Editor’s Pick: Bringing Digital Workflow to Additive Manufacturing Processes

Dear DE reader,

Most engineers love the creative side of product development, but are less enthusiastic about managing all the information they create. When creativity moves to additive manufacturing (AM), data management complexity increases. So when somebody comes along with a better mousetrap (so to speak) for engineering data and 3D printing, we pay attention. Which is why 3YOURMIND Manufacturing Execution System (MES) software for Additive Manufacturing is our Editor’s Pick of the Week. 

Railroad giant Deutsche Bahn (DB) is paying attention, too. Not only is DB the national railroad of Germany, it is a global provider of rail vehicles and infrastructure maintenance. It has to support 100-year-old steam locomotives still in use, as well the newest high-speed electric trains. Its goal is to become a leader in rail propulsion as a service; replacing parts for old locomotives is part of the challenge. It produced its first 3D-printed part in 2015 (a coat hook); by the end of 2018 it created 15,000 spare parts and other items using 3D printing. 

DB and the Berlin-based 3YOURMIND are in a strategic partnership to bring part and order tracking, smart prioritization, custom AM workflow creation and rapid scheduling to the production floor. DB employees — not just engineers — propose potential 3D printing applications from situations they encounter at work. The 3YOURMIND MES system analyzes the proposals and identifies use cases with the best potential for success with 3D printing. A DB team then chooses which projects to put into production. 

3YOURMIND calls their application an Agile MES system, because it shortens the time it takes to understand and prioritize potential projects. When AM jobs are created, the system automatically suggests which parts to assign to a specific printer and — perhaps more importantly — when to assign them. 

Keeping order and part data in a single interface increases transparency and allows the software to prioritize more efficiently, since it also has access to delivery dates, production specifications and 3D printer availability. Agile Manufacturing is strengthened as 3YOURMIND uses custom workflows to evaluate and manage production steps, post-processing details and 3D printer capacity in a slick modern dashboard interface.  

DB is beginning the journey to a full digital spare parts warehouse. The 3YOURMIND software solutions support DB in their plans to expand industrial 3D production; from simple interactions with employees to optimized production processes.

Making 3D printing processes part of MES will quickly become the new norm. 3YOURMIND says it has an aggressive roadmap for new features, based on what its manufacturing partners identify as the most important issues for improving MES workflow for 3D printing. So far they seem to be making all the right moves. 

Thanks for reading DE. 

—The DE Editors