Thought Leadership May 2023
Muskegon-Based Auto Supplier Saves Time, Money by Investing in New Technology
3D Printing Article by Crain's Grand Rapids Business
With a predicted $10,000 savings in the first month alone, Muskegon-based Scherdel Sales and Technology utilized a $25,000 MEDC Industry 4.0 Implementation Grant to purchase a Markforged Mark Two 3D printer. The machine will help the company in rapid prototyping and printing part offshoots.
Muskegon-based Scherdel Sales and Technology leveraged a $25,000 Industry 4.0 grant to purchase a 3D printer, which company executives predict has already saved them upwards of $10,000 over the first month of ownership alone. Scherdel supplies the likes of Ford, Nissan, and BMW with a variety of springs and clips for braking, transmission and other automotive systems.
Scherdel won the grant it ultimately used to purchase the Markforged Mark Two 3D Printer as part of the MEDC’s Industry 4.0 Technology Implementation Grant administered locally by The Right Place, Inc. in partnership with the Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center, Automation Alley, and the MEDC.
Investing in The Future
So far, Scherdel has employed its 3D printer in a variety of situations across the shop floor. In some cases, the company uses the technology to mockup parts so its tool designers can visually wrap their minds around the component, said Steven Bakos, Scherdel’s tooling manager.
The company also used the machine to print part offshoots, which help guide the finished springs away from the machine once the part is cut off. In the past, Scherdel would have those parts fabricated from stainless steel from an outside vendor, typically at the cost of $200 and a couple of days lead time.
“If we can get that part in a day, rather than two or three days to have an outside service make it, we are good to go,” Bakos said. “I can start it at night and have the part ready in the morning. It’s extremely fast.”
Read more here.
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Automation Alley is a nonprofit Industry 4.0 knowledge center and home to the World Economic Forum's US Center for Advanced Manufacturing. With a global outlook and a regional focus, we facilitate public-private partnerships by connecting industry, education, and government to fuel Michigan's economy and accelerate innovation. Our programs give businesses a competitive advantage by helping them along every step of their digital transformation journey. We obsess over disruptive technologies like AI, the Internet of Things, and automation, and work hard to make these complex concepts easier for companies to understand and implement. Visit automationalley.com.
Images courtesy of Automation Alley and A Markforged MK2 3D Printer (Image by Markforged)
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