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Every worthwhile achievement, big or small, begins with an idea. When Parker Hannifin tooling engineer Dave Howe was asked by his manager what would help the company move forward, Howe’s reply was “additive manufacturing” (AM). What he probably didn’t realize at the time was that his vision for how AM technology might help would change how they do business, and they’d never look back.
Parker Hannifin is a name synonymous with motion control, and its Aerospace Group’s flight control components are renowned internationally. A high percentage of commercial or private aircraft that take flight every day has an actuator or control device with the Parker name on it. Dave Howe is part of the Parker Hannifin additive manufacturing team at the company’s Ogden, Utah, Commercial Flight Controls division. It’s here that Howe and the rest of the AM team have transformed 3D printing from a calculated risk to business as usual.
The journey started with the idea that additive manufacturing might help with the company’s tooling needs. With the assistance of PADT, an advanced 3D printing product development and services provider, Howe and Dan Zumbo, Parker’s additive manufacturing manager, started small with a loaner 3D printer.
The pair quickly saw the value in the technology, using it to make caps and protective covers for the numerous types of control devices the company produced. Others within the organization were noticing the value, too,
which created an increasing demand for 3D printing services. “As we were printing things and showing engineers throughout the facility what could be possible with additive, the 3D printed projects started coming out of the woodwork,” says Howe.
The time came to return the loaner printer to PADT, but the Parker team knew additive technology was an investment that would pay long-term dividends. The question was how to justify the purchase of a new
3D printer. The Parker team approached this by substantiating the printer’s cost on the savings it would generate.
“You have to show your justification in dollars, so we did that. We kept track of what we were printing and did a simple comparison to a conventionally machined part,” says Zumbo. “When we made our first printer purchase, it didn’t take long to be able to pay for it because the savings are great when you compare a printed part to something that you’d have to design and machine out of metal,” he adds.