How do you decide whether to use additive or subtractive manufacturing?
The answer is application specific. It lies in balancing the manufacturing cost against the lifecycle operating cost savings.
Let's think about transport. For road vehicles, an extra 50kg could impact fuel economy by 1-3%, depending on type of car. The weight-performance balance justifies a lower manufacturing spend.
Contrast this with the airline industry, where every kg of weight saved has a much larger impact on absolute running cost.
Here's a sample calculation for thought: An A330 has 260pcs 1.2kg seat-brackets that are optimized to achieve 20% weight saving - a total of 62.4kg reduced. They can only be 3D printed due to the complex geometries involved, and costing 1.5x more than the heavier cast & machined part.
Flying 1kg of weight over 1000km, costs about RM0.15 in fuel. Airframes will typically last a 30yr lifetime, flying 3,500hrs/yr and at ~800kmh, covering about 84mil kms. This translates to at least RM786,000 in fuel saved, an easy ROI for the more expensive printed brackets.
Visit EOS for more in depth info on similar case studies: 3D Printing in Aviation | EOS GmbH
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