Graphics Reference
In-Depth Information
warehouse-sized production shops of the grand old days when mass manufac-
turing took place locally. A few computers were tucked away on a desk in the
corner of a well-lit room. A pool table sat against the wall, like most pool tables,
serving as a handy surface on which to stack boxes and store unused goods.
Mike graduated from high school in the early 1970s. His irst employer
trained him to be a draftsman. Today it seems hard to believe that manufac-
turing was once a thriving line of work, a good ield for bright and promising
young people. Back in those days, however, a person could make a good living
by working in the region's manufacturing ecosystem.
Several decades later, Mike was laid off. The company he had worked at for
several years offshored its manufacturing and moved its professional staff to a
distant part of the country. Nearly 15 years ago, Mike and his family decided
they would stay in their hometown, despite the tough job markets of their
delating regional economy.
Mike's company is able to practice nimble manufacturing because today,
small services irms like his can afford to purchase their own equipment
and software. We asked Mike if we could see the heart of his manufacturing
operation, the 3D printer. He led us up a light of stairs as we carefully stepped
around several family dogs that swarmed around our feet. In the family liv-
ing room, we walked past cats languidly dozing on a kitty tree in a corner. In
the garage, humbly awaiting its next assignment was a Stratasys 3D printer,
slightly taller and wider than a deluxe refrigerator.
Mike told us the 3D printer is a key piece of equipment that enables his com-
pany to add value to client's product development processes. The 3D printer is
an eficient and accurate output device that enables designers and engineers
to test out design concepts in real life. As Mike put it, “Having my own 3D
printer is one of the reasons I can add value as a design engineer.”
Mike explained that his job is to offer companies a “very skilled and highly
accurate prediction of how a product's parts are going to relate to one another.”
Having a 3D printer on hand makes that possible. When Mike completes a
product design, he irst tests it out on his own 3D printer. Once the design is
printed, he reines it, if needed. When the design inally meets his exacting
standards, he gives the completed design ile to his client.
At the end of our visit, we asked Mike whether his work as a design engineer
had been transformed by modern computing power and 3D printing. Without
hesitation, he said, “Absolutely. A design process for a consumer product that
used to take a year now takes 3 months. 3D printing is a huge, huge factor in
that. These days, we also make more and more end products for our customers.”
