Fuji Xerox delivers primer on 3D printing in Singapore

Ying asking for a show of hands on familiarity with additive manufacturing.

Those who would like to get on board with 3D printing can easily find resources to help them in Singapore, said Eugene Ying, 3D Sales Manager, Fuji Xerox Asia Pacific during Fuji Xerox DocuWorld in Singapore.

The technology is fast becoming commercialised, Ying noted. He said that Airbus is already using 3D printed parts, for example. The company said in September 2017 that it installed a titanium 3D-printed bracket on an in-series production A350 XWB aircraft. Prior to that, 3D-printed parts like metal printed cabin brackets and bleed pipes had been in use on Airbus A320neo and A350 XWB test aircraft. 

The 4 'C's of 3D printing.

Additive manufacturing, also known as 3D printing, is taking off as it can cut costs and lead time in manufacturing applications, Ying explained. He introduced the four 'C's of 3D printing benefits, namely cost of error, compression of time, creativity, and confidentiality. Fewer errors are made with a 3D prototype in hand, as opposed to a virtual model viewed on-screen; any errors can also be rectified quickly by reprinting the model and checking if the model works. The manufacturing and design process is shortened as a result, and everything is kept confidential as the 3D printer is normally on-premise, Ying elaborated.

"Once you've spotted that something is wrong with the design, you can change it straight away," he said. "You can test it immediately."

In Singapore, various institutions are offering help with 3D printing, Ying shared:

The National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Cluster (Namic)

"All the big guns are coming in to support Namic," Ying said. "You can attend their annual summit to get much more information about additive manufacturing and trends."

Additive Manufacturing Innovation Centre (AMIC)

This is a centre of excellence set up jointly by the Singapore EDB and Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP). It is located within Nanyang Polytechnic, and offers training for additive manufacturing, Ying said.

Advanced Remanufacturing and Technology Centre (ARTC)

An A*Star initiative, the ARTC covers all aspects of maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) in the supply chain for the aviation space.

Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology (SIMTech)

Another A*Star initiative, this organisation helps companies to adopt additive manufacturing.

Singapore Centre of 3D Printing (SC3DP)

This organisation will secure funding to buy new technology so that Singapore organisations can gain experience on it. Nanyang Technological University (NTU) students have designed drones with 3D printing from SC3DP for final year projects, Ying said.

The technology has clear use cases in many industries, such as in healthcare, where relatively high-value items which are small and require a lot of customisation can be 3D-printed. Ying listed hearing aids and dental crowns as ideal candidates for 3D-printing, as well as facsimiles of body parts to help surgeons plan operations. A hearing aid that takes nine steps to manufacture traditionally can be done in three steps with 3D printing, he said, with the entire weeks-long process compressed into a day. 

"You can't duplicate the part. Everybody's ear is different. Everybody is different," Ying said.

In manufacturing, 3D printing is used for rapid prototyping, as well as parts for various stages in the manufacturing cycle, such as machining and assembly. "The 3D printer gets the job because it cuts manufacturing and design time down," he said.

For the automotive industry, companies such as BMW have switched to 3D-printed parts as they can be customised easily and are lighter, Ying said. BMW stated online that 3D printing has become the absolute standard for prototypes. BMW's website introduces the new BMW i8 Roadster and shares that the mounting for the top cover "would not have been possible using a traditional casting process". "Now the 3D printed car part is stronger and weighs less," BMW said online.

The jewellery industry has also embraced 3D printing as time-consuming, labour-intensive processes can be eliminated, while higher-tolerance variations and more complex geometries can be introduced. "You can keep changing your design," Ying said.

Aerospace players have also invested in 3D-printed parts. In November 2017 Boeing has 3D-printed parts for missiles, helicopters and airplanes. Richard Aston, Senior Technical Fellow at Boeing, said in an article on the Boeing website that "Reduction of piece parts and part weight can be achieved through appropriate implementation of additive manufacturing, while simultaneously improving system performance".

"The technology is advancing every day. New applications are identified and new technoloy with new materials for these applications," concluded Ying. "Today it's your idea. Tomorrow you can build it straight away."

The key guiding principle to remember, he said, is to buy a 3D printer from a reputable brand. "Accuracy is very important," he said.

Explore:

Ying recommended that interested parties attend the Namic Maritime & Energy Summit on 17 April.

Read the TechTrade Asia blog posts on Fuji Xerox DocuWorld:

Read the WorkSmart Asia blog post on why small businesses should look at sustainability

Hashtag: #FXD2018

DocuWorks 9 supports cloud, mobility

Fuji Xerox Asia Pacific has launched DocuWorks 9. New features allow the document handling software to link with Fuji Xerox’s cloud services for efficient mobile activity.

DocuWorks enables electronic documents such as office documents and image files to be handled just as if they are paper documents. With the new functions for mobile work, users can now continue unfinished work anytime, anywhere.

Once users have collected documents needed for their work in a new function called Task Space, they can store the documents in Fuji Xerox’s cloud service, Working Folder, by simply clicking the sync button. If they enter Task Space from another PC or mobile device, whether remotely or internally, they will be able to view and edit any documents stored in the cloud service*.

Basic services are now more secure through adopting Amazon Web Services, and the storage capacity of the cloud-based Working Folder has increased by more than 10 times. Working Folder’s basic service now provides 100 GB of storage and can be expanded to up to 5 TB.

In addition, the Task Toolbar, a tool that enables users to visualise the work procedures by changing the icon positions following the work process, was enhanced to allow users to create multiple tabs. With this, daily operations can be further streamlined, enabling users to accomplish multiple tasks quickly and concurrently. Other functions, such as the newly added Pencil Case function, helps improve ease of use by enabling users to register electronic stationery (annotations) including stamps, notepad and markers, and also helps improve efficiency by allowing users to easily call up frequently or recently used functions.

“Together, DocuWorks and Working Folder provide an integrated platform for businesses to manage accumulated paper and electronic documents in a unified manner — opening up the possibilities of a wide range of work styles to achieve greater productivity.” said Keh Joo Tan, Senior Manager l,  cloud service marketing, Fuji Xerox Asia Pacific.

DocuWorks is document-handling software. The company has given out 5 million DocuWorks licences as of July 2017 in cumulative shipments in Japan.

*Cloud linkage with Task Space requires a separate Working Folder contract.

PCs to be used outside the office require DocuWorks, and mobile terminals require a free mobile app, DocuWorks Viewer Light 4 (either iOS or Android edition).

The new digital weapons that make businesses successful

Understanding the relationship between online and offline marketing and being able to capitalise on it is now key to business success, says Ebenezer Heng, Principal Consultant, Top Advertising. Speaking at the Fuji Xerox DocuWorld Conference, Heng pointed out that the keys to business success and 'gut feel' are no longer as effective in the digital age.

Location, location, location is a good thing, but eyeballing locations to check out foot traffic is not good enough, Heng said. A sentiment survey - which checks what people are saying about a location online and grades it as positive, neutral or negative - can provide a completely different picture as to which malls are popular, for instance. "Gut feel is not numbers-backed," he said.

The hard data on the most popular malls in Singapore.

And the surprises on the least popular malls in Singapore.

"Some of the shops will make money, some of the shops will not make money. If you don't fall into the consumption belt of the person who is doing the shopping you don't get your sales," he said. "If you went there to study the (location) you will love the (location if) it is crowded; the question is will the crowd go into your store? A sentiment study will show that."

Another popular concept is that sales are linked to price. The lower the price, the higher the sales. Purchase decisions are more complex, Heng said, displaying the counter-intuitive results of a study on ramen, which asked how much people are willing to pay for a good bowl of plain noodles.

A survey on price thresholds for good ramen showed that none of the respondents said they would pay anything in the lowest price band for good ramen. 

 
It turns out that respondents think cheap ramen priced at S$6 to S$15 is unlikely to be good, Heng shared. "When the price is lower, they don't actually have the queue," he said.

Even within a popular mall one establishment can still have long queues, whereas another similar business nearby may have no queues, Heng said. The reason is that consumers now decide whether to buy a product or consume a service only after checking online reviews and what their friends recommend on social media, he explained, and the business without an online presence, let alone social buzz, is not likely to have a chance. "It has a lot to do with your narrative and your story," he said.


That content must have 'thumb stopping' ability, Heng added, alluding to how people use their thumbs to scroll, as opposed to head-turning ability in the physical world. "If you don't have it you don't have that crowd," he said. "Your audience are online all the time, they form opinion of things online, they communicate their opinions to others online."

Figuring out what is thumb-stopping can be challenging as it typically does not involve the product being sold. Heng's own business Facebook page for selling coffee makers does not show coffee makers, for example. The page features iconic cartoon characters like Hello Kitty and colourful cakes, which he has found to be thumb-stopping, he said.

Augmented reality also has such thumb-stopping ability, and the experience is often shared online, leading to buzz that can boost queues. Top Advertising has augmented reality technology that converts an existing asset like a namecard or marketing brochure into a gateway to other content when that asset is viewed through a mobile app on the smartphone. The new content could be an animated graphic, music, a video or something else that extends the life of the asset, and the app can track who has seen the asset for follow-ups later.

"All your packaging, flyers, posters, everything can be augmented. You already have your assets - the idea is to loop it all together, the more channels you have, the more touch points you have, and the higher the chance of getting that traffic," Heng said. "We don't have to go out any more. People come to us."

Heng has extended his augmented reality assets to the coffee machine itself. Instead of bringing down a demonstration machine, the software can display a machine to scale to show how it will fit within the customer's premises as part of an augmented product catalogue.

"It opens the door to conversation," he said. "You want to avoid competing on price. The only way to avoid that comparison is to avoid being apples-to-apples."

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