Also known as additive manufacturing, 3D printing originated as a tool for rapid prototyping. It has now evolved to encompass a number of applications, proving invaluable to manufacturers. Though, its usage is for more than prototyping. Schaeffler UK, Sheffield, invested in 3D printers for production tooling back in 2020 and it’s been an absolute game changer.
In the latest UK Blog, Tim Stratton, Tooling Department Leader at Schaeffler UK in Sheffield, draws insight into subsequent cost-reduction, waste-reduction, and reduced energy consumption of using additive manufacturing.
"Traditional manufacturing methods tend to create a lot of waste material and restrict the designs that can be produced. So, at the end of 2020, we started to investigate 3D printing technology for manufacturing. The machine had an immediate positive impact, resulting in big savings and the ability to solve problems that couldn’t be solved with traditional manufacturing.”
Schaeffler have only just started to unlock the potential of additive manufacturing for tooling purposes. Tim and the team are constantly looking to see how they can integrate it further to improve production.
Click here to discover how 3D printing is changing manufacturing as we know it: https://www.schaeffler.co.uk/en/news_me-dia/blog/reaping_the_benefits_of_3d_printing/?utm_source=website-Eureka&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=in-dustrial-automation&utm_content=text-link&utm_term=032024-gb
