Bulten Group, a leading global supplier of fasteners, has started to explore the possibilities of using 3D printing for spare parts and tooling in manufacturing. The result looks very promising for the future.
The use of 3D printing has already proven valuable for Bulten’s production in several cases. Plastic 3D printing has been used for urgent repairs, issues with spare parts not on stock and for trials to evaluate changes/machine adjustments. Metal 3D printingis in the test phase, and so far with several successful trials using 3D printed tooling for special products. The outlook is very promising, even though it is important to remember that the technology of metal 3D printing is under development, and today only a limited number of metals are available as powders for additive manufacturing.
We spoke to Dr. Emmy Pavlovic, SVP Technology & Innovations at Bulten Group, to get some insights regarding the company’s 3D printing trials.
What benefits do you see 3D-printing can have for the fasteners business long-term?
Speed and innovation. The fastener industry (cold forging industry) is unfortunately a longleadtime industry. The main root cause of the long lead times is the availability of tooling; a cold forging tool set consists of multiple pieces and it is not uncommon to have to wait eight weeks for thevery last tool piece that completes the tool set so that you can start production. To become real fast you need a clever set up to standardize and share the common tool pieces between different fastener geometries, combined with a rapid solution for the unique pieces used to create that final shape of the fastener. And it is those unique tool pieces we aim to 3D print. This will cut the lead time down to fractions of what it is today.
Metal 3D printing is an art, and if you do not master how to set up your 3D printer you will not print products of good quality.
Are there any challenges with using this technology in relation to old and more mature technologies? Yes, unfortunately the quality of 3D printed metal (especially steels) is not at the same level as traditionally produced metals. You can typically get the strength and hardness up to the level you wish, but this far we see that other properties related to endurance are not at a high enough level for 3D printed steels. Metal 3D printing is an art, and if you do not master how to set up your 3D printer you will notprint products of good quality.
Can you use all types of material when using this technology?
Unfortunately, not. Plastic 3D printing is readily available for a wide range of plastic materials, whereas metal 3D printing is much more limited. And as we have a focus on tooling (typically tool steels or similar) the availability is narrowed down even more. Both in powders available for 3D printing, and in 3D printing techniques capable of melting these powders to a solid part of good quality.
It is obvious that Bulten will continue as well as expand the use of 3D printing- plastic and metal - for spare parts and tooling in manufacturing. This a method that most definitely will support a lean and efficient way to produce fasteners short as well as long term.
