The digital revolution of the 90s was inevitable, given that an Internet-connected PC was enough to create a Google or Apple. But manufacturing isn’t that easy – which is why there hasn’t been a Silicon Valley-esque renaissance in the consumer durables sector.
But that is gradually changing with the arrival of companies specializing in 3D printing and on-demand manufacturing. These companies help early-stage start-ups penetrate the market with disruptive innovation, especially in sectors where companies keep start-ups at bay with their enormous technical and manufacturing power.
Let’s see how production on demand is poised to change production as we know it.
Traditional production favors Goliaths
Manufacturing physical products is complicated and expensive, but it’s easy to forget that it gets worse for small businesses with low production volumes. The smaller your production batch, the more expensive and difficult it is to turn your idea into a finished product. It is virtually impossible for small entities to set up in-house production and maintain the technical expertise to keep it running.
It is clear that 3D printing is the solution, but even that is priceless when manufacturing commercially viable products. Since regular 3D printers are slow and inefficient, cheaper 3D printing services won’t make it. Fortunately, a few on-demand manufacturing experts, such as Hubs and Xometry, specialize in helping such startups achieve their visions.
We spoke to one of them and their approach is surprisingly simple in its effectiveness.
From low-Earth orbit satellites and energy-generating aircraft to custom-made gaming mice and industrial exoskeletons, these companies have helped many startups bring their products to market.
Filemon Schoffer, the CCO and co-founder of Hubs, has a surprisingly simple approach: anyone can access their state-of-the-art manufacturing technology by simply uploading their CAD files to order custom parts without worrying about minimum order quantities or production queues.
While that may not sound any different from a regular 3D printing service, on-demand manufacturing experts like Hubs and Xometry are what sets themselves apart by the range of services. “We are not the fastest, but we can do the most”, explains Schoffer, emphasizing that in addition to 3D printing, Hubs also offers low-volume injection molding, sheet metal processing and CNC machining capabilities.
This allows startups to focus on product design and innovation without worrying about manufacturing expertise and supply chain issues. This brand of on-demand manufacturing enables the Davids of the consumer durables industry to achieve equivalence with the established Goliaths. Let’s look at some notable examples of this phenomenon.
Skelex: Bringing Exoskeletons to the Real World
When you hear the word exoskeleton, you invariably think of the cool exo suits from Warhammer 40K and Elysium. That is, powered exoskeletons that imbue the wearer with superhuman strength and agility. However, the real world is a bit more practical. As Skelex approached exo-suits, it saw them less like a fancy power armor and more like the humble helmet.
Weighing just 4.2kg, Skelex exoskeletons are passive devices designed to make lifting industrial tools effortless. Gaurav Genani, the founder of Skelex, describes his product as a: “bike for the poor” that makes heavy, repetitive work lighter. The idea is similar to that of a safety helmet, except this industrial safety device reduces workplace injuries and increases productivity.
Unfortunately, it took years and countless head injuries before the safety helmet was taken seriously. And that’s just a cheap and straight forward piece of injection molded plastic. However, Skelex’s exoskeleton is rather complicated to make. This is mainly because small orders for complex exoskeleton assemblies are not the best combination for cost-effective production.
Excluding the traditional manufacturing approach, Skelex turned to Hubs for all their 3D printing and CNC machining needs. This allowed it to offer highly customized exoskeletons, even in small batches. That’s a godsend for a small company that juggles irregular orders with constant customization.
Sure enough, Hubs’ expertise in low-volume, cost-effective manufacturing has enabled Skelex to scale production from dozens of units to a production volume that now runs into the thousands.
What started as an outsourced manufacturing process involving 3D printing and CNC machining has now matured to integrate low volume injection molding, vacuum casting and sheet metal fabrication using Hubs’ diverse portfolio. And that puts Skelex’s exoskeletons one step closer to becoming the safety helmet of the modern industrial world.
Scewo: student project into a celebrated product
Think Segway for the disabled, except that the Scewo BRO electric wheelchair can not only balance and ride on two wheels, but also climb stairs. As if that didn’t sound incredible enough, the startup emerged from a former student project at the Zurich University of the Arts and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology.
With a total team strength of 23, Scewo AG is the epitome of a lean operation with a great idea. While great ideas are largely cheap, the same cannot be said of the massive capital investment required to make them a reality. This is where Xometry’s on-demand production services and expertise for Scewo came about.
The stair scale wheelchair is made up of various parts made from eclectic materials and manufacturing processes – from 3D printed plastics such as PLA and ABS to CNC machined aluminum and vacuum cast steel. What would otherwise have justified a few million dollars in manufacturing investment, Scewo AG achieved at a fraction of the cost with on-demand manufacturing.
Formify: Tailor-Made Mice for Cyber Athletes
Gaming professionally is no different from the Olympics, and becoming a professional gamer is not an easy task. Cyber athletes push the limits of human ability to the limit. But sometimes these athletes need a little help from engineers.
The Speedo LZR suit – a marvel of sports engineering – is the best example of how high-tech tools can change the game in competitive sports. Formify’s 3D-printed mice promise to create a similar impact to professional gaming by being specifically tailored to the user’s hand.
Just as a lower drag coefficient of the LZR suit is essential for swimming performance, a custom gaming mouse has the same effect on pro gaming.
The most popular competitive games, such as DOTA and StarCraft, measure gamers’ performance in APMs (actions per minute) – a simple parameter that determines (to simplify the concept) how fast the cyber athletes can click their mice. Formify’s custom mice play an important role in improving critical APM metrics.
However, the traditional injection molding approach isn’t exactly conducive to creating custom gaming mice. The molds used in the manufacturing process cost in the neighborhood of a few hundred thousand dollars. That’s probably why none of the major gaming mouse brands offer their products in different sizes. Well, not unless they charge a few thousand dollars for the privilege.
Formify has circumvented this limitation by replacing the traditional injection molding manufacturing process. Seeking Hubs’ manufacturing expertise was critical to ensuring the professional-quality gaming mice didn’t look like a high school project. Sure enough, Hubs used the very latest Multi Jet Fusion (MJF) 3D printing technology to create custom mice that looked like finished products.
This allowed Formify to deliver mice that are precisely adapted to the hands of cyber athletes. Meanwhile, Hubs’ design, prototyping and manufacturing expertise in small volumes kept costs under control. This is a shining example of how commercial 3D printing has brought previously unfeasible business models to fruition.
Cyfac: Race-winning 3D-printed bikes
The French have a passion for two things: eating snails and cycling. And when they run out of snails, they get pretty serious about competing in the Tour de France.
No wonder the French company Cyfac decided to build a unique all-carbon bike to compete in Concours de Machines. For those not dining on escargots, Concours de Machines is a platform for bike mechanics to test their handcrafted machines in a real race.
While mass-produced bikes are built for a price and are attractive to the lowest common denominator, things get pretty crazy with custom handcrafted bikes. Cyfac’s offer, called the Paradox, didn’t matter. Constructed from strategically placed carbon and titanium components, the bike uses these high-tech materials to deliver strength and flexibility exactly where you need it.
This is important because the race features challenging terrain, spanning frame-breaking sections of rough gravel and cobblestone roads. Cyfac has achieved the mutually exclusive goal of building a strong yet light bicycle frame with careful use of carbon and titanium components. True to its name, the Paradox weighs just 10.7kg, while being durable enough to withstand the mechanical torture of the rugged racetrack.
These are mechanical demands that even traditional carbon fiber bicycle suspension components cannot meet. So Cyfac turned to flexible titanium blades for the swingarm suspension components. The low volume and high precision requirements of these components prompted the bike maker to seek Xometry’s on-demand manufacturing expertise for this project.
Thanks to Xometry’s help in CNC machining and additive metal fabrication, Cyfac was able to take the Paradox from the whiteboard to the finish line in record time. That is true in more ways than one, as Cyfax won the Concours de Machines title with the same bike.
Democratize production
While we’re not quite there yet to 3D print everything we need at home, commercial on-demand production is helping small entities achieve parity with their much larger competitors. And making production accessible will undoubtedly benefit everyone.
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