With COVID-19 continuing to strain supply chains, RIZE recently debuted its “Safe at Home” Manufacturing initiative in order to enhance global supply chain resilience. The move allows organizations to produce components from home using RIZE 2XC desktop composite 3D printers—helping to build more distributed, self-sufficient supply chains while assuring agile workflows.
RIZE 2XC printers employ fused filament fabrication (FFF) 3D printing technology for the production of full-color parts in homes, offices, factories and point-of-care settings. Each printer (priced at $4,495) comes with a build volume of 228 x 200 x 300 mm (8.9 x 7.9 x 11.8 in), which is larger than that of most professional 3D printers. The RIZE 2XC is the world’s first professional desktop 3D printer to receive UL GREENGUARD certification, whose purpose is adherence to rigorous emissions standards in order to reduce the risk of chemical exposure.
A Shift Towards Global Collaborative Manufacturing Networks
Festo, a leader in automation solutions, is one of many companies participating in the RIZE Safe-at-Home Manufacturing initiative through the purchase of RIZE 2XC printers.
“At Festo, we believe additive manufacturing will play a key role in shaping the future of work,” said Nuzha Yakoob, head of technology and innovation at Festo North America, when the news was first announced. “Collaborative distributed manufacturing will bring about a paradigm shift, which will lead to more market opportunities and increased applications. We are delighted to expand our work with RIZE to help scale adoption of next-generation manufacturing technologies by putting safety at the heart of the supply chain of tomorrow.”
Engineering.com had the opportunity to speak with Yakoob about Festo’s interest in global collaborative manufacturing networks.
“My primary role is identifying startups and technologies that could be relevant to Festo’s core business, and which would also enable Festo to get into emerging markets,” shared Yakoob. “Our focus is on broadening Festo’s portfolio for the future, and it’s very exciting.”
Yakoob delved further into the background of Festo’s involvement in RIZE’s Safe-at-Home Manufacturing initiative.
“Festo’s core business is in the automation of manufacturing,” said Yakoob. “We serve multiple verticals in this area. Over the past eight years or so, there’s been a lot of focus on smart manufacturing, which involves distributed manufacturing and intelligent systems. RIZE’s UL safety solution enables the introduction of additive manufacturing into the landscape.
“In the past, if you were looking at 3D printing systems, you were looking at how to set them up on the shop floor, and where certain ventilation and air controls were required. The beauty of what RIZE has now produced is that it enables people to fit into this model of distributed networks.
“We have the internet, where 5G connections are now being deployed. This allows for high-quality, reliable, high-speed connectivity between different locations. And then we’ve got a lot of other technologies outside of additive manufacturing that enable what we call Factory-in-a-Box. You can set up small cubicles or factories in a container—factories in a small office space to produce very specific things. Robots play a big role in this, because with the availability of collaborative robots (cobots), humans can now actually interact with robots. So all the pieces are coming together.
“Augmented reality plays a big role because now you can actually do such a good level of training remotely. And so, the printer that comes from RIZE really fits in nicely because there is no safety concern around that part of the process. While Festo’s focus is mainly on electromechanical pneumatic motion, we look for partners like RIZE who can fill in the blanks in other spaces that complete the production or manufacturing process.”
Manufacturing is starting to become more decentralized, with various geographies being leveraged in a move away from localized resources.
“[RIZE’s Safe-at-Home Manufacturing initiative] gives us the license to set up additive manufacturing at home, set up a few manufacturing locations around the country to prove the concept, and then see how we would spread out to other parts of the world,” asserted Yakoob. “This program involves people with various backgrounds to be able to use additive manufacturing as a means of producing parts for the industry. It’s almost a model to enable people to be self-employed. If certain industry partners wanted to order certain jigs and fixtures, for example, they could pass those tasks on to the individual.”
RIZE’s 3D printing technology enables people to be adaptable and find new ways of working during the COVID-19 era.
“Typically, if you take a mechanical engineer at a company like Festo, once they finish their design, they would ideally like to print to look, feel, touch and see,” said Yakoob. “Even though we have 3D CAD software on our computers, it’s always nice to have the actual object. Normally the printer would be sitting in a lab, but with RIZE’s type of printing system, you can work at home. And that’s just one thing.
“We’re also looking at new business models. That’s very important for us—what I would refer to as distributed digital manufacturing. You can be at home, you can collaborate. There are companies like PTC, for example, who offer 3D design software that allows people to collaborate over a network—so three people could design one part. You could simulate the part and send it to a RIZE printer. With RIZE, we’re exploring all these different ways of working, which is why we’re trying to back RIZE in this initiative together with some other corporates.”
Using RIZE 2XC printers offers an environmentally friendly option too.
“There is a green component to it,” said Yakoob. “Instead of having the designer and the manufacturing plant in one location, you can now have the designer in the headquarters in the U.S., but your production through a 3D printer could be located closer to where your customers are densely together—maybe in another part of the world. It definitely has some big advantages logistics-wise as well.”
Safety Concerns Around Traditional 3D Printers
According to a two-year research study conducted by UL Chemical Safety and Georgia Institute of Technology, FFF printers traditionally release volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and ultrafine particles that deteriorate indoor air quality. During the study, over 200 VOCs were identified to be emitted when 3D printing with five types of filament material. In fact, emissions were found to be dependent on nozzle temperature, extrusion temperature, filament material, filament brand, printer brand, and filament color.
Filaments used for FFF printers are typically a blend of the following:
- Thermoplastrics such as polylactic acid (PLA), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), polyurethane, nylon and polycarbonate
- Coloring dye
- Metal
- Wood
- Plant
- Other additives
When heated to temperatures between 180°C and 270°C—and sometimes even as high as 500°C—these filaments were found to release considerable amounts of VOCs and ultrafine particles. Many of the VOCs were known irritants and carcinogens; common ones included formaldehyde (a carcinogen), styrene (a flammable chemical and irritant) and caprolactam (an irritant of eyes, nose and throat that can cause headaches).
The base materials in 3D printers additionally include nanomaterials, polymers and volatile organic chemicals. Over an extended period of time, exposure of such FFF printers can have acute and chronic health impacts by introducing toxic substances into the lungs—especially in non-industrial indoor environments with minimal ventilation.
Other scientific research papers corroborate these results, and have been published in the journal Aerosol Science and Technology. (See Characterization of particle emissions from consumer fused deposition modeling 3D printers and Investigating particle emissions and aerosol dynamics from a consumer fused deposition modeling 3D printer with a lognormal moment aerosol model.)
In 2018, UL published its emissions standard UL 2904 to address measurement and assessment protocols for emissions from 3D printers and other printing applications. Since RIZE 2XC printers adhere to the UL GREENGUARD certification, they meet chemical emissions standards for safe indoor use.
RIZE 2XC Applications
Festo is currently using the RIZE 2XC printers to test parts for prototype components, with applications including modeling, verifying form fit, fixtures and machining. Each printer uses materials from RIZE, such as RIZIUM Carbon Fiber and RIZIUM Glass Fiber—the latter of which is also UL GREENGUARD certified. Even if users were to use materials not belonging to the Rizium Materials family, the RIZE 2XC comes with high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters that trap VOCs released during the 3D printing process.
RIZE is the only 3D printing firm on the World Economic Forum 2020 Technology Pioneers list. As the first 3D printing company in the world to receive the UL GREENGUARD certification for health and safety for its printers, materials and inks, RIZE is paving the way for next-generation technology in additive manufacturing. With global shocks stemming from COVID-related strains and incidents like the Suez Canal blockage, the RIZE Safe-at-Home Manufacturing initiative comes at a time when supply chains could definitely use the added resilience.
To learn more about RIZE, visit their website.