croft additive manufacturing - future watch case study

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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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,Tekeslaura.nurmi@tekes.fi+358295055623

HarriLakkala,IntosomeOyharri.lakkala@intosome.fi+358452603884

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