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Making the Transition to 3D Printing for Mainstream

Manufacturing

Simin Zhou VP & Managing Director UL Corporate Ventures

August 2017

UL Overview

2

Safety, Sustainability and Security

Transformation in Product Commercialization

Mass

Production

Economies

of Scale Product

Distribution

Mass

Customization Economies

of Scope

Distributed

Manufacturing

Design for

Manufacturing

Current State :: Mass Production & Centralized Manufacturing

Emerging State :: Mass Customization & Distributed Manufacturing

Design for

Use

3

The 3D printing industry includes:

• Machine manufacturers

• Part producers

• Material companies

• Service bureaus

• Software creators

Rapidly expanding

Impacting multiple market segments

4

3D Printing is a Multi-Billion Dollar Industry

5

3D Printing Industry Growth

Annual growth rate is

30 – 40% for the industry $80,000

$70,000

$60,000

$50,000

$40,000

$30,000

$20,000

$10,000

$

OEM Parts

Service Bureaus

Software

Materials

Personal Systems

Industrial Systems

Design Freedom

• Complex structures • Reduce # of parts

6

Light Weight

• Light weight structures

7

Materials

• Polymers

• Metals

• Ceramics

• Concrete

• Glass

• Paper

• Food

• Bio

• Nano

• …

8

New Applications and Business Models

9

2015 Global Production Capacity (% of installed units)

10

SOURCE: Wohlers

NORTH AMERICA

39.7%

EUROPE

28.2%

ASIA/ PACIFIC

27.5%

OTHER

4.6%

AM Adoption

Aerospace Automotive Medical & Dental

• Orthopedic Implants, dental

applications, surgical

guides, and medical

instruments.

• Orthopedics and prosthetics

will exceed $3.5 billion by

2025

• 90 % of the hearing aid

shells in US and 17 million

clear aligners are produced

by AM every year

• Helps to reduce cost of

increasing number &

complexity of product

variants

• BMW has used AM in series

production to make more

than 10,000 parts

• Mainly for high performing

cars and spare parts

• Can be adopted for the

production of engine

components, chassis parts

and decorative elements

• Optimize the shape &

create light weight

structures to improve fuel

efficiency

• Customize aircraft interiors

• Make spare parts quickly

and efficiently

• Can be adopted for making

components of propulsion

systems and Jet engines,

cabin interiors, hydraulic

and pneumatic systems

Case Study: Surgical Planning & Implants

• Diagnostics

• MRI / X-ray

• Data

• Planning

• Manufacturing

• Surgery

• Recovery

12

• Prototyping

• Complex shapes

• Low volume production

• Customized manufacturing

• Tooling and fixtures

• Engineering education

13

Typical Uses of 3D Printing

3. Powder Bed Systems

4. Material Jetting

5. Binder Jetting

6. Sheet Lamination

7. Directed Energy Deposition

1. Material Extrusion

14

7 Distinct 3D Printing Technologies

2. Vat Polymerization BUILD MECHANISMS

MATERIALS USES

Case Study: Tooling

A manufacturer of electronic component parts for

the household appliance, commercial vehicle

and automotive industries.

Challenges:

• New molded parts needed for functional testing

• Must be injection molded and not 3D printed

• Molded in final material

• Need quick turn around for possible design tweaks

16

Tooling delays:

• Steel production tools 56 days

• Mold costs $52,725

• Aluminum sample tools 2 weeks

17

3D printed tooling

18

3D printed tooling:

• Polyjet tools 2 days

• Mold costs $1,318

• Savings

• 54 days (96%)

• $51,406 (98%)

19

20

3D Printing Benefits

Design Complexities

Cost Reductions

Product Customization

21

3D Printing Tradeoffs

Speed

Post-processing

Appearance

Cost

Materials

Material properties

Selection of representative

parts

Assessing the opportunities

Quantifying the potential

Implementing the technology

Transition to Mainstream

23

Identify Key Technical Drivers

24

Accelerated Simulation for Metallic Laser

Powder bed Additive Manufacturing

Develop predictive tools for metal AM to reduce time

and money and to reduce build failures

Leverage Software Tools

Questions?

UL Additive Manufacturing Initiatives

Workforce

Development

Safety &

Compliance Materials &

Process

Partnering to Advance Innovation, Safety and Quality