It’s Here: The World’s First 3D Printed Jet Engine
Products
The primary product involved in this process in the 3D printed jet engines. These are engines used mostly in commercial jet airlines. They work through a high compression of air which is then mixed with fuel in the combustion chamber. This mixture gets ignited and burns at high temperature. The exhaust gasses provide forward thrust to the aircraft.
Processes involved
Redesigning of the original components. This process is instrumental in the reduction of excessive weight. Less weight means less fuel gets consumed. This will increase the range of the aircraft and improves the working efficiency of the engine.
Reduction in the number of components makes the engines simpler. Simplicity ensures that the engines can get easily repaired, and lesser moving parts reduce the risk of mechanical problems.
For parts that do not require complicated processes, post machining gets used. It ensures that not much energy goes to waste in spending too many resources on parts that can easily get manufactured through simpler processes.
Selective laser machining ensures that goods produced are of the best quality possible.
The evolution of 3D printing
The concept of 3D printing began in the 1980s. During that time, it was not called 3D printing. It went by the name Rapid Prototyping Techniques. These methods were quite different from what we perceive today. This became part of a simpler form of object creation. Engineers used certain methods that fastened the production process. One method was to use materials that can easily get manipulated and molded (Rengier 335).
Currently, mass production has become the biggest challenge in 3D printing. There are still no printers large enough to carry out the process. The current printers are mostly prototypes and have not gotten deployed on commercial scales. Furthermore, the commercial models only produce an item at a time. This factor would slow down the production process and cause delays (Warnke 212).
The adoption of large scale printers together with rapidly evolving technologies has the potential to revolutionize 3D printing. One major advantage of this form of manufacturing is that it has a high degree of customizability. Products can get manufactured strictly according to the consumer needs. The areas where this technology is rapidly growing include replacement parts. This is due to customization. Another area is in healthcare. Currently, research is underway to print organs in 3d. The printing of certain organs such as kidneys has proven successful. There are also some possibilities of printing food in 3d (Lipson14).
Factors to consider
Law
Various laws govern consumer protection. Such includes occupational safety and worker compensation. Labor laws govern the minimum wage to get paid to the lowest earning worker/
Regional standards
These standards govern the set quality the government can accept of goods origination from foreign countries.
Environment
All production activities must get undertaken in a manner that causes minimum damage to the environment. Waste products also need proper disposal to avoid pollution.
Competition
Stiff competition will do a business continuously improve the value of its goods and services. The winner, in this case, is the end consumer. They get cheaper goods with high quality
Political factors
When countries are not in good relations with one another, trade also gets affected. These nations can impose sanctions on one another.
Other study areas
Management- Managers set goals for the business. They also ensure that the goals get met, and everyone does their assigned tasks. They find solutions to any problems that arise within the firm.
Accountants- these are the people in charge of keeping financial records of a company. For a business to succeed, it needs a proper accounting system that can audit all expenditure and give proper financial analysis.
Marketing- If products do not get announced, nobody will know of their existence. For a firm to gain market, they need to let people know of the presence of their product.
A well-trained workforce.
When workers receive good training, their work rate improves. Because of their skill, they tend to undertake tasks quickly and produce a high number of products in short periods. This factor will lead to high production rate and enables the business to meet its demand.
Proper training with multidisciplinary principles will ensure that all workers are efficient in their work. Efficiency leads to the production of quality products and services. They will minimize wastage of resources during manufacturing hence save a lot of resources that usually go to waste. Specialization enhances smooth sub-division of work. When workers get assigned tasks they are good at, they tend to have the will and motivation to undertake the task. They will discover the full potential of their knowledge.
Good interpersonal skills get acquired through proper training. Equipped with this knowledge, workers will know how to deal with each other in ways that avoid conflict. They will also learn how to cope with different personalities.
Works cited
Lipson, Hod, and Melba Kurman. Fabricated: The new world of 3D printing. John Wiley & Sons, 2013.
Rengier, Fabian, et al. "3D printing based on imaging data: review of medical applications." International journal of computer assisted radiology and surgery 5.4 (2010): 335-341.
Warnke, Patrick H., et al. "Ceramic scaffolds produced by computer‐assisted 3D printing and sintering: Characterization and biocompatibility investigations." Journal of Biomedical Materials Research Part B: Applied Biomaterials 93.1 (2010): 212-217.
