Additive manufacturing of parts looks set to upend the supply of components globally. A small-scale trial of three-dimensional (3D) manufactured parts is helping mining technology company Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions and Swedish mining company Boliden explore this potential.

Additive manufacturing – or 3D printing as it is more commonly known – is maturing fast, and has progressed from printing plastic components to now being able to print ceramics and metals.

To discover the potential of the technology, Boliden has teamed up with Sandvik to run a trial that will see machine parts printed digitally and installed on underground drill rigs.

The trial with Sandvik involves a set of specially redesigned components printed digitally at a Sandvik-managed facility in Italy, with their performance being monitored on machines in Boliden’s underground mine worksites – first in Sweden, then in Ireland.

At least in theory, the 3D metal parts could perform as well – or even better – than traditionally manufactured items. “The first components have just been put into operation in the Garpenberg mine, with performance still to be evaluated.

“Additive manufacturing shows a lot of potential, both in reducing carbon footprint within the supply chain, through reduced or eliminated need for transport and storage of parts and also shorter delivery times. “This trial will give us a deeper understanding on how we can move forward and develop our business in a competitive way,” says Boliden head of supply management Ronne Hamerslag.

Local Manucturing is ‘The Future’

3D printing is an exciting prospect for original-equipment manufacturers too, as Sandvik’s parts and services president Erik Lundén explains.

“Mining equipment can last up to 25 years – and needs to be supported throughout that time – even in the most remote of locations. We have many different stock keeping units, and from an inventory point of view we can’t tie up the capital that keeping all these parts in stock would entail. 3D printing of parts locally offers us the prospect of not only getting parts to the customer much faster, but doing so far more sustainably.”

While, in theory, any part could in the future be 3D printed, it is likely to be maintenance and repair operating items that are the first to get the additive manufacturing treatment, such as the bushes, brackets, drill parts, and others that customers need to change every 3 000 to 4 000 hours.

Printing of the parts is, however, only one part of the puzzle that the trial with Boliden is trying to solve. Another is working out the future business model for 3D printed parts. Who does the printing – the OEM, the miner, or a third-party printing company? What will the costs be? What about intellectual property rights, warranties and liabilities? All these things – and more – need to be resolved in the development of a 3D printed future.

“If you ask me, it’s the most exciting thing that’s happening in the supply chain,” says Hamerslag.

“Its efficiency, speed and climate friendliness mean that we have to investigate additive manufacturing closely. We are only at the proof-of-concept stage with Sandvik right now, but it’s already clear that it could become a game-changer for the spare parts business in mining – for both miners and equipment manufacturers,” he concludes.