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Press Release16 November 2021Digital IndustriesNuremberg
Siemens enables You Mawo and Additive Scale to scale up additive manufacturing of bespoke eyewear in a cost-effective and sustainable way
Siemens enables the start-up You Mawo in offering bespoke eyeglass frames in such a way that they are accessible, affordable, and sustainable for a broad market.
"We
believe that the market for individualized eyewear is very large. Additively
manufactured eyewear fits perfectly and requires significantly less material.
Compared to conventionally produced eyewear, we can reduce the carbon footprint
by up to 58 percent through additive manufacturing," explains You Mawo
founder Daniel Szabo. He goes on to say, "Until now, however,
reproduceable production in very large quantities has been the tricky
part." The
production of 3D printed eyeglass frames is the goal of Additive Scale GmbH,
which was founded specifically for this purpose. Its approach consists of a
priority solution chain of 3D printing systems, surface, and coloring finishing,
as well as software, to produce customized eyeglass frames with reproduceable
part properties. Siemens is supporting Additive Scale's project with its
comprehensive portfolio of automation and digitalization solutions as well as
financing solutions.
Additive Scale has
been producing individualized eyeglass frames for You Mawo since May 2021 with
an annual capacity of approximately 50,000 frames and is already planning to
double capacity for the coming year.
"The
decisive factor for high productivity with the greatest possible flexibility is
the automated and digital integration of coordinated manufacturing steps of all
participants in the production process. This includes automated processing of
the entire workflow and begins with the arrival of the order, continues through
design and on to printing, post-processing and final delivery," explains
Dr. Karsten Heuser, Vice President Additive Manufacturing at Siemens Digital
Industries.
He continues, "Here we can learn a lot from our manufacturing
expertise in our own production facilities and use this know-how to enable
end-to-end automation and digitalization for our partners. This applies to the
production of series parts as well as to highly flexible lot-size-1
manufacturing of individualized products or spare parts."
Simulation with the digital twin
In the first
step, the factory planning experts from Siemens Advanta worked with Additive
Scale to create a digital twin of the production that contains all process
steps and machines. This allows different approaches to material flow and
production layouts to be simulated - for example, the transport of parts from
one machine to the next via AGVs, conveyor belts or robots. It also allows the
profitability of production to be tested without taking risks. The eyeglass
frames are printed using selective laser sintering on EOS machines. For surface
finishing and coloring, the specialist DyeMansion is on board. "You Mawo were
one of our first customers. Together, we managed to raise the entire
post-processing for eyewear to a level that meets the highest demands in terms
of quality and reproduceability. With our strategic partners EOS and Siemens,
we are now incorporating all of this into a factory that has the potential to
change the entire eyewear industry. A lighthouse project for the entire 3D
printing industry that was only made possible by strong partnerships,"
says Felix Ewald, CEO and Co-Founder of DyeMansion. EOS, DyeMansion and Siemens
have already collaborated in the past on innovative projects in the field of
automation and digitalization of production facilities, with the aim of
accelerating the industrialization of additive manufacturing.
Individualized financing concept
The industrial 3D
printing machines for Additive Scale are financed by Siemens Financial Services
(SFS), Siemens’ financing arm. The goal was to lower the immediate investment
hurdle and enable scaling as production needs grow. "Integrating financing
into an ecosystem approach like this, where all the right partners come
together from the start, has allowed us to create a smart leasing solution at a
start-up’s pace. Moreover, it offers enormous potential to adapt as market
demands evolve," says Matthias Grossmann, CEO Commercial Finance at
Siemens Financial Services. Depending on the specific requirements, SFS offers
a range of models for financing the assets, from standard leasing to full or
partial pay-per-use or pay-for-outcomes models.
Scaling scenarios can be simulated and validated
As a next
step, Additive Scale, with support from Siemens Digital Industries and Siemens
Advanta, plans to scale up production, with a mid-term goal of producing one
million or more individualized eyeglass frames per year. "Our long-term
goal is to have fully automated and digitalized small production sites around
the world that allow us to produce locally and respond quickly to customer
requests. This reduces shipping costs and time, and leaves a significantly lower
carbon footprint," explains Sebastian Zenetti, CEO of Additive Scale. Using
the Factory Planning Toolbox developed specifically for additive manufacturing,
scalable production concepts can be simulated and validated. In the simulation,
product and process variants are compared in terms of production costs and
yield. Scaling scenarios are then evaluated based on order scenarios and the
degree of automation. Particularly important will be the efficient handling of
the order-to-delivery process, so that every customer can also receive their
customized glasses within a period of around 14 days. In addition to the
connectivity of the machines to each other and to the cloud, scenarios of the
ordering process of participating opticians, for example via the Additive Manufacturing
Network, and the traceability of the individualized frames for the end customer
will also be considered here. For this purpose, Siemens is testing solutions
for the respective next scaling level in its own Additive Manufacturing
Experience Center in a dedicated production cell, such as the connection to an
industrial cloud and the creation of dashboards with Mendix for the
optimization of Overall Equipment Efficiency (OEE).
During
Formnext and the Virtual Siemens Additive Manufacturing Summit, Siemens
together with You Mawo, Additive Scale, and DyeMansion will demonstrate in
detail how the production of individualized additively manufactured eyeglass
frames can be scaled up economically and sustainably through eco-system
collaboration.
Further
information on Siemens at Formnext and the Virtual Siemens AM Summit 2021 please
see www.siemens.com/formnext and www.siemens.com/press/formnext2021
Further information on Siemens
Financial Services:
www.siemens.com/financing
www.siemens.com/financing
Further
information on Siemens Additive Manufacturing Network:
https://additive-manufacturing-network.sws.siemens.com
https://additive-manufacturing-network.sws.siemens.com
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Siemens Digital Industries (DI) is an innovation leader in automation and digitalization. Closely collaborating with partners and customers, DI drives the digital transformation in the process and discrete industries. With its Digital Enterprise portfolio, DI provides companies of all sizes with an end-to-end set of products, solutions and services to integrate and digitalize the entire value chain. Optimized for the specific needs of each industry, DI’s unique portfolio supports customers to achieve greater productivity and flexibility. DI is constantly adding innovations to its portfolio to integrate cutting-edge future technologies. Siemens Digital Industries has its global headquarters in Nuremberg, Germany, and has around 72,000 employees internationally.
Siemens AG (Berlin and Munich) is a technology company focused on industry, infrastructure, transport, and healthcare. From more resource-efficient factories, resilient supply chains, and smarter buildings and grids, to cleaner and more comfortable transportation as well as advanced healthcare, the company creates technology with purpose adding real value for customers. By combining the real and the digital worlds, Siemens empowers its customers to transform their industries and markets, helping them to transform the everyday for billions of people. Siemens also owns a majority stake in the publicly listed company Siemens Healthineers, a globally leading medical technology provider shaping the future of healthcare. In addition, Siemens holds a minority stake in Siemens Energy, a global leader in the transmission and generation of electrical power.
In fiscal 2021, which ended on September 30, 2021, the Siemens Group generated revenue of €62.3 billion and net income of €6.7 billion. As of September 30, 2021, the company had around 303,000 employees worldwide. Further information is available on the Internet at www.siemens.com.
In fiscal 2021, which ended on September 30, 2021, the Siemens Group generated revenue of €62.3 billion and net income of €6.7 billion. As of September 30, 2021, the company had around 303,000 employees worldwide. Further information is available on the Internet at www.siemens.com.