MAN Truck & Bus has adopted digital stock administration for spare half manufacturing, notably for elements not in manufacturing. This method was demonstrated of their current undertaking to supply 10 bronze water cooler manifolds for a marine engine. These elements weren’t accessible in storage, manufacturing, or by means of current casting tooling. To satisfy this problem, MAN collaborated with Replique, consultants in digital stock and 3D printing, to reverse engineer and manufacture these elements with precision and adherence to mechanical necessities.

Replique’s function concerned constructing a 3D mannequin of the manifold from an current manufacturing drawing, choosing an acceptable materials – a bronze alloy (m4p Brz10) for SLM 3D printing – and coordinating with their world community to make sure native manufacturing. The manifolds had been produced inside seven weeks of the preliminary request. Curiously, assessments carried out by MAN’s Central Materials Know-how division confirmed that the 3D printed elements had superior technical properties in comparison with the unique ones, resulting in a repeat order for a further 10 items.

“The collaboration with Replique was seamless from our preliminary contact to the second we acquired the completed elements,” stated Thomas Hauck, MAN spare elements logistics supervisor.

“It allowed us to promptly help our spare elements prospects, and we’re already within the means of realizing one other 3D printing undertaking with Replique.”

This course of not solely met the instant demand but in addition set a precedent for future initiatives. With the digital availability of manufacturing data, elements like these could be reordered persistently, sustaining high quality requirements. MAN Truck & Bus plans to proceed using digital stock for after-sales and spare elements logistics, aiming to cut back prices and optimize world service.

Supply: develop3d.com

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