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Manufacturing with Additive Manufacturing (AM) makes Danish manufacturing companies less dependent on foreign supplies and strengthens Denmark’s competitiveness. This will benefit companies’ competitiveness and make them more resilient to both future health crises and the current climate crisis, while also strengthening our business community and society.

Text by Dansk AM Hub – the article can be read at Business Insights.

The coronavirus crisis has shown us how vulnerable companies and society are when production and suppliers are located far too far away. This was particularly true for the production of protective equipment and ventilators, but parts for more everyday items used in the production of cars or speakers also came under pressure.

This created increased attention on Additive Manufacturing (AM) / 3D printing and the opportunities the technology offers for more distributed production—where supply chains move closer to the end user. In a survey conducted by Bank of America last spring, one third of the 3,000 European companies covered by the bank’s analysts reported that they had accelerated plans to bring supply chains closer to home.

“COVID-19 has shown us the need for resilience in our production and supply chains, and ensuring this in a global world under pressure will become a strategic priority,” says Tue Mantoni, Chair of the Board at Vækstfonden and Dansk AM Hub—supported by the CEO of the latter:

“It is crucial that we look ahead and now ask ourselves: how do we move forward after the crisis—and what role do new technologies such as AM play in creating the manufacturing model of the future,” says Frank Rosengreen Lorenzen.

Danish manufacturing with AM

In Denmark, the opportunities to manufacture using AM are already known among many Danish manufacturing companies, but with COVID-19 it became even clearer why strong Danish manufacturing can prove beneficial—possibly decisive—for the individual SME.

AM and the 3D printer can ensure that companies can produce critical items locally in Copenhagen, Kerteminde and Kolding and do not have to wait for deliveries from China if the next health crisis hits, a new trade war breaks out, or another ship gets stuck in the Suez Canal.

Many manufacturing companies have therefore begun plans for more strategic, local AM production, which can help them strengthen their competitiveness and build a certain resilience to changes in their environment.

A growing industry despite the crisis

At Dansk AM Hub, it is evident that more companies have gained real momentum in their development projects and their work with innovation—with AM as the focal point.

This is also confirmed by the American ‘Wohlers Report’, published annually and providing a status on developments within AM. The latest report from March 2021 concludes that in 2020 there was overall growth in the AM industry of 7.5%—equivalent to 12.8 billion.

“The growth must of course be seen in light of the fact that many Danish and international companies have faced major challenges due to broken supply chains and empty factory floors—where the growth simply confirms the benefits companies can experience with AM and 3D printing,” says Frank Rosengreen Lorenzen, CEO of Dansk AM Hub.

Stronger competitiveness in the future

According to Dansk AM Hub, strengthened manufacturing with AM and independence from global supply chains means that Denmark not only strengthens its own production—but can also strengthen its position as a global supplier.

“And this can therefore help secure growth and progress in Denmark. We manage to keep Danish production—and thus Danish businesses—in Denmark. It is crucial that we think in terms of ensuring our own resilience, because we have learned that we must not relax and feel too safe,” stresses Tue Mantoni, adding that it is both about becoming resilient to all crises, and about ensuring Danish resilience.

In all kinds of adversity

Even if we do not experience a global pandemic again in the near future, there are several challenges and crises we must stand together to address. Frank Rosengreen Lorenzen highlights the climate challenge in particular, which is also a global—and even longer—crisis.

“All companies should review their production and supply chains to make them resilient, and in particular look at whether there are critical items that could advantageously be produced more robustly. And that review can also be used to identify where the largest CO2 emissions occur—so as to be better prepared for future demands from authorities, customers and citizens for greener products,” he says, issuing a clear call to action:

“We have an opportunity to look at everything with a critical eye now—and with climate-focused eyes—and to look at one’s entire production and supply chain through that lens.”

Tons.Bike is an example of entrepreneurship based on AM and Danish design. Because AM enables manufacturing in Denmark, the entrepreneur has succeeded in a short time with mounts for the indoor cyclist’s tablet or laptop, where demand during the coronavirus period has increased significantly. The mount is printed in a bio-based material and has been shipped directly from the printer to customers primarily in Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands. Photo: Tons.Bike.

Additive Manufacturing (AM) in metal opens up many new opportunities for industrial production, where parts in, for example, steel, aluminium and titanium can be printed. This is particularly relevant for design, lead time and cost, and enables companies to adapt to a market with growing demands for flexible products and short deadlines. AM metal printing increases design freedom and reduces lead times and costs.

Text by Dansk AM Hub—the article can be read at Business Insights.

There is—quite literally—rapid progress when it comes to developments in Additive Manufacturing (AM) / 3D printing in metal. At GE Aviation, they have printed a component for the Cessna aircraft engine in 12 parts instead of 855 parts in traditional manufacturing. And in the new US-produced Czinger Vehicles, the car is 100% digitally manufactured with only 80 parts—compared with Volkswagen’s nearly 3,000 parts.

These are examples of the great potential of AM metal printing, whose distinctive characteristics include exciting design possibilities, high durability, and the ability to create structures or designs that would otherwise not be possible. And consider, at the same time, what it means for sustainability that an engine can be produced with just 12 parts instead of 855, all of which must be manufactured, transported and assembled.

“The technology holds a wide range of opportunities and contains significant untapped potential. To ensure their competitiveness, small and medium-sized companies in the metal industry must integrate 3D metal printing into their production and business model and make the best possible use of the technology,” says Frank Rosengreen Lorenzen, CEO of Dansk AM Hub.

Metal printing boosts Danish competitiveness

AM metal printing is therefore a prioritised—and not least a more mature—development area, and there has been a shift from mainly thinking of 3D printing in plastic filament to also thinking of printing in metal. More and more metal materials are becoming possible to print, and the latest report from Wohlers mentions, for example, various types of steel, titanium, aluminium as well as gold, silver and tungsten. This development is particularly interesting within the aerospace and automotive industries, and it is an area receiving increasing attention abroad.

And this can create challenges—but certainly also opportunities—for the hundreds of Danish companies that today are suppliers, especially to the German automotive industry. In Denmark, we have around 400 Danish companies that supply everything from battery parts to small components to Germany’s car factories. Many Danish players therefore have core competencies, and it is crucial that they are able to keep pace with developments.

“If we are to remain attractive suppliers to, for example, the automotive industry, it is important that companies learn to master the production technology of the future, including in particular building strong competencies in 3D metal printing, which is a rapidly growing technology that is becoming increasingly widespread in manufacturing companies,” says Frank Rosengreen Lorenzen, CEO of Dansk AM Hub, emphasising that it is therefore crucial that Danish metal companies keep an eye on the technology:

“We must be able to keep up with the ever-growing demand, so that we can play a significant role in the electrification of the automotive industry and create many more jobs. This requires that we are frontrunners in a key technology such as 3D metal printing,” says Frank Rosengreen Lorenzen.

A prioritised green development area

The same vision is shared by Industriens Fond, which has initiated and supports Dansk AM Hub precisely to promote additive technology in Danish industry.

“Danish industry must strengthen its competencies, production and efforts within AM and 3D printing, and the business opportunities that the technology brings. Otherwise, companies risk losing competitiveness,” says Thomas Hofman-Bang, CEO of Industriens Fond, while also pointing to the sustainability benefits of 3D metal printing.

First, printing uses less material, and only the necessary material is used. Second, many production steps are avoided by printing in fewer parts. And third, the environmental impact is reduced because less material is melted during production.

Dansk AM Hub is also convinced that there is a clear sustainability gain from using AM in production—but research and data are lacking, and therefore this will be an important focus going forward—and a focus that Dansk AM Hub has been particularly passionate about in recent years and has therefore actively entered into cross-country collaboration to explore the potential further.

“Existing data has focused on comparing AM with traditional methods, but it is crucial to look at how it improves the entire system. If you want to make a product or part in a 3D-printed design, you must leverage the advantages of design freedom to create a more energy-efficient part that, over its entire lifetime, will save energy compared with more conventionally produced parts,” says CEO Frank Rosengren Lorenzen.

With our strong Danish design capabilities, strong agile manufacturing sector and strong culture of collaboration, Denmark is well positioned to seize the new opportunities within 3D metal printing and thereby rethink how we design, develop and produce with minimal use of material, energy and waste, while creating the sustainable products of the future.

Bühler Group has reduced its costs by using 3D metal printing, as each unit is made in one piece, unlike previously when they were assembled from several components. This was developed in collaboration with the Danish Technological Institute. Photo: Bühler Group.

Additive Manufacturing (AM) holds the potential to write an entirely new chapter in Denmark’s collection of fairy tales. Not only can it, in the long term, contribute to a greener and more sustainable manufacturing sector and thereby help secure a Danish contribution to the global green transition. In addition to making a difference for our planet, it can write a new chapter in Danish manufacturing history and place a green Denmark on the international manufacturing stage.

Text by Dansk AM Hub – the article can be read at Business Insights.

Additive Manufacturing (AM)/3D printing is already well known and widely used across large parts of global manufacturing. AM holds enormous transformative potential, as demonstrated in particular by the ability to digitally design an object with complete freedom and then print it in everything from plastic to titanium. Already today, houses are being printed in concrete, cars are being made by robotic printers, and manufacturing in general is being strengthened by AM.

Additive manufacturing can, in itself, make a difference in the world, and the Danish AM community is already well underway with the technology. But in Denmark we have a particular ace up our sleeve that can make our development and efforts in additive manufacturing an important area of focus for other countries. We are one of the countries where the 3D printer can be plugged into a socket with one of the highest shares of green electricity from our many large renewable energy sources.

“It is a game changer for Denmark. In a few parts of the USA and in our Nordic countries, we have so much green energy that the technology can produce very sustainably. If Apple can invest six billion in a data centre in Viborg because of our green energy, strong power grid and secure supply, then major AM technology providers such as HP, EOS or Stratasys can also invest in Denmark to use our green energy for additive manufacturing, work with our strong manufacturing sector and AM experts, and thereby create an entirely new Danish manufacturing success story,” says Frank Rosengreen Lorenzen, CEO of Dansk AM Hub.

Danish company Monoqool was among the first in the world to launch 3D-printed glasses. Today they are sold in more than 1,000 optician stores worldwide, with the USA, China and Germany as the largest markets. Photo: Monoqool.

The courage to meet new demand

So it is neither the technology nor the printer that should be questioned—but rather the Danish mindset that needs to be challenged. Abroad, the AM potential is already being explored, especially in the aerospace and automotive industries, to which many Danish companies currently supply components.

“If demand in the future is for 3D-printed parts, Denmark must be first to supply them. But that requires that we dare to break free from the—I’m tempted to say old-fashioned—production processes on which we have built industrialisation, and instead explore the opportunities and advantages found in additive manufacturing,” says Frank Rosengreen Lorenzen, supported by the Chair of Dansk AM Hub’s Board:

Not only do we have a unique opportunity to strengthen Danish competitiveness—but with AM we can also create the manufacturing systems of the future, making it possible to keep business and production in Denmark instead of looking abroad for solutions, says Tue Mantoni, Chair of the Board of Dansk AM Hub & Vækstfonden.

Dansk AM Hub was established precisely to help Danish companies use AM technology and gain access to the commercial benefits in both the Danish and international markets.

“With Dansk AM Hub, we build a bridge from the Danish ecosystem to international players in order to bring knowledge and experience back to Denmark, so that the competitiveness of industry can be strengthened further,” says Thomas Hofman-Bang, CEO of Industriens Fond, which initiated and supports Dansk AM Hub.

Damvig A/S and HEXR have collaborated to create a 3D-printed, smart alternative to conventional bicycle helmets, which can be designed and manufactured individually for the user in 100% biodegradable plant oil. Photo: Damvig A/S.

Danish additive technology for the benefit of all

The vision of Dansk AM Hub is precisely that Denmark should lead the way on the global sustainability agenda and market the country on the basis of its strong green electricity and manufacturing. The increased interest in Denmark and Danish manufacturing will strengthen competitiveness and create positive effects for society by creating and retaining Danish jobs and improving our exports—but also by strengthening cohesion for the 90% of all manufacturing jobs located outside the capital.

“Let us lead the way with investments in additive technology in Danish manufacturing and thereby create a new Danish manufacturing success story—with strong roots in sustainability,” is the call from Frank Rosengreen Lorenzen:

“It will undoubtedly generate international interest and turn eyes towards our nation. We have the capacity and the competencies to replace the label we have long been used to seeing on many products, so that ‘Made in China’ becomes ‘Made in Denmark’—and not just manufactured in Denmark, but sustainably manufactured in Denmark. A Danish AM manufacturing success story awaits us, and it is only up to us to decide when we will embark on it.”

Additive Manufacturing (AM) is increasingly becoming a key driver in the green transition of the manufacturing industry, as more and more people recognise the technology’s potential. However, the full potential is still unrealised, and it is therefore necessary to view the technology from a 360-degree perspective.

Text by Dansk AM Hub – the article can be read at Business Insights.

Significantly reduced material consumption and waste. Distributed, local “on-demand” production. Less need for large inventories. Far more sustainable materials in production and finished parts made up of fewer components and more energy-efficient. These are just some of the benefits of Additive Manufacturing (AM)/3D printing that can make production more sustainable.

Instead of conventional production with old-fashioned heavy machines that cast or mill products using large amounts of material, the 3D printer uses only the material that is strictly necessary. The machine can be located in the same city as the consumer, and “print” can be pressed once the item has been ordered and paid for.

However, to access these benefits, it is crucial that companies are not hesitant to invest in new and perhaps less familiar technology. An improved version of a traditional machine may feel like a safer investment, but it may potentially be a better investment to look at new production technology.

AM as a circular solution

Additive manufacturing can help us reduce CO2 emissions associated with production. According to the analysis ‘Completing the Picture’ by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, material processing accounts for around a quarter of global emissions, and emissions from production are expected only to rise in the coming years as purchasing power in developing countries increases.

However, AM enables better and smarter designs and tailored products, and the digital value chains create the former green benefits. This means the technology holds enormous potential to reduce our CO2 emissions in production, transport, and warehousing. A potential that is only strengthened as more and more sustainable materials gain ground, making it possible to print in, for example, recyclable plastic and 100% bio-based material.

AM from a 360-degree perspective

Digital layer-by-layer manufacturing is sometimes criticised for being an energy-intensive process compared with conventional manufacturing methods—and existing data has focused on comparing AM with traditional production methods from a tonne-for-tonne perspective, where, for example, one tonne of plastic printed in Denmark has been compared with one tonne of plastic injection-moulded in China. But that is a misleading picture, and it is crucial to look at how additive manufacturing improves the entire system and to compare the whole process from design and development to production and transport.

Products in conventional manufacturing typically consist of many parts, whereas products made with AM technology have significantly fewer. If you manufacture a product or part in a 3D-printed design, you also have the opportunity to create an entirely new design free from the limitations of the mould, better suited to its purpose and more efficient. Our neighbouring countries’ aerospace and automotive industries have benefited from this for a long time, but other industries are also beginning to follow suit.

And that is good for Denmark. The South Jutland-based Danitech, a Jutland manufacturing company of the kind we have thousands of in Denmark, producing specialised products—especially hydraulic blocks and mechanical parts—has truly embraced this. Through our projects and collaboration with GTS institutes, Danitech has succeeded in developing a 3D-printed valve block for an actuator—a valve block that will be physically smaller, require less material, use up to 50% less energy, and still deliver the same performance. 3D printing therefore enables the company to reduce waste by 50–70% and lower transport costs and the associated CO2 footprint, while also giving Danitech’s customers exactly the right solution rather than a standard solution.

The comparison: Conventional vs additive

The point is that we need to view it from a 360-degree perspective to better understand the technology. We cannot simply compare tonne for tonne and declare a winning method—we must take the entire production into account, because the part also has to be packed and transported by train, plane, and truck from a factory in China to the buyer in Copenhagen, Kerteminde, and Kolding. That is where the difference lies: in local and more distributed production enabled by AM.

Let us take an example presented by one of our partners, the American company Ivaldi, which advises industrial companies on transitioning to digital production. They find that the decisive factor is, in particular, CO2 emissions from transport, and that it is safe to name AM as the most sustainable winner due to its ability to enable more digital and distributed production. We need many more such calculation models, but the figures point to an important parameter: “Time to Market”. With AM, Ivaldi finds time savings of up to 38 days depending on the mode of transport, compared with conventional production.

That very time saving has made a decisive difference for the Aarhus-based manufacturing company DAFA, which makes products in foam, rubber, and plastic materials for construction, industry, and wind energy, such as gaskets, sealing tapes, and sound- and vibration-damping solutions. After participating in one of our programmes, where they borrowed and tested a 3D printer for one month, they invested in the technology themselves—and have managed to cut eight weeks (!) off the development time for new products because they can deliver new prototypes in one working day. This is a significant competitive advantage for DAFA, which can and should also be leveraged to create more sustainable production, where AM is integrated into smarter, digital, and distributed value chains.

The sustainable potential

Their experience thus also supports Ivaldi’s conclusion: 3D printing is the most sustainable and green solution DESPITE the necessary energy consumption in the manufacturing process itself. In a direct comparison, conventional production will win, but we must compare the entire process to declare an—obvious—winner. By viewing AM from a 360-degree perspective, we can better understand the technology’s sustainable potential and the positive effects it creates for people and the planet—as well as for the individual company. AM can increase local employment, reduce transport, material consumption, and waste, while also contributing to greater independence within the respective manufacturing company, which can likewise benefit from increased design freedom and strengthened competitiveness.

AM undeniably holds an unrealised sustainable potential—but also a potential that will gradually be realised as, globally, we learn to view the technology in its full perspective and carry out further research and calculations like Ivaldi’s, which equip us to apply the technology in the best possible way. For the benefit of today’s generations, but certainly also for those to come—and for the planet they will live on.