Four Ways This Additive Manufacturer Counters Risk Aversion

Additive manufacturing is a disruptive technology anywhere in the world, one that requires careful consideration and implementation. But in India, where manufacturers tend to be highly conservative and risk-averse, AM can be a particularly hard sell.

“Every organization has its own understanding of additive manufacturing,” says Ankit Sahu. “The most important thing for us is understanding the customer and their challenges.”

Sahu is owner and director of Objectify Technologies, a company he founded with his brother in 2013 that today is possibly India’s largest additive manufacturing service center. The company offers metal and polymer AM in the form of laser powder bed fusion, stereolithography and selective laser sintering (SLS); industries served include space, aerospace, and oil and gas (partly because of the company’s close proximity to customers in the Middle East). About 30% of Objectify’s revenue comes from exports; the rest is made up of domestic business, a fact that poses unique opportunities and challenges.

“Awareness of the technology and its benefits is still a challenge we face. There is still skepticism in AM.”

While manufacturers in India are embracing additive more than ever, “Awareness of the technology and its benefits is still a challenge we face,” Sahu says. “There is still skepticism in AM. Manufacturers in India have less risk-taking ability and decision making is slow.”

But a disruptive technology like additive requires tolerance for risk. To overcome conservative business practices, Objectify Technologies approaches each new job as an opportunity to win customers’ confidence and make that risk-taking worthwhile. Much of the way the company operates is geared toward overcoming hesitation regarding AM — and these tactics could apply for other AM users globally.

1. Offer co-development on new parts.

To counter skepticism and ensure successful implementation, Objectify Technologies takes an active role in helping customers develop parts for AM. That includes everything from a part’s initial DFAM, to printing and postprocessing workflows, to supporting customers through qualification.

In the case of the impeller for a centrifugal pump pictured above, for instance, Objectify found that the default parameters for printing stainless steel 316L resulted in a long build time and increased risk of quality issues in the print. The company had to develop new parameters for the material, using thermal simulation through Simufact to identify probable areas of thermal deformation in the unique closed impeller geometry. Objectify was able to develop an additive manufacturing strategy and deliver printed parts within just a few weeks, compared to the two months’ long lead time the customer was previously experiencing for investment casting. 

Taking the time to develop applications like this helps to ensure success, key to persuading skeptics of AM’s value. A small percentage of customers will take the production in-house after this process development, but in about 95% of cases, Objectify continues to manufacture parts it has developed. Its sweet spot is serial production of batches ranging from 50 to 500 parts per year, Sahu says.

2. Provide digital inventory for legacy parts.

Objectify is building a digitized library of service parts for customers, particularly in oil and gas, allowing them to access replacements quickly and without investing in inventory that might be wasted. Additive manufacturing makes it possible to reproduce out-of-service parts as they are needed, but also to improve those original designs and help customers realize the benefits of AM. Still, this is a negotiation.

“Customers initially ask for apples-to-apples parts,” Sahu says, but as Objectify engineers illustrate potential benefits in terms of weight savings, assembly and other efficiencies, legacy parts often receive design improvements over the conventional originals.

3. Think in terms of “like” parts.

A success in one type of component can be the grounds for others that are similar. In a recent case, Objectify produced a hydraulic manifold for the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). The original component weighed about 21 kg and was produced by drilling channels and machining down a solid block of aluminum. The company redesigned the component for laser powder bed fusion, again in an aluminum alloy. The redesign reduced the manifold’s weight by about 30% to 14.9 kg and thus allowed for an increased payload on the spacecraft, which has 12 of these parts.

The spacecraft carrying these parts launched in August 2022, but the 3 years spent developing them will inform Objectify’s work on similar components going forward. “Now we are going after other manifolds, like actuator manifolds for oil and gas,” Sahu says. Other part groupings the company is interested in include rocket injectors, brackets and heat exchangers.

4. Share successes whenever possible.

Like most manufacturers, much of what Objectify produces can’t be shown or described publicly. But examples like the manifold pictured above are particularly important, because they provide an illustration of what additive manufacturing can do. The company makes a point to publicize wins like this to help raise awareness of AM and educate potential customers about its capabilities.

“I believe the value created by additive manufacturing is higher than the cost of the technology.”

Ultimately, “awareness increases the availability for capital expenditure,” Sahu says. While the cost of an additively manufactured part may remain higher than conventionally made parts, buyers can be brought to see the benefits of making this investment.

“I believe the value created by additive manufacturing is higher than the cost of the technology,” Sahu says. “It’s still a journey for our customers, but also very exciting.”