3YOURMIND On Demand Production Network and improving additive manufacturing access
According to CEO Aleksander Ciszek, 3YOURMIND was founded in 2014 “with the vision of radically simplifying access to industrial 3D printing and growing the AM market.” And now its software solutions, for existing 3D printing businesses and newcomers of all sizes, are having a positive impact on the manufacturing industry.
At the beginning of 2018, the company officially announced its On Demand Production Network to give direct access to innovation from some of the top 3D print services in the world without requiring a large upfront investment in machinery.
Using the 3YOURMIND platform with access to the network helps customers overcome some of the biggest challenges in additive adoption: setup costs, process knowledge, and understanding how and why to adopt 3D printing in production.
Projects view in Design Studio. Image via 3YOURMIND
Kick-start 3D printing – without the cost
Now that its software has been power 3D printing for customers for several years, 3YOURMIND realized that one of the major hurdles that remains for new customers and the expansion of AM within companies is the initial capital investment of time and 3D printing expertise. Without a simple method to “kick-start” 3D printing in a streamlined way, many innovation teams weren’t getting past the starting line.
This need was the driver for 3YOURMIND to build a simple access point in their Enterprise platform for companies without existing additive manufacturing facilities to directly access the 3YOURMIND On Demand Production Network: a pre-vetted selection of top 3D printing services from around the world. With this add-on 3YOURMIND customers can directly expand the AM production options for their own employees, without the high overhead of new machines, materials, or specialist training. As the internal production volume rises and the adoption of AM spreads throughout the company, customers can simply add their internal machines into the Enterprise platform.The On-Demand Production Network then becomes “surge production capacity”.
The on-demand network also serves as a tool for companies to broaden access to the wide range of 3D printing materials available on the market. Instead of needing 100 orders a month to justify purchasing a new specialty printer or material, you can use on-demand capacity in that material until you have enough orders to make the investment.
If in the current workflow you suddenly get a request for a small set of 3D printed titanium parts and you are usually printing 70% plastic and 30% steel, the network enables your engineer to order that titanium parts from an external suppliers so that you don’t lose valuable production time understanding the new production technique or switching materials in your machine. It is also important for working through rush-orders or larger-than-normal production requests. The majority of the production can be done in-house, and the extra orders can be handled by the external network.
Enterprise Platform iPad view. Image via 3YOURMIND
Simple access to production on-demand
From a more technical perspective, for 3YOURMIND’s enterprise customers the most important points outside access is the security of the system while placing and receiving orders, and being able to connect both internal and external payment systems. Using the platform API, companies can directly connect to both ERP/SAP payment and inventory tracking and logistic systems. This is a level of advanced automation of the entire workflow that significantly reduces the total amount of logistical work. Having accurate pricing through the platform and real-time print verification make that possible.
But perhaps even more important is the enterprise-level security features throughout the platform that ensure trust while enabling collaborators to work with each other without ever meeting in person. Engineering teams can choose materials and services over the platform and have the coordination work happen behind the scenes. This is a huge enabler for bringing the innovation promises of 3D printing into the regular production cycles of companies large and small.
Aleksander Ciszek, CEO and co-founder of 3YOURMIND. Photo via 3YOURMIND
“Production management software is becoming critical in the century of digitalization,” – Aleksander Ciszek, CEO, 3YOURMIND
After only four years, 3YOURMIND software is already trusted by some of the largest businesses around the world, including German rail operator Deutsche Bahn, leading polymer and metal 3D printer manufacturer EOS, and instAMetal platform from high-end 3D part producer GKN Powder Metallurgy. Ciszek explains “we are committed to improving the workflows of small 3D print shops, medium-sized companies, and global corporations who all use our technology to create the innovative machines, products, and vehicles that we will all use in the future.”
