来自University of Cardiff’s Business Schoolare investigating how 3D printing manufacturing hubs could soon replace the multi-echelon transportation systems many of us are familiar with around the world.
一个多回波系统是基于外包制造的，并在很大程度上依赖于分布在多个配送中心的供应商层。这是世界上许多运输结构都基于的系统，加的夫研究人员认为，3D打印可能只是动摇事物的技术。
Reader in Management Science at Cardiff Business School, Emrah Demir, and his colleagues Daniel Eyers, Senior Lecturer in Manufacturing Systems Management, and Yuan Huang, Lecturer in Operations Management, have presented an efficient mathematical model to investigate various scenarios of integrated 3D printing production with transportation planning, and the potential benefits this could yield for delivery firms battling to overcome challenging city logistics.
“Generally, production and transportation problems are solved separately,” they explained. “In this research, we tried to integrate both important parts of fulfilling customer orders and on-time deliveries, looking at transport and production on a daily and weekly basis. We proposed a simple but effective algorithm that can solve the problem of maintaining high 3D printing machine usage rates and effective van utilizations.
“In doing so, we provide an easily-reconfigurable scoreboard-based tool that is suitable for SME operations, and is capable of using non-financial drivers.”
将3D打印与运输物流集成
In recent years, 3D printing has been increasingly integrated into transportation systems around the world to help simplify and improve areas of the transport sector, especially within city logistics. City logistics refers to urban freight distribution and the strategies to improve its efficiencies while mitigating congestion and other environmental impacts.
For instance, the美国海军hasincorporated 3D printing into its operations, and in some cases登上军事军舰, to quickly produce spare parts and prototypes on-demand, demonstrating how a transport resource can also serve as a responsive manufacturing medium. Binder jet 3D printer OEMExOnehas been recently tasked with developing a便携式3D打印工厂为了美国国防部（国防部），包括武装部队在田野中可能需要的所有备用零件生产所需的一切，包括土地，空中或海洋。
Elsewhere,Amazon’spatent on3D打印的卡车has the potential to enable mobile manufacturing hubs for consumer products in the future. Filed in 2015, the patent describes the ability for 3D printing service providers to print customer orders on a mobile truck, and it was anticipated at the time that the company’s sights were set on a much broader business model within this area.
同时，全球运输和物流提供商UPS还对3D打印进行了投资，已将其一些商店与3D打印机一起创建雷电竞app下载制造商的按需打印网络across the US. Reportedly, UPS was seeking to “redefine spare parts logistics and contract logistics as we know it”, through drastically cutting down delivery times and transportation costs.
Other examples include fellow global logistics firmDHL’strial of parcelcopter delivery using drones to supply medical products, parcel delivery brandDPD的cooperation with robotics specialistStarshipfor last-mile deliveries, and劳斯莱斯’scircular economy model to reduce the burden of itsjet engine maintenance, within whichsome 3D printed components are deployed, through a lifetime service program.
通过3D打印和城市物流改善医疗保健分配
During their study, Demir, Eyers, and Huang investigated how integrating 3D printing manufacturing hubs with city logistics could be applied to the distribution of healthcare products to customers located within urban environments. In particular, they applied their mathematical model to the distribution of hearing aids in various scenarios where 3D printing production and transportation planning were combined.
“We know that there is a real need to consider the environment,” they said. “Many logistics companies have already started thinking about how to react to this. In our work, we show one possible complementary approach where local production and distribution for urgently required customized medical devices can be integrated. This is a very special case, but we believe it can be extended to other areas.”
研究人员将他们的调查基于医疗行业内的现实情况，得出的结论是，建立这类类型的3D打印物流设施“完全合理”，确定许多已经具有技术能力的已经存在的商业局成功地做到这一点。本文的研究是在COVID-19大流行之前进行的，研究人员认为随后在全球看到的随后的封锁和供应链中断从那时起，进一步强调了更本地化物流解决方案的潜在优势。
“There is a lot of appetite from logistics service providers to implement 3D printing,” they stated. “And our work shows obvious commercial opportunity. There are technical difficulties to overcome for some applications, but we foresee early adopters employing our proposition in the future.”
看3 d的运输和生产printed hearing aids on a daily and weekly basis, the researchers developed a novel mathematical optimization model that sought to improve the fulfillment of customer orders in tandem with ensuring on-time deliveries. The algorithm generated a solution that would simultaneously maintain high 3D printer usage rates and effective van utilizations. Using this, they then devised a scoreboard-based tool suitable for use by small and medium-sized operations to optimize their own production-delivery processes, which can be easily reconfigured dependent on the production scenario.
“What is needed, though, is the emphasis on setting up manufacturing facilities and bringing people and technologies together,” the researchers continued. “This is a real challenge and is something that is often overlooked when thinking about 3D printing. It is important to remember that it is more than technology. In this case, we look at both manufacturing technologies and transportation together by proposing analytical decision support.”
Future potential for 3D printing’s role in logistics
While Demir and his colleagues focused on the optimization of production and delivery processes for 3D printed hearing aids in this study, they believe the potential for integrating 3D printing manufacturing hubs with city logistics could be seen across many other delivery-based sectors, such as retail store and supermarket home deliveries.
他们补充说：“我们已经知道，超市正在使用调度算法来决定如何将商品运送到商店或房屋。”“这将使他们有一个很好的机会扩展他们在其他市场中的存在。我们专注于仅服务医疗设施的运输，但是很有说服力，可以与其他零售商合作以共享运输能力。这对于效率非常有用，并且有可能具有良好的环境利益。
“There are lots of opportunities for manufacturers to extend their offerings or to engage with customers through city logistics.”
有关该研究的更多详细信息可以在标题为““在最后一英里竞争：在城市物流环境中的战略3D打印，”published in the Computers & Operations Research journal. The study is co-authored by E. Demir, D. Eyers, and Y. Huang.
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特色图像节目sUPS delivery truck. Photo via UPS.
