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."

Jätten Cater produces ready meals and meal solutions for the grocery retail sector and the public sector, amongst others. The business has grown steadily since its inception thirteen years ago, but along the way it became clear that the company needed to start operating in a more industrial manner.

– We don’t really come from an industrial background. I’m a former chef and my business partner comes from the retail world. But as we grew, we realised that it’s not just the cost of raw materials that matters; production costs are just as important,” says Andreas Unger, co-owner and production manager at Jätten Cater.

As the company grew, it also began to work more systematically with workflows and how different processes could be standardised and simplified. That was also where the interest in additive manufacturing was sparked.

Small changes can have a big impact

One of the first challenges concerned portion sizes and standardisation. Previously, the company used manual measurements and estimates in production – something that worked less well as the business expanded.

– It quickly became clear that, for example, ‘a handful of prawns’ could mean very different things depending on who was on the production line.

Previously, bespoke tools were expensive and time-consuming to produce. But with 3D printing, the company was able to start developing its own solutions tailored to its specific needs.

Half a tonne too much

Today, specially developed measuring units are used for various raw materials and products. One example is Jätten Cater’s Caesar salads, where the contents needed adjusting when raw material prices rose sharply. When the recipes changed, the company also developed new measurements for production.

– But after a while, we noticed that the old measurements were still being used out in the workplace. Over a few months, we had used about 250 kilos of Parmesan and 250 kilos of bacon too much. From that alone, we were able to finance virtually the entire initiative.

With the help of CAD drawings and our own 3D printer, the measurements can now be adjusted quickly when conditions change.

– It takes a matter of minutes to change a drawing and perhaps a day before we have a finished solution up and running.

Employees drive development

Additive manufacturing has also become a way of capturing ideas from within the company. Many of the solutions come directly from the staff.

In addition to portioning tools, ergonomic aids, holders and customised components for the production lines have been developed. Among other things, they use various angle blocks that ensure raw materials end up in better positions for the staff.

– It’s not just about working faster. Staff should be able to work ergonomically and sustain that over the long term as well.

According to Andreas Unger, this approach has created a clear sense of commitment within the organisation.

– I’ve never received as many suggestions for improvement as I do now. People are constantly coming up with ideas. And when they’ve been involved in developing something themselves, they also become ambassadors for the solution.

From pilot project to in-house capability

Work on testing additive manufacturing began in 2023 when Jätten Cater, together with RISE, explored how additive manufacturing could be used in its own production, including through the 3D Action project and in collaboration with RISE’s test and demonstration environment, the AM Center. For the company, it became a way to test the technology with lower risk whilst building up its own knowledge and capacity.

– RISE has been a very important pillar of support. We didn’t have the expertise ourselves from the start. This has been ‘learning by doing’ for us, says Andreas Unger.

Today, they have invested in their own 3D printer and are working increasingly independently with additive manufacturing. At the same time, Andreas Unger sees great potential for the future, including for other small and medium-sized enterprises.

– You don’t need to start with large, advanced systems. It is often the small things that make the biggest difference in everyday life. Buy a small printer and start testing. That’s when the ideas start to flow.