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Wednesday, February 27, 2008
It is our intention to bring a prototype vehicle to market
with speed and efficiency. As we have delineated our critical
path, we have naturally begun to look to ways to gain efficiency
and to save time.
One of our explorations has been a serious look at rapid
prototyping (RP). From customer prizes, to vendor sourcing,
and to part making, each is something we need to manage
at Local Motors, and this way of doing things quickly and
accurately is ripe with potential.
(Blue and White Vase, Inkjet Printing Technology, courtesy of Z Corporation)
A couple of years ago, I visited 3D Systems headquarters
in South Carolina and walked away with my head spinning.
I have now been back to 3D and been to other companies
since that time, and the pace of development has been breakneck.
From the $5,000 Desktop
Factory out of Idealab to the $1MM Selective
Laser Sintering (SLS) behemoths at 3D, the
range of capabilities, reliability, and PRICE
is nothing short of huge.
And this range above is really just referring to a discussion
of Rapid Prototyping, which is only the beginning. As it
is said in the industry, when Rapid Prototyping "grows
up" as a technology, it will become Rapid Manufacturing. Also known as Direct
Digital Manufacturing, this business is the idea of making a part (NOT A PROTOTYPE)
directly from a CAD file using additive materials. I first saw this at an American
Le Mans race shop where a company was making fuel tank floaters to go inside
an open wheel car's fuel bladder and they were making the actual part, NOT A
PROTOTYPE. When it came off of the "printer" and I held it, I had
to blink twice and shake my head to try to grasp the concept that they had just
built a usable race-ready part off of a "printer".
In this post, it was my original intention to provide an
expose of the latest and greatest thoughts that we have
developed on RP (and even RM), but the truth is that the
information is so voluminous and rapidly changing, that
anything I write is almost guaranteed to be contradicted
or outdated in a matter of months. I almost started this
post many times over the past several months, only to be
thwarted by the task of synthesizing all of the latest
material....SO I have chosen a different approach.
Here are a list of opening leads which let you do the research
at the pace that interests and concerns your needs or desires.
Almost everything leads back to everything else, so where
you start is less important than finding a place in which
you can relate to RP.
One critical lifesaver in an ocean of information is Castle
Island Co.
Castle may look like a cheap site, but in reality, it is
an unbelievable resource for people to learn about every
technology (and there are a lot) and every company that
makes products within that technology. Even a first time
user can understand it and make it useful.
Spend some time on the site and you will find yourself
spending more time on the site, and then you will get more
and more hooked, and before you know it, your dog will
have fallen asleep at the foot of your chair with the frisbee
still in his mouth. Really, the organization and the amount
of information is incredible.
If you've not already, dive into some of the sites from
the actual vendors themselves. Many of them have videos
and flash animations that make it easier to understand
what they do. From the "2001 A Space Odyssey video
from Stratasys to the brash Z Corp intro, even the videos
show the breadth of the competition. Here's one linked
for your pleasure!
Remember that despite the cool factor of some of these
technologies, knowing what you NEED them for and how you
can apply them before you make a purchase decision makes
all the difference in the world between a machine that
gathers dust and one that is a competitive advantage. We
have visited too many shops where FARO arms
are gathering dust in the corner because they were non-core
to the business and not matched properly to the needs of
the business. Said another way, you will find RP tools
at small race shops like Joe Gibbs Racing and
at large OEMs such as BMW, and even though both businesses
have the same tool, it does not mean that the tool is being
utilized to its potential in either shop. It all depends
on your perception and communication of the need for its
capabilities. Often smaller shops can utilize these tools
to a more full potential than an OEM giant.
Note that more than ever, there are businesses which can
get you into RP and RM without your having to buy the machinery.
These firms offer access to the output of these types of
machines on a per part basis. Though the cost of such a
service is quite high, for people not sure what they want
or for those with only a limited need, such offerings can
make a great deal of sense. One good example of a firm
such as this is Mydea
Technologies found at the University of Central
Florida (UCF) Tech incubator.
Lastly I recommend that you take a careful look at the
output of each company and technology. If seeing is believing
then holding is really believing. At the 3D
University, part of the York Tech South Carolina
Community College district, they have a hall where
they display output from many different sorts of technologies,
or at the annual
SEMA conference, or at the RAPID
SME conference even more vendors and their
product outputs can be seen. Additionally you
can order or arrange to see finished product
samples or products being made form every company.
All of these are good and will suffice, but do
your best to put your hands on some of these
results of Rapid Prototyping. I am convinced
that they will blow your mind and make you even
more hungry for knowledge.
They have for us, and we are only at the beginning. Such
a revolution in part production is something that would
have made the late Boyd
Coddington proud, and on the day of his passing,
we say a prayer for him and all of the car loving
disciples he has given life to.
Go Local and Go Rapid! |
