Larry,
Steve,
I think the automobile was not that good an example for explaining what Steve
meant.
But I'd like to stress the fact that industry is heading towards a complete
on-demand production. Producing on demand means that you can shrink your
stocks of finished products, and thus your immobilized capital. Now, if your
customer also wants the product delivered as soon as possible, RP&M is the
solution for decreasing total throughpout times for more and more products made
on smaller and smaller scales.
Regards,
Michel
lblasch@opw-fc.com wrote:
> Steve,
>
> You forgot a few small factors in your equation, the cost of molding the
> components used in the high volume production method is substantially
> lower than the cost of RP-ing the same components due to the high
> tooling investment. The same mass of plastic even at 1/4 the cost of the
> current RP materials would still be more than the proposed selling price
> of the vehicle and that doesen't include the metal and glass.
>
> Take the same automobile scenario:
>
> Estimate 180-250Kg Plastic/Rubber components in an automobile; divide
> that into 20 groups of materials needing unique properties; and you now
> need 20 of your 30 sets of machines just to make the required parts in
> the appropriate materials.
>
> Of course you could run some parts and change resins, but that will
> incease the labor costs and lead time. The cost to produce the
> equivalent part in RP as compared to most molding processes is much
> greater due to the hand work necessary as well as the material costs.
>
> What you save by not having tooling investments, you more than offset
> with the increased cost and time required by freeform manufacture.
>
> Next, the assembly of the vehicle is complex, in a high volume production
> plant, hondreds of millions of dollars are spent on fixtures and
> positioning equipment to reduce the assembly time. If you are building more
> than one vehicle at a time, you need to factor that into the equation as
> well. It takes a lot longer to build it without the proper tools.
>
> By my estimate, the low volume manufacturer, even with high speed RP
> capability would be producing an equivalent product at 8 to 10 times the
> cost of high volume production.
>
> Will you pay $120,000 for the $15,000 car?
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Larry Blasch
> System Administrator for Engineering Services
>
> OPW Fueling Components Voice: (513) 870-3356
> P.O. Box 405003 Fax: (513) 870-3338
> Cincinnati, OH 45240-5003 USA
> *********************************************************************
>
>
> For more information about the rp-ml, see http://ltk.hut.fi/rp-ml/
-- Michel Gilio Research Engineer Division PMA - K.U.Leuven Celestijnenlaan 300 B B-3001 Heverleetel: +32 16 32 27 72 fax: +32 16 32 29 87 e-mail: michel.gilio@mech.kuleuven.ac.be http://www.mech.kuleuven.ac.be/pma/pma.html
For more information about the rp-ml, see http://ltk.hut.fi/rp-ml/
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