The market
In 2010, global sales of molds reached between $ 600 and $ 650 billion. After the economic crisis of 2008, this strategic sector was faced with a major slowdown with sales down almost 17 % in one year, while the use of capacities decreased to 64 %. Since 2010, the industry has taken over the hair of the beast with a confirmed increase in sales of molding machines in China with 9 % in one year. There are two large segments on the market: injection molding for plastics and pressure molding for metals. The European injection molding industry is estimated at $ 120 billion, to which are added 15 to 20 billion dollars for pressure molding services. The American pressure molding company recorded a turnover of just over $ 7 billion with an estimated staff of 63,000 employees last year. Employment in the pressure cast sector has dropped more than half over the past decade, while productivity has only increased by 20 %. The molding of metals with molds is a 6,000 -year -old industry. Mussels, essential in the world economy, have always combined science and the arts. A car may require up to 300 molds for shock absorbers, dashboards, cup holders, lamps, ruffles, gearbox and cylinders. A refrigerator needs 150 molds, a computer needs at least 30. 90 % of all finished metals and 32 % of all plastics were shaped by molds. High quality molds will have precision up to 0.02 millimeters for sophisticated automotive and electronic components. A single mold could make 800,000 chairs, one million trash cans, two million buckets of plastic water and 10 million televisions. Europe and Japan quickly lose their competitive advantage against China, India and the Philippines with a price difference for comparable qualities of molds of a factor ten. As the mold of a toy could cost $ 25,000 in the industrialized world, and only $ 2,000 in emerging economies, this explains why the toy industry turned to China. First of all, the cost of the workforce is low, but perhaps more important is that the mussels, the initial cost high in mass manufacturing is ten times cheaper. This allows a larger number of entrepreneurs to enter the market. The Ningbo China group, based in Zhejiang, has become the largest manufacturer of mold manufacturing equipment in the world, controlling about half of the national market and quickly winning abroad.
Innovation
The industry has attempted to improve quality and sustainability while providing greater flexibility. However, one of the main changes in industry is the conversion of plastic metals. A metal part made up of several components must be formed, machined and riveted to obtain the final part. A plastic part can be formed in a single process of multiple cavity tools, which saves time and money. This partly explains the passage from pressure to molding to injection molding in recent decades. However, injection molding activity uses 18,000 different plastics, with around 750 new combinations added each year. This makes recycling in general and the production of value-added products from the flow of very difficult waste, which contributes to higher pollution levels and to prolonged dependence on non-renewable resources, C ' That is to say plastics from oil. Mario Fleurinck acquired its basic engineering and management training at Diamond Boart, an expert company in industrial diamonds. He then acquired experience in the aerospace industry, both in the United States and Europe. There, it was exposed to the manufacture of dense metal parts from metal powder by laser fusion, also known as generative manufacturing. This innovative process allows you to create parts directly from electronic data without water, mussels, machining, riveting or polishing. Mr. Fleurinck realized that he had the possibility of creating an industry that manufactures any 3D geometry with speed, efficiency and flexibility, requiring all the necessary intelligence in terms of design and much less personnel on The field. The substitution of something with nothing (a mold by steps - water by steps) is a central characteristic of the blue economy.
The first cash flow
Mr. Fleurinck took over the management of a small Belgian company Melotte, a manufacturer of traditional molds located in the east of the country, and decided to convert this factory into a reference in terms of direct digital manufacture (DDM). It created the virtual factory which builds the most complex and most diverse components with total control of each part thanks to the sharing of network files which allows immediate engineering and design adjustments. While the field of application could reach thousands of products, its first major commercial application focuses on dental prostheses. In two years, Melotte has made 10,000 units on order with the fastest execution time in the industry, offering the greatest precision with only a fraction of raw materials. Although the MDD requires higher initial investments, its effectiveness exceeds imagination in the traditional production model. A Formula 1 steering wheel in light titanium weighing 300 grams will need a four -kilograms solid material block. His DDM delivers the same steering wheel with only ten percent of waste, or 30 grams, his first unit was installed in a solar energy racing car. This spectacular improvement in the effectiveness of materials by a factor 12 (4.0 kg to 330 grams) and the reduction of waste by a 100 (3 kg to 30 grams) factor, without the use of water in the process, is the 'One of these innovative platform technologies necessary to direct the company towards sustainability.
The opportunity
The reduction of the use of materials of a twelve factor is repercussions through the economy, forcing the standard standard business models in today's society, ranging from mining to merger or energy consumption, to rethink their manufacturing concepts. The innovations introduced by Mr. Fleurinck also bring our economic model closer to a model that cycle all the materials with efficiency and value. While plastics are gaining ground on metals in many applications because of their weight and versatility, we are aware that a complete reuse of all the metals combined with a spectacular improvement in quality of service and speed delivery, with total adaptation to the needs of each customer, will open the way to a system of production and competitive and ecological consumption where metals could again compete, or even surpass. While pressure molding has existed for millennia and injection molding for 150 years, it may be enough for a generation to bring the industrial era into an intelligent and lasting era. Its speed and success will depend on a new generation of entrepreneurs like Mario Fleurinck. Many existing industries in the manufacture of molds, molding, machining, tools and riveting rightly fear for their future, are preparing for future changes. This breakthrough of the platform will cause a major change on the job market. DDM offers opportunities for creative designers of industrial tools, mechanical innovations and manufacturing processes. They can become a key player in industry, reshaping the company more than we imagine. If Melotte could already change the dental prostheses industry, thousands of other industries could undergo a similar disturbance. Instead of having a saving where 90 % of waste ends up in a landfill site, with only a fraction for recycling, a new trend is emerging where only 10 % is intended for post-industrial recycling. The most complex equipment will be at hand with the greatest precision, thus offering our modern society the possibility of attacking the complexities which were not until recently considered viable - in nature.
