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Over the last few years, manufacturers have used 3D printing to speed up coral reef recovery, help separate conjoined twins, and turn people into action figures. Needless to say, additive manufacturing applications are virtually endless.
Xometry has helped automotive manufacturer BMW create rigid, lightweight fixtures, and scaled production for 3D printer manufacturer Nexa3D.
“They found Xometry, and they loved us because they can literally just give us their entire bill of materials and say ‘Make it,’ and we say ‘Will do,’” said Greg Paulsen, Xometry’s director of application engineering.
Xometry is a digital manufacturing marketplace. Powered by artificial intelligence (AI), buyers can source on-demand manufactured parts. Machine learning allows Xometry to accurately and quickly price parts and determine lead times for buyers. From additive manufacturing to CNC machining, Xometry supports various supplier specialties and custom-makes parts on both a small and large scale.
In the latest episode of the Thomas Industry Podcast, Thomas’ Vice President of Platform Growth and Engagement Cathy Ma spoke with Paulsen about Xometry’s “behind-the-scenes” work with these companies.
Vehicles, which are highly curved, require specialized assembly processes to manufacture trims, badges, and bumpers. These processes are often costly and have long lead times.
“Everything’s very sexy in vehicle construction, which means when you need to put the BMW logo emblem, the trim, or the bumper in the exact same spot, you don’t have a lot of places to assist in alignment,” Paulsen said.
Before Xometry became a public company in 2021, one of the company’s early round investors was BMW. The manufacturer’s tooling engineers sought out Xometry’s AI-powered marketplace because they needed solutions for their teams to more easily assemble vehicles.
“Tooling engineers create these very creative designs that are sometimes very Willy Wonka-ish because they need to find one little place they can indicate to in order to make sure every single time [car] decals are put on, they’re in the right place,” Paulsen said. “They build these designs using multiple processes.”
“They may need 3D printing for the main body to get a rigid, but lightweight handheld fixture. They may be using CNC machining for those indicator spots that may be fixed against metal pieces on the car frame. They may be using urethane casting for soft touch features so they're not going to mark the vehicle on the production line,” he explained.
Traditionally, tooling engineers have had to use individual vendors that specialize in each of these processes. This means they have to request a quote, wait for the quote, place an order, and essentially become a supply chain manager until the parts make it into their hands.
Xometry, which uses AI to sort through its database of over 10,000 suppliers to find the optimal match for each buyer’s needs, set out to shorten the car assembly process for the engineers. Its on-demand production capabilities and broad range of suppliers helped BMW consolidate its supply chain to just a single point of contact.
In 2022, Xometry partnered with Nexa3D to “usher in the next stage of additive manufacturing” and close the gap between affordability and speed.
XiP, Nexa3D’s ultra-fast desktop 3D printer, helps manufacturers and product development teams make end-use parts quickly. In the early phases of XiP, Nexa3D used Xometry for quick and low-cost prototypes.
“We’re behind the scenes on a lot of OEM equipment being made because [manufacturers] have to make their devices somehow, and they need a secure supply chain,” Paulsen said. Xometry is ISO 9001, ISO 13485, and AS9100D certified.
While prototyping, an engineer at Nexa3D realized that Xometry could consolidate its manufacturing process by not only producing prototyped parts, but actually making a lot of the parts for the final XiP printer.
“We were able to work create a consolidated supply chain plan across multiple processes: sheet cutting, sheet metal, CNC machining, and injection molding,” he revealed about Xometry’s work with Nexa3D. “We actually produced about 85% of the bill of materials for their newest printer.”
“When I talk to customers, I say, ‘Where do you see yourself in six weeks, six months, six years?’” Paulsen said. “The reason why I [ask] is because during the product development lifecycle, especially if they’re at the green stage where they’re still doing iterative design, the processes, technologies, and even the way you approach scale, is very different.”
While speed may be important early on, cost may become the primary focus down the line. Paulsen explained that Xometry is able to meet customers where they are, no matter the stage of production, because of its diverse manufacturing network and expert team.
“We aren’t just a website. We have grizzled veterans in all industries that [work] here,” he said. “We’re excited to work with anybody, big or small, that has big ideas they want to bring to life.”
The full episode of the Thomas Industry Podcast dives into how Paulsen began his career in additive manufacturing and how Xometry’s digital marketplace is helping businesses close supply chain gaps using AI.
You can listen to the entire episode on the streaming platforms below.
Image Credit: Chaosamran_Studio / Shutterstock.com
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