CNH Industrial claims to have taken a significant step in the implementation of additive manufacturing technology by producing its first 3D-printed spare parts.

Additive manufacturing is the process by which components are created from a digital file to build layers of material under computer control.

Once printed, each part undergoes stringent testing to ensure it meets CNH Industrial’s requirements and specifications.

Benefits

One of the main benefits of 3D printing is that it enables the local, on-demand manufacturing of spare parts. This is advantageous when only a small quantity of parts are required to satisfy specific urgent orders.

The company claims that this provides customers with rapid availability and support throughout the machine’s life cycle.

It also leads to smarter overall management of stock and increased availability. Each product can be printed within 24 to 36 hours with the optimal amount of resources.

The first components created by this new process include parts for use on agricultural equipment.

All parts are manufactured in plastic and the CNH is conducting further tests, which will enable the future production of metal components using this technology.