“The geopolitical situation is very volatile, which has created an opportunity for the manufacturing industry in India to step up to the challenge and become a key player. Additive manufacturing and rapid prototyping are aiding new product development very effectively by enabling the production of prototypes in real time and supporting multiple design iterations. These capabilities will ultimately help India contribute globally with better-designed products. This is one of the reasons that the global capability centres are being opened in India by multinational corporations (MNCs)”, says Aditya Kumar, Managing Director, Marcopolo Products Private Limited, in conversation with Neha Basudkar Ghate.
How does additive manufacturing contribute to achieving tighter tolerance limits in prototype components compared to traditional manufacturing methods?
There are many methods of additive manufacturing for plastics, such as SLA, SLS, MJF, and FDM processes. While SLA and SLS are laser-based systems, they achieve extremely tight tolerances since the laser beam diameter is less than 0.2 mm. Achieving similar tolerances with conventional machining require higher-capability machines. MJF is similar to binder jetting technology used in inkjet printers and also delivers very precise parts. The FDM process uses a filament extruded through a 0.5 mm nozzle and achieves fairly accurate parts.
It is important to note that we cannot directly compare the accuracy of conventional techniques with additive manufacturing since some conventional methods offer higher accuracy. However, the key advantages of additive manufacturing lie in the speed of production and the freedom of design from a manufacturability standpoint, which often outweigh strict tolerance considerations.
Could you discuss the advantages of soft tooling in rapid injection moulding and how it supports agile product development cycles?
Product developers always want to see their products in end-use materials to make the right decisions related to design performance. Conventional production tooling may take up to 8–10 weeks and involves high capital costs. Soft tooling can be completed in as little as 7 days for certain small components, and even for larger, complex parts, it saves more than 50% of the time. This gives designers additional opportunity to refine their products while still meeting the stringent timelines of any product development cycle.
What opportunities and challenges do you see for additive manufacturing and rapid prototyping in accelerating India’s manufacturing competitiveness globally?
As we all know, the geopolitical situation is very volatile. This has created an opportunity for the manufacturing industry in India to step up to the challenge and become a key player. Additive manufacturing and rapid prototyping are aiding new product development very effectively by enabling the production of prototypes in real time and supporting multiple design iterations. These capabilities will ultimately help India contribute globally with better-designed products. This is one of the reasons that the global capability centres are being opened in India by multinational corporations (MNCs).
How critical is the collaboration between design engineers and manufacturing teams in minimizing design iterations and enhancing manufacturability?
This approach is known as concurrent engineering. It is always advisable that during the design process, regular reviews are held between the engineering and manufacturing teams so that inputs from the manufacturing teams are considered by the design team. This collaboration helps in developing better designs that are easier to manufacture, ultimately minimizing the number of design iterations and improving manufacturability.
In your experience, how does additive manufacturing help reduce product development lead times while maintaining global standards of quality and precision?
We have been in the NPD industry for 25 years now. We have seen how prototyping technologies have helped compress development cycles by more than 50%. Improvement in the additive manufacturing machines has further reduced the cycle time. For example, it is now possible to make a bumper assembly for a vehicle having approximately 20 components within 5 days using additive manufacturing. Using conventional machining techniques it would take at least 21 days. There are many examples like this which aid product testing with prototype parts while the production tooling is in progress. As production tooling may take 10-12 weeks for large components – this entire time is saved in the development cycle.
Looking ahead, what technological advancements or market trends do you anticipate will most influence rapid prototyping and additive manufacturing in India?
Looking ahead, we anticipate further improvements in materials and the speed of additive manufacturing technologies. These advancements will gradually extend the use of these technologies beyond prototyping to the manufacturing of end-use parts. Additionally, as more Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) establish operations in India across various industries, this will support the existing additive manufacturing sector in scaling up to meet growing demands.
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