Additive manufacturing can aid preparedness – if the analysis is done

When a business suffers a production stoppage, it is rarely the large machines that are the problem. Often, it is a single spare part that cannot be replaced when needed. As long as global supply chains are functioning, this vulnerability is barely noticeable. But in a crisis, the waiting time can suddenly be measured in months rather than days.

To strengthen supply security in food production, RISE, on behalf of the Swedish Food Agency (Livsmedelsverket), has investigated how additive manufacturing – often referred to as 3D printing – can be used to produce critical spare parts when regular supplies are disrupted. The findings show that the technology already exists. The main challenge is to be prepared when the need arises.

High standards for materials

The reason for this is precisely that many Swedish companies rely on global supply chains to source spare parts. For a long time, the system has worked well and made it possible to keep costs down. However, this very efficiency can become a vulnerability when transport is disrupted or suppliers disappear.

“An organisation may have built up a highly cost-effective system, but it relies on stability and predictability. When supply chains are disrupted, there is pressure to find alternative solutions,” says Markus Eriksson, who heads the Additive Manufacturing Application Centre at RISE.

In such cases, additive manufacturing can be part of the solution, even for organisations in the food and drinking water sector, where particularly stringent requirements are placed on materials that come into contact with food and drinking water.

– “When it comes to metals, there are already materials that are approved for this type of use. For plastics, the range is considerably more limited,” he says.

Challenges relating to regulations

However, the project also showed that technology is only part of the solution.

“Producing the parts wasn’t actually the difficult bit. The challenges lay more in the regulations, approvals and division of responsibilities,” says Emilie Anér, contingency officer at the Swedish Food Agency.

It became clear that issues such as liability, product approval and the handling of digital design files quickly become complex. Who is responsible for a spare part that is printed locally? Which requirements might need to be adapted in a crisis situation? And how should digital drawings be stored and shared securely?

Perhaps the most important conclusion of the project does not concern the manufacturing technology itself, but rather the preparatory work.

Markus Eriksson explains that the process begins by identifying which parts of the business are the most critical. Only then is it possible to determine which spare parts really need to be prioritised.

"You don’t necessarily need all the parts for the machine to work. But some of them are more important than others. And they need to be digitised", he says.

This means that the spare part is scanned or otherwise converted into a digital design file that can be stored and used for future manufacturing.

"One option is to work with your suppliers to ensure you have access to digital drawings for the components that are most critical to your operations. This will enable you to act much more quickly if the usual supply chain is disrupted."

For many organisations, such a digital inventory can be at least as important as a physical spare parts stock. If the equipment has already been documented, it is possible to use a variety of manufacturing methods to produce a replacement part. 

If, on the other hand, the necessary background information is lacking, the work must start from scratch – something that may require both time and specialist expertise.

Vulnerability in organisations

Although the project focused on food and drinking water supply, the conclusions are relevant to a far wider range of organisations.

"Every organisation has its vulnerabilities. Knowing where they are and how to build robustness around them is really independent of which sector you operate in", says Emilie Anér.

Markus Eriksson also points out that the same types of challenges exist in everything from energy supply and healthcare to the process industry and the defence sector. What they have in common is a dependence on equipment, spare parts and supply chains that cannot always be taken for granted.

"There are also facilities still using equipment that was installed several decades ago. The suppliers may have disappeared long ago or stopped manufacturing the spare parts needed. Then you have to find other ways forward", he says.

Anyone looking to strengthen their supply preparedness must understand their own operations

For organisations looking to strengthen their supply preparedness, the next step is therefore rarely about investing in a 3D printer. It is about understanding your own operations: which functions are particularly important, which components could cause operational disruptions, and how these could be replaced if the usual supply chains are broken.

This is where Markus Eriksson sees an important role for RISE:

"Many organisations know they depend on certain spare parts, but not always which ones are most critical or how they could be replaced. That is where we can contribute with analyses, technical expertise and support on the regulatory issues that still need to be resolved."