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  Consequences for Promatrix In this chapter the internal and external consequences will be explained for Promatrix. Following these consequences the steps Promatrix has to take in order to succesfully implement Additive Manufacturing (Selective Laser Melting). Internal : Production : The switch of production method from CNC-milling to Selective Laser Melting will change the machines in the machine park of Promatrix. The thirteen currently owned CNC-machines will have to be replaced SLM®280 Production Series Selective Laser Melting machines from SLM solutions. Furthermore, the current employees will have to be trained to understand and be able to operate the new machines and this new technology. Maintenance: If the switch will be made from CNC to SLM there is no need for a big inspection of the machine. The only further maintenance needed is the upkeeping of the machine. Engineering : The switch to Selective Laser Melting into the core business of Promatrix will have a...

  Effect of SLM on the Supply Chain At the moment, Promatrix does not have standard aluminium in stock with different sizes. Because they produce and deliver customer-specific, they order the aluminium for their molds as soon as the design is final. Several things will change when Promatrix starts using SLM for the moulds. Firstly, they no longer have to buy aluminium blocks for production, but aluminium powder. So, they have to find a new supplier for the aluminium powder. The aluminium powder has different mechanical properties, which can affect the quality of the end-product. (Promatrix, 2022) Another change for Promatrix is the inventory management   (Jacobs, 2020) . Because they do not need a certain size of aluminium for the SLM, but powder, Promatrix can have a standard stock. If they have a standard stock, they can react faster on customers. So, choosing the SLM process would speed up the start of the production process. Since the machine is faster and can handle m...

Effect of SLM on maintenance process This chapter in our blog will describe what measure Promatrix currently take to maintain their machines and how this would change if they would switch from CNC milling to SLM printing. The maintenance done by companies can be divided into three categories: corrective, preventive and condition based maintenance. Which type of maintenance best fits a company depends on the impact of malfunction and the importance of an efficient production line. First of the current process. As mentioned previously Promatrix uses CNC milling to construct their molds. CNC milling is a technique that uses a fast spinning tool to cut a mold out of a piece of raw material. At the moment Promatrix is focussed on Preventive maintenance. Precautions they take in order to keep their machines from malfunctioning are: fine tuning tools, refreshing cooling liquid & oil and a big inspection. The tuning of the tools and the refreshing of the cooling liquid & oil is do...

  Effect of SLM on engineering process The switch to Selective Laser Melting into the core business of Promatrix will have a relatively low impact on the engineering-process it currently maintains. In the current situation, customers supply Promatrix with a completed Computer-aided Design (CAD) model of the desired mold. The in-house engineering department of Promatrix works with the customers to make finishing touches to the model and plays an advising role for aspects like material. CNC machining and additive manufacturing both require these CAD-models to complete their operations. These CAD-models are loaded into the machines software, which converts the model to a set of instructions which are carried out by the machine in order to fabricate the mold. The difference between these production methods which affects engineering is that additive manufacturing allows for more geometrical freedom in the design of the mold. This is because of the nature of the technology, it al...

  Effect of SLM on production process Promatrix produces high quality aluminium molds by CNC-machining them from blocks of aluminium. The machine park consists of thirteen advanced CNC-milling machines of which several are equipped with automatization in form of a robot cell, which allow these machines to autonomously switch between workpieces and tools like drill bits. The machines are ‘operated’ and monitored by specialised employees.   (Expertise Promatrix, sd) Promatrix produces their products in very small, mostly singular, batches. Most molds produced by Promatrix consist of prototype/test molds for the automotive industry. The customers need these specified molds to produce the specific products they need, these molds are often very complex and detailed. Because of the complex and unique nature of these molds, it is a feasible option to produce these molds using additive manufacturing. Additive manufacturing though being slower than conventional machining has a high...

Introduction to the case and technology  This blog will be about the possibility of additive manufacturing within the process of mold-making of Promatrix from an industrial engineering point of view. This view is ‘a multi-disciplinary of the supply chain, engineering, production, and maintenance processes as business processes with technical and human-related activities’ (Dirne, n.d.). Firstly, the technical specifications of the current mold-making technique (CNC-milling) of Promatrix will be described after which the additive manufacturing method will be described with the consequences of using that new technique. After this general analysis, the industrial engineering disciplines mentioned before will be analysed. The knowledge of all these different internal disciplines is gathered in the final blog post and converted into a strategy that takes the external environment into account. Figure 1 : Selective laser melting process (Zhang, Song, Wei, Bourell, & Shi, 2019) The cu...