In a joint project to integrate 3D printing technology into plastic injection mold production, Prodways Technologies, Schneider Electric's Openlab and Platinium 3D platforms are working together to accelerate the industrial product development cycle.
In order to remain competitive, one of the main challenges of the future industry is undoubtedly to bring new products to market faster. At the same time, international standards and certification requirements require power manufacturers to adopt long-term certification procedures for their components. Prototype production using final materials. In order to reduce time-to-market, the R&D department of the world's leading electronic component manufacturers such as Schneider Electric needs to quickly prototype their prototypes for certification and functional testing using the final materials. Therefore, the challenge is to get rid of the tradition. The long-term nature of the tool.
In 2017, with nearly 400 product releases per year and revenues of more than €24 billion, Schneider Electric focused its strategy on technological innovations that shorten time-to-market. To this end, Schneider Electric utilizes Openlab in the heart of Grenoble. Support for new product development projects.
Referring to Frédérick Choupin of Schneider Electric: 'Our goal is to use cutting-edge technology to shorten the product development cycle. With 3D printing and agile project management, we are able to overcome the obstacles in traditional process flow and increase the marketing speed of innovative products by 60%. '
With this in mind, Schneider Electric's Openlab has been working with Prodways Technologies and Platinium 3D technology platforms for more than a year, incorporating MOVINGLight technology into its electrical component development cycle to mold plastic injection molds in 3D. Finally, nearly 25 molds are used. 3D printing, therefore, hundreds of parts can be injected into the injection molding machine under manufacturing conditions to create parts that match the final shape and meet the certification prerequisites for the correct polymer.
UIMM Champagne-Ardenne Platinium 3D Deputy Executive Sébastien Guenet said: 'Usually, it takes several weeks to two months for the aluminum molds that require the prototype of the part mold to be certified as the final material to be delivered, which greatly slows development. Cycle. '
'With 3D printing, we can produce mold prototypes in a few hours, modify them immediately according to the needs of functional tests, and then inject the final material parts. These final material parts are sent directly to the aluminum mold production. Thanks to this process, we The new product development cycle has been greatly accelerated, as the final material components have been certified before the aluminum production mold is completed.
Due to the high mechanical and heat resistance of Prodways' 3D printing materials, Schneider Electric's Openlab and Platinium 3D are filled with charged and non-flammable polyamide parts. Polyamides with glass fibers are the most commonly used technical parts that must be heat resistant. One of the materials; it is the standard in many industries and an indispensable prerequisite for certification.
3D printing is critical to the development of industrial products, so it is expected to play a key role in future business development. Through this collaboration, Schneider Electric's Prodways Technologies, Openlab and Platinium 3D reaffirmed their efforts as a pioneer in industrial innovation in France. The core role of the road.