AM Rides On-Demand Manufacturing Wave

In a period punctuated by geopolitical instability, market disruptions and shifting customer needs, on-demand manufacturing is gaining ground as a viable production strategy, fueled by innovations in the additive manufacturing (AM) space.

On-demand manufacturing has historically been tapped for prototyping or as a limited resource to stand in when in-house manufacturing is at full capacity. Today, fueled by continuing post-pandemic supply chain fluctuations, increasing consumer demand for customization, and a desire among some companies for more vertical integration, manufacturers are stepping up use of the on-demand model.

On-demand manufacturing helps mitigate risk in the supply chain while helping companies reduce waste and save costs. Creating digital libraries of replacement parts requires far less capital expense than doling out millions to maintain warehouses and physical inventories. Localizing production closer to demand also saves on inventory and logistics expenses, simultaneously improving sustainability since orders are produced with less waste, only when and where needed.

A 2023 McKinsey report found that on-demand manufacturing could contribute up to $2.3 trillion to global gross domestic product by 2030. In a study by Deloitte, nearly three-quarters (73%) of manufacturers are expecting the on-demand manufacturing model to increase their profit margins.

“The last four years, we’ve learned a lot about the supply chain and how sensitive it can be,” notes Greg Paulsen, director of applications engineering at Xometry, an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered marketplace for sourcing on-demand parts. “You’ve seen movement towards on-demand manufacturing for a portion of inventory needs as companies rethink procurement and supply chain strategies to be more adaptive to stay in step with a changing environment.”

Gaining Momentum

Advances in AM, including more reliable production output and access to a growing portfolio of high-performance materials, are driving the on-demand manufacturing wave. The uptick in demand is giving companies more sophisticated options for producing certain part classes only when needed. It is also creating an inflection point for manufacturers to rethink part design to capitalize on AM’s distinct advantages for lightweighting and parts consolidation.

AM is adept at cranking out organic geometries and complex structures, but as an on-demand manufacturing method, it empowers manufacturers to keep iterating designs without worry about upending investment in expensive tooling or spending weeks or months modifying production equipment and schedules.

“Another advantage AM has is that it’s somewhat revision proof,” notes Xometry’s Paulsen, using an enclosure for a printed circuit board (PCB) as an example. “If a PCB changes, you might have to change the enclosure to accommodate the new way the PCB is mounted. With traditional processes, you’d have to go back to square one and build your manufacturing processes up again. With AM, you can swap out a file and keep printing.”

Certainly, not every part is a candidate for on-demand manufacturing. However, there are some general guidelines that engineers can use to determine whether a particular part or family of parts is well suited for the model. At a business level, engineers should take into account their specific supply chain risks—whether a particular part is or has been subject to disruptions that would impact product delivery schedules or part quality.

Lead time is another major factor, especially if parts are modified with frequency—a scenario that would benefit from the flexibility of an on-demand model, according to Harshil Goel, founder and CEO of Dyndrite, a graphics processing unit (GPU)-accelerated software platform used to build and enable digital manufacturing solutions, including AM.

From a design standpoint, parts that have exhibited a high rate of failure or those that require a lot of post-processing steps are not robust candidates for on-demand manufacturing.

“If you’re making a CNC part on-demand, it’s not helpful if it needs to be retooled and jigged many times before being finalized and made,” Goel says. “Similarly, for an AM part that needs a bunch of heat treatment cycles or testing and bead blasting, on-demand implies agility so parts should be designed in a way that minimizes those steps.”

Material choices are equally important when deciding whether on-demand manufacturing fits the bill, especially if AM is the chosen method. Although there has been a lot of development on the AM materials front, there is still not the depth and breadth of material choices compared to more traditional manufacturing methods like machining and injection molding.

“Mechanical properties such as strength and elongation along with chemical and corrosion resistance are primary requirements when evaluating candidates for on-demand manufacturing with AM,” says Martijn Vanloffelt, vice president, Applications Innovation Group (AIG) at 3D Systems. “The question is whether there are printable materials and printing technology that are able to meet the bulk of those requirements and more often, the answer is ‘yes’ for existing applications.”

To assist customers with the parts evaluation process, Siemens is delivering access to CASTOR’s decision support software, which automates the process of identifying parts for AM, and potentially on-demand manufacturing. The software, now available through Siemen’s Xcelerator Marketplace, evaluates parts libraries to determine the most appropriate materials and production methods, including financial calculations to evaluate the break-even point of AM compared to traditional methods. Siemens’ Additive Manufacturing (AM) Network also plays a role in facilitating on-demand manufacturing with AM. The cloud-based, order-to-delivery collaboration platform connects the AM ecosystem, enabling enterprises to collaborate with suppliers, from planning through product delivery, and gain access to a full global network of AM vendors, suppliers and consultants to advance on-demand production wherever needed.

On-Demand in Action

Irregular ordering patterns can be a motivator to consider parts for on-demand manufacturing. That was the case for a clean energy company, which recently tapped Protolabs for on-demand manufacturing services when their metal 3D printing capabilities are at capacity. The Protolabs team collaborated with the company on a design review to dial in the CAD file part so it would print consistently, given that it pushed the size limits of Protolabs’ direct metal laser sintering (DMLS) offering, which is built on GE Additive X Line printers.

 Because the Protolabs facility runs the same DMLS technology as the clean energy firm, Protolabs can step in seamlessly, as needed, to produce the required metal parts.  

“Moving forward, the customer is able to work with us when their own machines are backed up, allowing them to rely on a reputable supplier to deliver parts ASAP,” says Alex Lothspeich, field application engineer at Protolabs. “This is important as it’s a main component to one of their primary products.”

Finding a cost-effective, efficient way to produce its low-volume, highly customized product inventory was the reason Advanced Communication Solutions Custom (ACS), a hearing protection products manufacturer, opted for a full digital workflow that spans design through on-demand production. The company is using 3D Systems Figure 4 3D printers and production-grade materials to produce hundreds of soft silicone custom hearing protection and in-ear monitors when required, giving customers timely access to one-of-a-kind products.

The on-demand approach enabled ACS to shrink the timeline from design concept to final product to a matter of days. It has also enabled engineers to revise designs in near-real time, making the company more responsive to customers’ needs.

In addition, ACS is now able to produce low volumes of parts cost effectively while giving customers the ability to easily replace lost or damaged products, explains Dan Bennett, technical director at ACS Custom.

The ability to crank manufacturing volume up and down, while tapping into a horizontal supply chain of suppliers, is what led Ryvid to partner with Xometry to produce more than half of the parts found in its flagship electric motorcycle. Through the Xometry platform, Ryvid was able to easily tap into an array of parts suppliers and manufacturing services—from sheet metal fabrication through injection molding and metal forging. The result: Ryvid was able to deliver production orders on schedule, maintain supply chain flexibility and easily adapt Anthem’s design over time.

The previous strategy relied on outsourcing parts to Chinese suppliers, which incurred long lead times, communication challenges and required significant resources devoted to vendor management. The Xometry solution delivers greater flexibility, which is critical as Anthem races to get product out the door. “When there’s a change in the demand cycle, they can change when and how much they order,” says Paulsen. “We meet them where they need us to be.”

Best Practices for Success

One of the most important considerations when rolling out an on-demand manufacturing program is the integrity of technical data, especially when enlisting multiple external service providers. Each manufacturing partner may take certain liberties or make tweaks to the manufacturing process to optimize results.

In addition, it’s highly likely that different partners employ different CAD tools, with the potential they use solutions that vary from the tool used to create the original design IP. Without solutions and rigorous processes to maintain consistency and accuracy of technical data, both scenarios have serious ramifications for final production input, putting part integrity at risk.

The Dyndrite LPBF Pro platform, metal 3D printing software designed to streamline materials and process development, can help accelerate a repeatable qualification process and ensure consistent, inspectable parts throughout an on-demand manufacturing supply chain. The software automates tasks like build layout, parameter assignment, labeling, and logging, helping to reduce setup and verification times.

The tool ensures that even if changes are made to a qualified part, the resulting revisions remain consistent so the qualification status isn’t altered. “Improving communications, traceability and repeatability for on-demand manufacturing increases its chances of success,” says Goel.

It’s also important to codify processes so the on-demand manufacturing method is approached as a formalized strategy and not done intermittently or on a whim. “Have a good rubric for how to think about these decisions as it relates to lead times, material properties, parts volume, and design flexibility,” cautions Jason Fullmer, chief operating officer, at Formlabs. “Building that thought process into the design and supply chain model helps find the right answers for each and every part.”

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