping to series. Furthermore, it will be possible to produce small and medium series on site without having to wait or move goods. With 3D printing it is possible both to make spare parts of old machines, impossible to find, and to replace them because the drawings will be in digital format.
Automotive and sustainability
The automotive industry is also leading the way in this case, in fact, the first cars entirely with 3D printing have been made, whether they are functional or accessible to most people there are still strong doubts, however what is certain is that in terms of sustainability this technology is more beneficial. Many luxury brand car manufacturers are using 3D printing to produce spare parts or some components to amortize costs and time.
Sustainability does not only mean economic, but also the raw material used. In fact, 3D printing allows the use of recycled plastic materials or PLA bioplastic, which can be completely disposed of in a natural way.
We believe that analyzing and being aware of the evolutionary speed of technology and of the road that our sector is following is a winning one in order to keep up with the times. G.S.I. Ingranaggi is facing a growth path aimed at innovation and constant updating, so it proposes itself as a partner for the creation of prototypes and small and medium series, to request a technical evaluation of your project, contact us!
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