The market
In 2010, global mold sales reached between $600 and $650 billion. Following the 2008 economic crisis, this strategic sector faced a major slowdown, with sales falling by nearly 17% in a single year, while capacity utilization decreased by 64%. Since 2010, the industry has been recovering, with a confirmed increase in molding machine sales in China of 9% in one year. There are two main market segments: injection molding for plastics and die casting for metals. The European injection molding industry is valued at $120 billion, with an additional $15 to $20 billion for die casting services. The US die casting industry recorded revenues of just over $7 billion last year, with an estimated workforce of 63,000 employees. Employment in the die-casting sector has fallen by more than half in the last decade, while productivity has increased by only 20%. Metal casting with molds is a 6,000-year-old industry. Molds, essential to the global economy, have always combined science and art. A car can require up to 300 molds for shock absorbers, dashboards, cup holders, lamps, steering wheels, gearboxes, and cylinders. A refrigerator needs 150 molds, and a computer needs at least 30. 90% of all finished metals and 32% of all plastics have been shaped using molds. High-quality molds will have an accuracy of up to 0.02 millimeters for sophisticated automotive and electronic components. A single mold could produce 800,000 chairs, one million trash cans, two million plastic water buckets, and 10 million televisions. Europe and Japan are rapidly losing their competitive edge to China, India, and the Philippines, with the price difference for comparable mold qualities being roughly tenfold. Since a toy mold might cost $25,000 in the industrialized world but only $2,000 in emerging economies, this explains why the toy industry has turned to China. First, labor costs are low, but perhaps more importantly, the high initial cost of molds for mass production is ten times lower. This allows a greater number of entrepreneurs to enter the market. The Ningbo China Group, based in Zhejiang, has become the world's largest manufacturer of mold-making equipment, controlling about half of the domestic market and rapidly establishing itself abroad.
Innovation
The industry has attempted to improve quality and durability while offering greater flexibility. However, one of the major changes in the industry is the shift from metals to plastics. A metal part composed of several components must be formed, machined, and riveted to obtain the final part. A plastic part can be formed in a single multi-cavity tooling process, saving time and money. This partly explains the shift from die casting to injection molding over the past few decades. However, the injection molding business uses 18,000 different plastics, with approximately 750 new combinations added each year. This makes recycling in general, and the production of value-added products from the waste stream, very difficult, contributing to higher levels of pollution and a prolonged dependence on non-renewable resources, namely petroleum-based plastics. Mario Fleurinck received his initial training in engineering and management at Diamond Boart, a company specializing in industrial diamonds. He then gained experience in the aerospace industry, both in the United States and Europe. There, he was exposed to the manufacturing of dense metal parts from metal powder using laser melting, also known as generative manufacturing. This innovative process allows parts to be created directly from electronic data without water, molds, machining, riveting, or polishing. Mr. Fleurinck realized he had the opportunity to create an industry that manufactures any 3D geometry quickly, efficiently, and flexibly, requiring all the necessary intelligence at the design level and far fewer personnel on the ground. Substituting something for nothing (a mold for no mold – water for no water) is a central characteristic of the Blue Economy.
The first cash flow
Mr. Fleurinck took over a small Belgian company, Melotte, a manufacturer of traditional molds located in the east of the country, and decided to convert the factory into a leader in direct digital manufacturing (DDM). He created a virtual factory that builds the most complex and diverse components with complete control over each part, thanks to networked file sharing that allows for immediate engineering and design adjustments. While the potential applications could extend to thousands of products, its first major commercial application focuses on dental prostheses. In two years, Melotte manufactured 10,000 units to order with the fastest turnaround time in the industry, offering the highest precision with only a fraction of the raw materials. Although DDM requires higher initial investments, its efficiency far surpasses that of traditional production models. A lightweight titanium Formula 1 steering wheel weighing 300 grams would require a solid block of material weighing four kilograms. Its DDM delivers the same steering wheel with only ten percent waste, or 30 grams; its first unit was installed in a solar-powered race car. This dramatic improvement in material efficiency by a factor of 12 (4.0 kg to 330 grams) and the reduction in waste by a factor of 100 (3 kg to 30 grams), without using water in the process, is one of those innovative platform technologies needed to steer society towards sustainability.
The opportunity
Reducing material use by a factor of twelve ripples throughout the economy, forcing the unsustainable business models prevalent in today's society—from mining to smelting and energy consumption—to rethink their manufacturing concepts. The innovations introduced by Mr. Fleurinck also bring our economic model closer to one that cycles all materials efficiently and effectively. While plastics are gaining ground on metals in many applications due to their weight and versatility, we recognize that the complete reuse of all metals, combined with a dramatic improvement in service quality and delivery speed, and with total customization to each customer's needs, will pave the way for a competitive and environmentally friendly production and consumption system where metals can once again compete, or even outperform. While die casting has existed for millennia and injection molding for 150 years, it may only take a generation to usher the industrial age into a smart and sustainable one. Its speed and success will depend on a new generation of entrepreneurs like Mario Fleurinck. Many existing industries in mold making, casting, machining, tooling, and riveting are rightly concerned about their future and are preparing for the changes to come. This platform breakthrough will cause a major shift in the job market. DDM offers opportunities for creative designers of industrial tools, mechanical innovations, and manufacturing processes. They can become key players in the industry, reshaping the business more than anyone can imagine. If Melotte could already change the dental prosthesis industry, thousands of other industries could experience similar disruption. Instead of an economy where 90% of waste ends up in a landfill, with only a fraction going to recycling, a new trend is emerging where only 10% is destined for post-industrial recycling. The most complex equipment will be at hand with the greatest precision, thus offering our modern society the possibility of tackling complexities that until recently were not considered viable – in nature.
