Railway Industry

Additive Manufacturing for the Railway Industry

When it comes to the maintenance and repair of trains and equipment, the required spare parts are often no longer available or a lengthy ordering process is required. The process additionally often involves high costs and small purchase quantities. This results either in high procurement costs coupled with a high risk of long vehicle downtime or in even higher warehousing costs if a large number of different spare parts have to be held in stock in combination with rare and unpredictable usage patterns. Demand-based Additive Manufacturing of (spare) parts offers railway operators as well as maintenance and repair workshops enormous potentials for improving their business processes and increasing profits.

Advantages & potentials for 3D printing in the railway industry

Reduced delivery and leadtimes
through the own additive production of components and spare parts on-site
Reduced storage cost
through 3D printing on demand
Reduced downtimes
by avoiding supply bottlenecks
Shortened development times
thanks to rapid prototype production
Development of new value-added potentials
by increasing the performance of components
Reduction of material cost
by aggregating assemblies into integrated production as individual components or lightweight construction approaches

Our services

Manufacturer- and process-independent consulting
Knowledge transfer (3D printing expertise and industry knowledge)
Customized strategies and solutions
Generating profitable business opportunities
Market and feasibility studies
Implementation of Additive Manufacturing at your company

Our process

Preparation
• Knowledge transfer
• Idea generation and evaluation
• Market analysis and business model concept development
• Strategic classification
Assessment
• Part analysis & Part Screening
• Feasibility analysis
• Design & optimization
• Calculation & business case
Implementation
• Introduction strategy including a make-or-buy comparison
• Technology and supplier selection
• Pilot production
• Testing, approval and quality assurance
Improvement
• Performance check (benchmark)
• Market and technology monitoring
• Business model calibration