| |
|
|
Sprinters and Long Distance
Runners:
How RP is Changing Our Industry
by Joe Scarry
|
Elsewhere on the
CastingTrade.com website:
Refer to the Tooling
Guide for links to websites of rapid prototyping equipment,
RP service bureaus, and RP-enabled patternmakers and tool
houses.
|
| Back when I was
on my high school track team, two things left indelible memories:
Joey Barmakian practicing the 330 yard hurdles, and Jim Tunney
doing his daily 10 miles. As a shotputter, I couldn't fully
comprehend what these two racers were doing, or how they did
it. But I DID understand enough to recognize that they were
accomplishing two VERY DIFFERENT achievements. Perhaps that's
why, as I attended the Rapid Prototyping seminar at the AFS
Congress, and heard some of the surprising findings reported
there, I was reminded of the difference between sprinters and
long distance runners. |
Newest
of the New:
Selective
Laser Sintering
VANGUARD SLS Systems build small volumes of accurate, complex
parts more rapidly and efficiently than other manufacturing
processes. For one to several thousand parts, VANGUARD users
can make plastic or metal parts directly from their CAD
data, without ever making tools. For quantities ranging
from 1,000 to over 100,000, SLS technology offers a rapid
tooling solution.
www.dtm-corp.com
|
| |
|
|
Before I recount what I heard in Dallas, let me tell you
just a bit more about those two runners. The 330 yard hurdles
were generally recognized as the most grueling race at any
meet, and Joey Barmakian managed to win all of his races on
the strength of three factors: powerful sprinting muscles,
enormous pride, and the ability to ignore the pain as he hit
every single one of those hurdles. The race, after all, was
awarded to the first across the finish line; the racers were
allowed to go over, under, or through the hurdles in the course
of getting there. Joey chose to go through them, mostly. As
a result, his bloody shins made his victory in what was already
a high-profile race even more dramatic.
Tunney also had distinct strengths. He was skinny as a bean,
so he didn't carry a single extra ounce of weight all those
miles. He had a quiet confidence, which came in handy as he
finished mile 6 and the cramps started, while at the same
time our ex-Marine track coach goaded him to run faster. And
he loved running so much that he couldn't get enough of it:
he ran on the cross country team in the fall as well as on
the track team in the spring.
As I said: two very DIFFERENT types of runner.
Now, here are those surprising findings from the Dallas RP
session:
|
(1) "Time Compression" - The single most powerful
fact was asserted by Larry Andre from Solidiform: "I am in the
business of selling time compression." When I first heard Larry
say that, I didn't quite understand; I thought he meant he made
some kind of software for compressing big files. But he explained
it several times: he has achieved greater profits by focussing
on the principal BENEFIT that he provides to his customers,
which is NOT casting or tooling or prototyping or design - it's
TIME COMPRESSION. Yes, of course, he IS doing casting and tooling
and prototyping and design, but the mission that unifies his
efforts is saving huge amounts of time for his customers. Once
that's clear, he follows a simple path to profitability.
|
|
(2) Price Inelasticity - Larry provided a second fact:
"We offer our customers three levels of speed, at three different
prices, and we have found that 95% of the time they choose
the fastest - with almost no regard to the price difference."
This is a POWERFUL revelation! It means that he has found
a service that he can offer where demand is not sensitive
to PRICE.
|
|
(3) Method Behind the Madness - Neither of these two facts
would be enough to make you run out and buy rapid prototyping
equipment, except that there is a sound business reason behind
the demand for time compression and price inelasticity in
RP. According to Larry, the customers find that the economic
benefits of holding a design for an additional 8 - 12 weeks
and allowing it to mature in their own CAD system, FAR OUTWEIGH
the costs of expediting the prototyping stage.
|
(4) Redefining "Limited Production" - RP is no
longer just about prototyping. By using RP for patterns/tooling
in conjunction with various casting processes, including investment,
these service providers are able to provide very cost-effective
limited production performance. According to some of the panelists,
the boundaries of "limited production" today are now being stretched
from the 500-1,000 part range to the 4,000 part range. And the
RP houses will continue to improve: "We've only scratched the
surface in the speed and efficiency of our fabricators," said
Larry Andre.
|
|
(5) More for Everybody - Larry said that the challenges
of this business lead directly to MORE business for talented
patternmakers and foundry pros. "People fear that their jobs
are going to be taken away by a computer and a piece of software.
I'm here to tell them it's exactly the OPPOSITE!" He explained
that he obtains ideal results by teaming "CAD jocks" with
journeymen patternmakers, to take advantage of their diverse
skill sets. Moreover, the customers now expect to get the
first article right the first time out, instead of running
two or three trials, with "zero exceptions," which creates
increased demand for foundry expertise!
|
|
Here's where the sprinter vs. long distance runner analogy
comes in. Clearly, Larry Andre and other RP specialists have
found a profitable approach to casting by focusing on the
front end of the process. At the same time, Larry said he
has accepted the fact that he will not be able to bid on long
production run jobs, and he has accepted the fact that those
jobs will go to other foundries. According to Larry, this
arrangement is very profitable for him. They have become successful
"sprinters."
Clearly, RP-oriented operations have different strengths
and different priorities than long-run operations -- the "long
distance runners." But these two different types of runner
have one thing in common: they both benefit when the success
of the other drives increase in overall casting consumption.
One member of the audience spoke directly to this point: "I've
spent my career buying castings for one of the industry's
major users, and over the years I've seen THOUSANDS of parts
that COULD HAVE BEEN castings, except they started out as
hog-outs [machined parts] because that was the fastest way
to get them done, and after that they STAYED hog-outs. You
people need to see how important RP is for getting more casting
business for EVERYBODY - the short-run AND the long-run operations!"
Just as with a well-balanced track team, which wins the overall
track meet by winning in a variety of different competitions,
there's more business for everybody if the casting industry's
"sprinters" and "long distance runners" optimize their performance
at the part of the business at which they excel. In other
words, that "More for Everybody" concept includes
long distance runners, too!
|
| The presentation described
above was part of the panel, "Profitability Applications of
Rapid Prototyping in the Foundry," presented at the 105th AFS
Congress in Dallas, April 28 - May 1, 2001. Larry Andre can
be reached at landre@solidiform.com.
The industry owes a debt of gratitude to the members of this
panel for sharing the facts they have learned in the development
of a profitable "time compression" and "rapid limited manufacturing"
business with the rest of us. |
Elsewhere on the
CastingTrade.com website:
Refer to the Tooling
Guide for links to websites of rapid prototyping equipment,
RP service bureaus, and RP-enabled patternmakers and tool
houses.
|
|
|
|
