The action is intended to promote the adoption and standardization of industrial 3D printing initiatives for the aerospace and defense industry. APWorks plans to use 3D printing services recently announced by SAP to operate a bionics network that connects 3D printing experts and end users. The services will allow APWorks to manufacture 3D-printed components such as armrests and brackets, improve fuel efficiency and reduce Co2 emissions, the partners said. In addition, APWorks will be able to improve the management of spare-parts orders in real time. Areas addressed by the co-innovation agreement include the digitalization of production part approvals, screening and validation of parts for using the 3D printing process, optimizing parts and systems for on-demand manufacturing and 3D printing, and securing an on-demand budgetary price for manufacturing firms to evaluate 3D printing parts versus traditional manufacturing, using the SAP Lifecycle Costing application. The agreement will cover each stage from production floor to customer door, SAP said.

Read Full Article