In today's fast-paced and increasingly customized world, low volume manufacturing stands as a beacon of flexibility and innovation.
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This manufacturing approach, unlike its high-volume counterpart, allows businesses to produce smaller quantities of products, catering to specific market demands and niches.
In this extensive exploration, we'll dive deep into what low volume production is, its significance, various methods, and the critical role it plays across numerous industries.
Low volume manufacturing refers to the process of producing a limited number of components or products, typically ranging from a few units to several thousand. This manufacturing method is ideal for small batches, prototypes, and customized products.
The approach contrasts with high volume production, where economies of scale are leveraged to produce large quantities of identical items.
In the realm of modern manufacturing, low volume production stands out for its unique advantages, particularly in its flexibility and responsiveness to market demands. Here are some key reasons why low volume manufacturing is increasingly becoming a crucial part of the manufacturing landscape:
The contrast between high volume and low volume manufacturing is stark, primarily revolving around the scale of production and the flexibility each offers.
High volume manufacturing, synonymous with mass production, focuses on producing large quantities of identical products.
This approach benefits from economies of scale but often lacks the flexibility to adapt quickly to market changes or customer-specific needs.
Determining the minimum level of production for low volume manufacturing can vary depending on the industry, the product, and the manufacturing methods used.
Generally, low volume production might range from a few units to several thousand. The key is that these quantities are significantly lower than those of high volume production, which can run into the millions.
The choice of low volume manufacturing hinges on factors like the demand for the product, the cost-effectiveness of producing small quantities, and the need for customization or rapid market response.
Low volume production methods offer a suite of advantages that are particularly beneficial in today's fast-paced and innovation-driven market. Let's explore these benefits in detail:
Low volume manufacturing offers a range of methods, each with unique advantages and suitable applications. Understanding different low volume production technologies is essential for you to select the right approach for your manufacturing needs. Let's explore the most common types:
Injection molding is a prevalent method for producing plastic and metal parts, especially when precision and scale are concerns. This process involves injecting molten material into a mold, which solidifies to form the final part. It's ideal for producing high-quality plastic parts in low volumes, providing a balance between cost-efficiency and scalability.
CNC machining encompasses the use of computer-controlled machining tools like mills, lathes, and grinders to shape material into a desired form. It is known for its precision and versatility, making it suitable for manufacturing complex parts with tight tolerances.
CNC machining is a cornerstone in low volume manufacturing, especially when high-quality steel parts or intricate designs are required.
3D printing, or additive manufacturing, builds parts layer by layer from a digital file. This method is incredibly versatile, allowing for the creation of complex geometries that would be difficult or impossible to achieve with traditional manufacturing methods.
Suitable for a wide range of materials, including plastics, metals, and composites, 3D printing is ideal for rapid prototyping and small batch production.
Urethane casting uses silicone molds to create parts from various polymers, particularly urethane. This method is excellent for prototypes and small batch production, offering a cost-effective way to produce high-quality parts with the look and feel of production-grade materials.
Rapid prototyping encompasses several techniques, including 3D printing and CNC machining, to quickly fabricate a scale model of a part or assembly. This approach is vital in modern manufacturing for its ability to speed up the design process, allowing for swift iterations and testing before committing to full-scale production.
Sheet metal fabrication involves cutting, bending, and assembling sheet metal to create diverse metal products. This method is widely used for its ability to produce sturdy and functional parts, making it a mainstay in industries like automotive and aerospace.
Vacuum casting is a process where a liquid material is drawn into a mold under vacuum conditions. It's particularly effective for replicating parts in small volumes and is often used for producing high-quality prototypes or end-use parts.
Laser cutting and engraving use a high-powered laser to precisely cut or engrave materials, often metals or plastics. This technology is renowned for its precision and ability to produce complex shapes with excellent finish quality.
While typically associated with high-volume production, die casting can also be adapted for lower volumes. It involves molding materials under high pressure and is particularly suited for producing metal parts with intricate designs and tight tolerances.
Extrusion is a process that forces material through a die to create objects with a fixed cross-section. Commonly used for aluminum or other metals, extrusion is ideal for producing long, straight metal parts.
Composite fabrication is a process integral to industries requiring strong, lightweight materials.
It involves creating parts from composite materials, which often include a combination of fibers such as carbon or fiberglass and a matrix material like resin. The aerospace, automotive, and sports equipment industries heavily rely on composite fabrication for its ability to produce parts that are both lightweight and exceptionally strong.
Composite fabrication is perfect for low volume production parts, as it allows for the creation of specialized components with high-performance requirements, often tailored to specific applications or bespoke projects.
Silicon molding is another significant method in low volume manufacturing, particularly valued for its precision and flexibility.
This method is used for producing parts from silicon, a material known for its flexibility, durability, and heat resistance. Silicon molding is widely used in the creation of gaskets, seals, and other flexible parts that require precise dimensions and shapes.
Its role in low volume manufacturing is crucial, especially in industries like medical, automotive, and consumer electronics, where customized or small-batch silicone parts are frequently required.
Low volume manufacturing is not confined to a single sector; it spans across various industries, each leveraging its benefits in unique ways. Here are some of the key industries where low volume manufacturing is integral:
While low volume manufacturing offers numerous benefits, it also presents unique challenges. Understanding these challenges and knowing how to effectively address them is crucial for successful implementation. Here's a breakdown of the main challenges and practical tips for overcoming them:
When considering low volume production, several key factors play a crucial role in ensuring successful production. Understanding these factors will help you make informed decisions and optimize your manufacturing process:
When implementing low volume production, you have the choice between in-house production and contract manufacturing. Each option has its benefits:
At 3ERP, we specialize in both prototyping and low-volume manufacturing services.
Our comprehensive low volume production services are intricately designed to guide you seamlessly through every phase of your manufacturing journey.
At 3ERP, our expertise spans a wide array of domains including plastic injection molding, sheet metal fabrication, pressure die casting, and CNC machining, ensuring a broad spectrum of solutions to meet various industrial needs.
One of our key strengths lies in our capability to provide the exact quantity of parts needed for your project, regardless of the final count. This flexibility is crucial in meeting the dynamic demands of the market and individual project specifications.
By leveraging the capabilities of 3ERP, you gain access to high-quality manufacturing services tailored to your unique requirements, whether you're in the initial stages of prototype development or ready for low-volume production.
Low volume manufacturing is an increasingly important aspect of modern production, offering benefits like customization, flexibility, and reduced time-to-market. When considering low volume production, it's crucial to weigh factors such as cost, time, quality, process type, and supplier selection.
Additionally, the choice between in-house production and contract manufacturing depends on your specific needs and resources.
Companies like 3ERP provide specialized services in low volume manufacturing, ensuring that you receive expert guidance and high-quality results.
As the manufacturing landscape continues to evolve, embracing various low volume manufacturing methods can be a strategic move for businesses looking to stay competitive and responsive in dynamic markets.
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Modern manufacturing theory, tools, and best practices are focused on how to make thousands or millions of identical parts or products at a low cost per unit. Custom and low volume production require a completely different set of methods ' and manufacturers are faced with unique challenges when trying to adapt mass production systems to fit.
Thanks to the rapid development of manufacturing methods and materials, however, there are now multiple technologies available that can enable the fabrication of these custom and low volume end-use parts and products rapidly and cost-efficiently.
This guide presents an overview of the different low volume manufacturing scenarios, as well as technologies and solutions for low volume end-use part production.
Low volume manufacturing generally refers to production runs that yield between ten to tens of thousands of parts.
Today, most traditional manufacturing methods such as molding or forming are based on the concept of mass production: fabricating large quantities of identical goods. While these techniques are extremely cost-efficient for high-volume production (over 10,000 parts), they require standardization, expensive machinery, and tooling that rarely allow for product modifications.
Tooling for mass production processes like injection molding can easily cost $10,000+ and add weeks or months to production timelines. With mass production, manufacturers can offset these steep upfront capital expenses with high-volume orders, as cost per part decreases when the costs get distributed among thousands of parts. Mass manufacturing processes are geared toward producing identical parts in large quantities, restricting the ability to manufacture specialized or highly customized pieces economically.
In contrast, the fabrication of items based on unique specifications, also known as custom manufacturing or high-mix low-volume (HMLV) manufacturing, is traditionally performed manually in small workshops. Because of the high proportion of manual labor and the lower throughput, this results in a higher cost per part for custom products. For the same reasons, creating large quantities of individually custom-built goods, referred to as mass customization, has seldom been economically viable.
Over the last few decades, there has been a rapid development in manufacturing methods suitable for low volume production. Technologies like additive manufacturing (3D printing), CNC machining, and rapid tooling offer unique benefits for low volume production, custom manufacturing (high-mix low-volume manufacturing), and mass customization.
These benefits of low volume manufacturing include:
Lower costs: Eliminate excessive tooling costs that require minimum orders to be offset, reduce barriers to market entry, and encourage innovation.
Speed: Compress development timelines and reduce months' long lead times for production to a couple of days or weeks to beat your competitors to the market.
Flexibility: Solve manufacturing challenges, respond to customer feedback, iterate products quickly, and implement design changes, all rapidly and without excessive costs.
Customization: Offer customization to customers and create products with unprecedented design freedom, including complex parts using organic, latticed, or intricate shapes without additional costs.
Control: Tighten supply chains and shorten lead times with local, on-demand production and keep inventories of parts or sub-components to the minimum to meet changing business needs rapidly.
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The drive for innovation, improved quality, and lower costs constantly pressures manufacturers as they seek to remain competitive and maximize profit. From bridging the gap between prototyping and mass production to reducing supply chain bottlenecks, let's look at the various low volume production scenarios.
The Hasbro Selfie Series offers the first personalized, mass-customized action figures.
Today's customers are spending more time and money to find products that fulfill their individual needs and requirements. More options for personalized, curated products and experiences are needed to meet demand. Low volume manufacturing can help companies scale personalized products for mass-market opportunities without the need to invest in costly tooling.
Businesses can rethink the way products are made and explore new business models that bring them closer to their individual customers' needs, such as mass customization.
New Balance released a limited edition high-performance sneaker with 3D printed insoles.
With innovative tools like 3D printing, designers can push the boundaries of design complexity, optimize structures, and tailor parts at no extra cost to develop unique products that are difficult to manufacture with traditional methods.
Resin 3D printers allow you to create complex shapes and parts, with features like overhangs, microchannels, and organic shapes, that would be costly or even impossible to produce with traditional manufacturing methods. This provides the opportunity to consolidate multi-part assemblies, reducing weight, alleviating weak joints, and cutting down on assembly time, unleashing new possibilities for design and engineering.
Tension Square produces an innovative medical device with 3D printing.
Bridge manufacturing is a stage in the product development process that bridges the gap between prototyping and production. Businesses across all industries can leverage low volume production to quickly and affordably produce smaller batches of parts before transitioning to mass production. They can reduce mass-production risks by using pilot runs for product testing, pre-sales, or market validation before committing to expensive tooling for mass production.
3D printed COVID-19 test swabs produced in response to the global pandemic.
Global supply chain bottlenecks increase lead times and represent a major threat to new product time-to-market, client satisfaction, and overall competitive advantage. Low volume manufacturing tools can be leveraged for temporary production, to quickly and affordably produce short runs during times of shortage. Businesses can reduce their reliance on third-party suppliers, withstand logistics disruptions and geopolitical issues, and answer rapidly to market changes by bringing manufacturing capabilities in-house.
Battle Beaver Customs' Playstation 5 controllers with 3D printed internal parts.
Aftermarket manufacturers create end-use products that operate as components or additions to an existing product from the original equipment manufacturer (OEM). For these applications, introducing new innovative products while keeping up with OEM's product updates is a major challenge.
By eliminating tooling, low volume manufacturing brings the agility needed to adjust aftermarket components on demand, both in design and production. Aftermarket companies can build complex geometries to improve product performance or tailor products to their customers. Low volume production helps to minimize inventory and ensure continued compatibility through the original equipment manufacturer's updates.
Automotive supplier Brose has been evaluating 3D printing spare part production.
When an OEM stops production of a particular product or model, they have to continue to stock thousands of parts to service clients who have legacy products and need replacements or repairs. If the OEM doesn't create and store enough of these spare parts, large groups of customers who still use those discontinued models are often left without solutions. It is difficult for an OEM to calculate exactly how many parts to store ' if they overestimate, they have to deal with waste and storage issues, and if they underestimate, buyers become disgruntled.
Leveraging technologies like 3D printing to produce spare parts in-house allows manufacturers to shift from a physical to a digital inventory. Only the CAD models are stored to produce on-demand parts and replace a lost or damaged item.
3D printing has been ubiquitous in prototyping and product development for decades. Now, this maturing technology is entering widespread use in manufacturing. In the product development process, manufacturers are already leveraging the flexibility of 3D printing for producing internal tools, such as jigs, fixtures, and other manufacturing aids, or even rapid tooling such as molds for injection molding or thermoforming.
Recent advances in machinery, materials, and software open opportunities for producing high-precision, functional 3D prints that can stand in for end-use parts'parts that are sold to and used by the final customer ' empowering businesses to bring innovative products to market and make small and mid-scale manufacturing accessible.
3D printers are most commonly used to produce plastic parts ' metal 3D printers are also available, but at a substantially higher cost. There are many different types of 3D printers, the most common processes for producing plastic parts being: selective laser sintering (SLS), stereolithography (SLA), and fused deposition modeling (FDM).
Gillette
SLA - Custom Resin
Mass customization
JetBoatPilot
SLS Nylon 12 Powder
Aftermarket parts
IBL Hydronic
SLS = Nylon 11 Powder
Low volume production
As professional 3D printers require no tooling and minimal setup time for a new design, the cost of producing a custom end-use part is negligible in comparison with traditional manufacturing processes.
Additive manufacturing processes generally have a higher cycle time and are more labor-intensive than manufacturing processes commonly used for mass production, but they represent a substantial leap in productivity compared to traditional manual low volume production and fabrication processes. As 3D printing technologies improve, the cost per part will continue to fall, opening up an even wider range of low- to mid-volume applications.
Most traditional manufacturing processes require expensive industrial machinery and skilled operators, forcing many companies to outsource their production to dedicated facilities. 3D printing, however, enables in-house production. Compact desktop or benchtop 3D printing systems for creating plastic parts are affordable, require very little space and no special skills, enabling professional engineers, designers, and manufacturers to speed up iteration and production cycles from months to just a few days.
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Computer numerical control (CNC) tools are subtractive manufacturing processes. They start with solid blocks, bars, or rods of plastic, metal, or other materials that are shaped by removing material through cutting, boring, drilling, and grinding.
CNC tools include CNC machining, which removes material by either a spinning tool and fixed part (milling) or a spinning part with a fixed tool (lathe). Laser cutters use a laser to engrave or cut through a wide range of materials with high precision. Water jet cutters use water mixed with abrasive and high pressure to cut through practically any material. CNC milling machines and lathes can have multiple axes, which allows them to manage more complex designs. Laser and water jet cutters are more suited for flat parts.
CNC tools can shape parts from plastics, soft metals, hard metals (industrial machines), wood, acrylic, stone, glass, and composites. They're ideal for producing custom or low-volume end-use parts, structural parts, and tooling for a wide range of industries.
Compared to additive manufacturing tools, CNC tools are more complicated to set up and operate, while some materials and designs might require special tooling, handling, positioning, and processing. This makes them costly for one-off parts compared to additive processes and better suited for small production runs.
Machining is ideal for low volume manufacturing applications that require tight tolerances and geometries that are difficult to mold, such as pulleys, gears, and bushings. CNC machining has low to moderate setup costs, and can produce high-quality components with short lead times from a wide range of materials.
Machining processes have more part geometry restrictions than 3D printing. With machining, cost per part increases with part complexity. Undercuts, pass-throughs, and features on multiple part faces all increase costs. Machining processes require allowances for tool access and certain geometries, like curved internal channels, are difficult or impossible to produce with conventional subtractive methods.
Rapid tooling is the group of techniques used to fabricate tooling fast, at low cost, and efficiently for traditional manufacturing processes like injection molding, thermoforming, or casting to create parts on a short timeline or in lower quantities.
Conventional tooling is most commonly produced out of durable metals using technologies such as machining and metal casting. However, these processes are expensive and better suited for large-scale production cycles. When used for tooling iterations or to produce tooling that would be used to manufacture only small batches of parts, costs rise and production timelines extend dramatically.
Incorporating rapid tooling into the product development process enables manufacturers to validate design and material choices prior to transitioning to mass production to accelerate product development, iterate quickly, and bring better products to market. Rapid tooling empowers engineers to use the actual production-grade materials to evaluate how the parts will perform in real-world applications and produce limited volumes of products for beta and validation testing. Rapid tooling can also help troubleshoot the manufacturing process before investing in expensive production tooling.
Rapid tooling also provides means to produce custom or limited series of end-use parts using traditional manufacturing processes that would be prohibitively expensive using conventional tooling. This allows manufacturers to test the market for new products, offer a wider range of products, or customize parts based on customer needs.
Rapid tooling can be used to support a variety of traditional manufacturing processes to produce plastics, silicone or rubber parts, composites, and even metal parts.
While manufacturing traditionally involves contract manufacturers and a long chain of suppliers, low volume manufacturing tools also allow companies to bring production in house.
Outsourcing production to service bureaus or labs is recommended when you require just a few parts occasionally, and for parts that are large or call for non-standard materials. Service providers like Hubs, Protolabs, Fictiv, or local service bureaus offer manufacturing and low volume production services on demand. These bureaus typically have multiple technologies available, including additive and subtractive processes, as well as rapid tooling. They can also provide advice on various materials and offer value-added services such as design or advanced finishing.
The main downsides of outsourcing to service providers are cost and lead time. One of the greatest benefits of low volume manufacturing is its speed compared to traditional manufacturing methods, which quickly diminishes when the outsourced parts take a week or multiple weeks to arrive. Outsourcing the manufacturing of low volume parts is also often very expensive. Depending on the number of parts and volume, a business can often break even within a few months by simply investing in a 3D printer and printing in house.
With desktop and benchtop 3D printers, companies can pay for just as much capacity as their business needs, and scale production by adding extra units as demand grows. By using multiple 3D printers, you also get the flexibility to print parts in different materials simultaneously. Service bureaus can still supplement this flexible workflow for larger parts or unconventional materials.
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Freed from the tooling constraints of traditional methods, additive manufacturing is a powerful solution to produce low volume end-use parts with minimal lead time. In-house 3D printing enables businesses to take control of their manufacturing, reducing production time, costs, and risks.
Watch our webinar to learn how to achieve custom manufacturing and low volume production of end-use parts quickly and cost-effectively with 3D printing and explore Formlabs' range of professional 3D printing solutions.
Have an idea for leveraging low volume production at your business, but don't know where to start? Get in touch with a Formlabs Solution Specialist to discuss how you can piece together an ideal workflow.
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