Transport Manufacturers Find Financial and Environmental Advantages With 3D Laser Printing

Fonon Corporation’s Bulk-To-Shape (BTS) additive manufacturing technology, currently in development stage, is poised to streamline sectors of the rail transport industry, which often suffers from supply chain issues. With BTS, rail transport manufacturers can replace low-volume metal components with 3D printed parts made on-demand of high-performance materials, significantly reducing costs and lead times.

Already, some of the leading companies offering rail solutions worldwide are leveraging 3D printing to produce spare parts and improve operational efficiency. Additive manufacturing has proven to lead to significant savings in labor while lowering the need for part procurement, transportation, storage and assembly. It has also demonstrated a significant reduction in downtime when replacement parts are required. With metal 3D printing, physical inventories can be replaced by digital inventories, while new components and parts can be produced on-demand and on-site.

Continuous, structural investments in technology like BTS offer manufacturers a host of opportunities to operate more sustainably. Faster development, shorter lead times, less resource-intensive production and high-reusability materials help to reduce waste and minimize carbon footprints. This, in turn, can help drive innovation in sustainable design, production and distribution—all of which supports manufacturers as they strive to meet their sustainability goals. In fact, additive manufacturing is a key enabler of a circular economy. By prioritizing the reuse of materials and products all along the production line, 3D printing can be pivotal in steering toward a future where manufacturing’s impact on the environment is drastically reduced

Additive manufacturing reduces costs for producing prototypes, complex geometries and custom modifications. Fonon's BTS systems in development, when fully commercialized, will also empower users to optimize existing part designs for enhanced performance and reliability. BTS exemplifies Fonon's continuously growing umbrella of building-block technologies supported by patents, licenses, next-generation hardware and proprietary metal processing intellectual property. This product family of specialized 3D metal printing systems for industrial and manufacturing purposes represents the fastest path to production readiness.

For more information about Fonon Corporation's transformational Bulk-To-Shape technology, please visit https://fonon.com.

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