{"id":21865,"date":"2017-11-13T18:02:13","date_gmt":"2017-11-13T23:02:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digital.hbs.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/building-the-future-at-ge-one-layer-at-a-time\/"},"modified":"2017-11-13T18:02:13","modified_gmt":"2017-11-13T23:02:13","slug":"building-the-future-at-ge-one-layer-at-a-time","status":"publish","type":"hck-submission","link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/building-the-future-at-ge-one-layer-at-a-time\/","title":{"rendered":"Building the Future at GE, One Layer at a Time"},"content":{"rendered":"

Speaking Volumes<\/h3>\n

This summer, the oldest founding member of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, GE, made very modern waves when it announced it would be creating the world\u2019s largest 3-D printer [1][2]. \u2018ATLAS\u2019, will be a laser based powder metal printer with a build volume of 1.0 m3<\/sup>[2]. To put that in perspective, the current record holder, Concept Laser\u2019s XLine 2000R<\/a>, has a build volume that is 6.25x smaller at 0.16 m3<\/sup>[2]. A machine of this size opens the door for GE to produce even higher value components for its aviation business and cements the company as a leading player in additive manufacturing [5]. Additive manufacturing (equivalently referred to as 3-D printing), is a collection of technologies and methods that are capable of building components by depositing layers of material and melting or adhering them together [3]. This contrasts with traditional, subtractive, methods which achieve desired geometries by removing material.<\/p>\n

<\/a>
The Process of Direct Metal Laser Sintering<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As a company, GE has made additive a core component of its industrial strategy stating that it believes it will usher in a transformative age of expanded product design capability, flexibility, and speed, as well as improve service delivery and asset management[4]. Indeed, President and CEO of GE Aviation David Joyce recently stated \u201cAdditive changes\u2026the paradigm between the cost of manufacturing and the complexity of design. Design is going to optimize for performance and productivity with new and better cost entitlements and faster cycles.\u201d[4] This strategy comes as no surprise, as industry analysts have been extolling benefits such as low\/zero inventory costs, increased profitability within low-volume\/high-value products, hyper customization, reduced product life-cycles, and lack of re-tooling costs since 2012[6][12].<\/p>\n

If You Print It, They Will Come<\/h3>\n

In a prime example of putting your money where your mouth is, GE acquired competitors Concept Laser (German) and Arcam AB (Swedish) to jump-start its industrial printer capability [5]. These acquisitions, which led to the rapid development of ATLAS, will allow the company to build large jet engine and aircraft structural components not previously possible before.[5] GE will also be testing a new version of its ATP turboprop engine which will have 1\/3 of its components 3-D printed, reducing 855 parts down to 12, lowering weight and thus fuel consumption why a whopping 20% and lasting 1000 hours more between overhauls[6][7].<\/p>\n

Concept Laser, Acquired by GE<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

GE\u2019s longer terms goals are certainly much greater than just fuel nozzles and jet engines. Now ex-CEO Jeff Immelt believes that the total additive market resides around $75 Billion and fairly new GE Additive business will reach $1 Billion by 2020[8]. The Arcam and Concept laser acquisitions really serve to stabilize their industrial base so they can pursue opportunities in healthcare, automotive, oil & gas, and power. GE Additive also recently opened the Additive Training Center(ATC) near Cincinnati (along with a similar facility near Pittsburgh). A 130,000 ft2<\/sup> facility that holds 30 metal 3-D printing machines and hosts 3-D printing \u201cboot-camps\u201d where engineers from all parts of the business can come and learn how to design for additive manufacturing [8][9]. The long-term goal of this facility is to shift the design culture within GE\u2019s business to better take advantage of the new technology.<\/p>\n

Layering Up the Challenges<\/h3>\n

One aspect of the additives space that GE is not targeting however is the spare parts market. Now a\u00a0 $400 Billion business, the aviation spare parts business is bereft with inefficiencies and opportunity that would benefit from 3-D Printing[10]. Currently, almost 10% of the spare parts stock of most MROs is considered obsolete or sunk and the industry is notorious for long lead times[11]. Today, 30% of airlines and MROs have said they are looking to 3-D print their spare parts and in 10 years German parts suppliers will be spending $3 Billion in printing their inventory [11]. GE\u2019s current strategy keeps the company is its place as an OEM (traditionally a low margin game, ~10%) and fails to map its entrance in the spares parts business (traditionally a high margin game, 20%-25%)[12]. GE must also not allow culture and design heritage to get in the way of its progress. While the ATC is a necessary step forward, it might not do enough to cement the change necessary for its engineering communities to stray from decades of design history.<\/p>\n

GE Engine Undergoing Maintenance<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Questions:<\/h3>\n

As the company extrudes itself forward into the future, what strategy should it use in entering and disrupting the spare parts industry? Does it make sense for GE to do so?<\/p>\n

As its engineers shift a new layer of culture and design philosophy over decades of hardened (and outdated) standards, how should GE approach workforce retraining to maximize the potential of 3-D printing? Is the ATC enough on its own? Should GE increase its 3-D printing training opportunities?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

(Word Count: 782)<\/p>\n

References<\/h3>\n

[1]Forbes.com. (2017).\u00a0Forbes Welcome<\/i>. [online] Available at: https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/2011\/05\/26\/dow-at-115-longest-tenured-stocks_slide\/#5ddd8a124e14 [Accessed 13 Nov. 2017].<\/p>\n

[2]Clarke, C. (2017).\u00a0GE announces development of ATLAS world\u2019s largest powder bed metal 3D printer<\/i>. [online] 3dprintingindustry.com. Available at: https:\/\/3dprintingindustry.com\/news\/ge-atlas-metal-3d-printer-announces-development-of-worlds-largest-powder-bed-3d-printing-116490\/ [Accessed 13 Nov. 2017].<\/p>\n

[3]DU Press. (2017).\u00a0The 3D opportunity primer<\/i>. [online] Available at: https:\/\/dupress.deloitte.com\/dup-us-en\/focus\/3d-opportunity\/the-3d-opportunity-primer-the-basics-of-additive-manufacturing.html [Accessed 13 Nov. 2017].<\/p>\n

[4]Mohammad Ehteshami – VP, Additive Integration, GE Additive, GE Company (General Electric Co.)\u00a02016, , Boardroom Insiders, Inc, San Francisco.<\/p>\n

[5]Kellner, T. (2017).\u00a0How GE Is Growing 3D Printing Operations in Germany – GE Reports<\/i>. [online] GE Reports. Available at: https:\/\/www.ge.com\/reports\/heirs-gutenberg-ge-adding-next-chapter-3d-printing-push-germany\/ [Accessed 13 Nov. 2017].<\/p>\n

[6]Jackson, B. (2017).\u00a0A closer look at GE\u2019s 3D printed ATP aircraft engine<\/i>. [online] 3dprintingindustry.com. Available at: https:\/\/3dprintingindustry.com\/news\/closer-look-ges-3d-printed-atp-aircraft-engine-119268\/ [Accessed 13 Nov. 2017].<\/p>\n

[7] \u201cMad Props: A 3D-Printed Airplane Engine Will Run This Year,\u201d General Electric press release (2017) (https:\/\/www.ge.com\/reports\/mad-props-3d-printed-airplane-engine-will-run-year\/)<\/p>\n

[8]Kellner, T. (2017).\u00a0How 3D Printing Will Change Manufacturing – GE Reports<\/i>. [online] GE Reports. Available at: https:\/\/www.ge.com\/reports\/epiphany-disruption-ge-additive-chief-explains-3d-printing-will-upend-manufacturing\/ [Accessed 13 Nov. 2017].<\/p>\n

[9]Additivemanufacturing.media. (2017).\u00a0GE Opens Additive Manufacturing Center in Pittsburgh<\/i>. [online] Available at: https:\/\/www.additivemanufacturing.media\/news\/-ge-opens-additive-manufacturing-center-in-pittsburgh [Accessed 13 Nov. 2017].<\/p>\n

[10]Wyman, O. (2017).\u00a03D Printing Is Already Starting To Threaten The Traditional Spare Parts Supply Chain<\/i>. [online] Oliverwyman.com. Available at: http:\/\/www.oliverwyman.com\/our-expertise\/insights\/2017\/aug\/3d-printing-is-already-starting-to-threaten-the-traditional-spare-parts-supply-chain.html [Accessed 13 Nov. 2017].<\/p>\n

[11]Geissbauer, Wunderlin, Lehr, (2017). The Future of spare parts is 3D: A look at the challenges and opportunities\u00a0of 3D printing. [<\/i>online] Available at: https:\/\/www.strategyand.pwc.com\/reports\/future-spare-parts-3d [Accessed 13 Nov. 2017].<\/p>\n

[12]Financial Times. (2017).\u00a0Lucrative aircraft maintenance market scrutinised<\/i>. [online] Available at: https:\/\/www.ft.com\/content\/a5c89a0a-719e-11e5-ad6d-f4ed76f0900a [Accessed 13 Nov. 2017].<\/p>\n

[12]Berman, B. 2012, “3-D printing: The new industrial revolution”,\u00a0Business horizons,\u00a0vol. 55, no. 2, pp. 155.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Additive manufacturing will transform the way industrial companies design, develop, and support their products. How is GE layering up its defenses to compete in this new world?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10149,"featured_media":21871,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","categories":[285,3346],"class_list":["post-21865","hck-submission","type-hck-submission","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-aerospace","category-spare-parts","hck-taxonomy-organization-general-electric","hck-taxonomy-industry-aerospace","hck-taxonomy-country-united-states"],"connected_submission_link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/assignment\/rc-tom-challenge-2017\/","yoast_head":"\nBuilding the Future at GE, One Layer at a Time - Technology and Operations Management<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/building-the-future-at-ge-one-layer-at-a-time\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Building the Future at GE, One Layer at a Time - Technology and Operations Management\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Additive manufacturing will transform the way industrial companies design, develop, and support their products. How is GE layering up its defenses to compete in this new world?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/building-the-future-at-ge-one-layer-at-a-time\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Technology and Operations Management\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2017\/11\/pr-cover-2.1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"683\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"329\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/building-the-future-at-ge-one-layer-at-a-time\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/building-the-future-at-ge-one-layer-at-a-time\\\/\",\"name\":\"Building the Future at GE, One Layer at a Time - Technology and Operations Management\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/building-the-future-at-ge-one-layer-at-a-time\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/building-the-future-at-ge-one-layer-at-a-time\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2017\\\/11\\\/pr-cover-2.1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-11-13T23:02:13+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/building-the-future-at-ge-one-layer-at-a-time\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/building-the-future-at-ge-one-layer-at-a-time\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/building-the-future-at-ge-one-layer-at-a-time\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2017\\\/11\\\/pr-cover-2.1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2017\\\/11\\\/pr-cover-2.1.jpg\",\"width\":683,\"height\":329},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/building-the-future-at-ge-one-layer-at-a-time\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Submissions\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Building the Future at GE, One Layer at a Time\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/\",\"name\":\"Technology and Operations Management\",\"description\":\"MBA Student Perspectives\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"性视界Action\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Building the Future at GE, One Layer at a Time - Technology and Operations Management","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/building-the-future-at-ge-one-layer-at-a-time\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Building the Future at GE, One Layer at a Time - Technology and Operations Management","og_description":"Additive manufacturing will transform the way industrial companies design, develop, and support their products. How is GE layering up its defenses to compete in this new world?","og_url":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/building-the-future-at-ge-one-layer-at-a-time\/","og_site_name":"Technology and Operations Management","og_image":[{"width":683,"height":329,"url":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2017\/11\/pr-cover-2.1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/building-the-future-at-ge-one-layer-at-a-time\/","url":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/building-the-future-at-ge-one-layer-at-a-time\/","name":"Building the Future at GE, One Layer at a Time - Technology and Operations Management","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/building-the-future-at-ge-one-layer-at-a-time\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/building-the-future-at-ge-one-layer-at-a-time\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2017\/11\/pr-cover-2.1.jpg","datePublished":"2017-11-13T23:02:13+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/building-the-future-at-ge-one-layer-at-a-time\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/building-the-future-at-ge-one-layer-at-a-time\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/building-the-future-at-ge-one-layer-at-a-time\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2017\/11\/pr-cover-2.1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2017\/11\/pr-cover-2.1.jpg","width":683,"height":329},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/building-the-future-at-ge-one-layer-at-a-time\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Submissions","item":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Building the Future at GE, One Layer at a Time"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/#website","url":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/","name":"Technology and Operations Management","description":"MBA Student Perspectives","potentialAction":[{"@type":"性视界Action","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hck-submission\/21865","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hck-submission"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/hck-submission"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10149"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21865"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hck-submission\/21865\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21871"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21865"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21865"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}