A brief encounter with a manufacturer revealed an ongoing problem in 3D printing.
You might believe that 3D printing is solidly entrenched into the manufacturing process of many companies. It absolutely is. But not everywhere.
I’m reminded of science fiction author William Gibson, who once wrote, “the future is already here; it’s just not evenly distributed”. That seems to be the case for industrial 3D printing.
The encounter was with an engineer who works at a very large international vehicle manufacturer, and I’m leaving them anonymous to prevent corporate embarrassment.
The engineer was fascinated with a desktop 3D printer I was working with at an event, and asked questions about it. Evidently, they had never seen one “this small”.
I asked about the 3D printers used in their operations, believing it to be quite extensive given the company’s reputation and size. However, the engineer explained that they use them to print some prototypes once in a while. They added that the machines were only recently acquired.
I was quite puzzled, as I would have imagined a company of that scale could easily be using 3D print tech all over the place. On the factory floor, for example, modern software and equipment could have workers developing and producing their own jigs and fixtures to make assembly more efficient.
Nope, nothing like that is happening.
In fact, the machines they do have are quite recent. I asked why they hadn’t been using them for many years, and the answer was predictable.
Evidently, the management was old-style and literally did not believe that 3D printers could produce useful parts. They did not support using the technology.
Eventually, they aged out and were replaced by younger, more connected management. The new management apparently asked “where are the 3D printers?” And at that point, they have begun using the technology.
Unfortunately, it would appear that they are far behind where they could be with the tech, due to the late start.
While I constantly see news of 3D print innovations, the ground truth is likely far more mundane: there are probably many, many companies in a similar situation, where management is too conservative, too uninformed, and too stuck in their old ways of thinking. They’re using the “if it isn’t broken, don’t change it” approach.
But, my friends, it is broken. They just don’t see it yet.
Over time, they will use more advanced manufacturing technology, if only from decadal changes in management. That’s a slow process that will put many companies far behind more progressive organizations that have been exploring new approaches.
Hopefully, these slow-moving companies will turn themselves around before it’s too late to compete.
