Agile tooling

<h2 id="users">Users</h2>

<p>Hundreds of universities and <a href="/facts/Research_center/h1CjvE4X">research centers</a>[<i>example needed</i>] around the globe are investing in additive manufacturing <a href="/facts/Equipment/UQGuUMVc">equipment</a> in order to be positioned to make prototypes and tactile representations of real parts. Few have fully committed the concept of using <a href="/facts/Additive_manufacturing/lbvWU3t0">additive manufacturing</a> (AM) to create manufacturing tools (fixturing, clamps, molds, dies, patterns, negatives, etc.). AM experts[<i>who?</i>] seem to agree that tooling is a large, namely untapped market. Deloitte University Press estimated that in 2012 alone, the AM Tooling market $1.2 Billion. At that point in the development cycle of AM Tooling, much of the work was performed under the guise of “let’s try it and see what happens”.
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<h2 id="industry-applications">Industry applications</h2>

<p>Additive manufacturing, starting with today's infancy period, requires manufacturing firms to be flexible, <a href="/facts/Continuous_improvement_process/tcIYRuHK">ever-improving</a> users of all available technologies to remain competitive. Advocates[<i>who?</i>] of additive manufacturing also predict that this arc of technological development will counter <a href="/facts/Globalization/0locjSHH">globalization</a>, as end users will do much of their own manufacturing rather than engage in trade to buy products from other people and <a href="/facts/Corporation/hykSVoWJ">corporations</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a> The real integration of the newer additive technologies into commercial production, however, is more a matter of complementing traditional subtractive methods rather than displacing them entirely.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a>
</p><p>Automotive – approaching niche vehicle markets (making less than 100, 000 vehicles), rather than high production volume
</p><p>Aircraft – the U.S. aircraft industry operates in an environment where production volumes are relatively low and resulting product costs are relatively high. Agile tooling can be applied in the early design stage of the development cycle to minimize the high cost of redesign.
</p><p>Medical – cast tooling would benefit a great deal from agile tooling. However, the cost for the tooling may still be significantly greater than the cost of a casting piece, with high lead times. Since only several dozen or several hundred metal parts are needed, the challenge for mass production is still prevalent. A balance between these four areas – quantity, design, material, and speed are key to designing and producing a fully functional product.
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<h2 id="see-also">See also</h2>
<ul><li><a href="/facts/Computer-aided_design/5gSXrmmN">Computer-aided design</a> CAD)</li>
<li><a href="/facts/Computer-aided_engineering/dAsPLr5Y">Computer-aided engineering</a> (CAE)</li>
<li><a href="/facts/Computer-aided_manufacturing/gqYHXcK9">Computer-aided manufacturing</a> (CAM)</li></ul>

<h2 id="external-links">External links</h2>
<ul><li><a href="https://dolphinindustry.com/">Product Design & Engineering Manufacturing</a></li></ul>

<h2 id="references">References</h2>

<ol>
<li id="fn:1"><p>"All about agile tooling". insights.globalspec.com. Retrieved 2020-01-20. <a href="https://insights.globalspec.com/article/10839/all-about-agile-tooling" target="_blank">https://insights.globalspec.com/article/10839/all-about-agile-tooling</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:2"><p>"Agile Tooling". Archived from the original on 2016-12-15. Retrieved 2016-10-18. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20161215221751/https://cdme.osu.edu/resources/agile-tooling" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20161215221751/https://cdme.osu.edu/resources/agile-tooling</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:3"><p>Jane Bird (2012-08-08). "Exploring the 3D printing opportunity". The Financial Times. Retrieved 2012-08-30. <a href="https://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/6dc11070-d763-11e1-a378-00144feabdc0.html#axzz24gFn5Cal" target="_blank">https://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/6dc11070-d763-11e1-a378-00144feabdc0.html#axzz24gFn5Cal</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:4"><p>Albert, Mark (17 January 2011). "Subtractive plus additive equals more than ( – + + = > )". Modern Machine Shop. 83 (9). Cincinnati, Ohio, USA: Gardner Publications Inc.: 14. <a href="http://www.mmsonline.com/columns/subtractive-plus-additive-equals-more-than" target="_blank">http://www.mmsonline.com/columns/subtractive-plus-additive-equals-more-than</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
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Agile tooling open-in-new

Agile tooling