Modern Machine Shop and MoldMaking Technology present ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING, a quarterly supplement reporting on the use of additive processes to manufacture functional parts. More at additivemanufacturinginsight.com.
Issue link: https://am.epubxp.com/i/364508
8— AM Supplement F E A T U R E dollars. Because these reps work in a sales capac- ity, he says they initially expected to be graded this way—to such a degree that it took him over a year to get them to stop evaluating themselves on the money they bring in. Looking for dollars is counter- productive, he says, because narrowly aiming to fll whatever machine capacity the shop happens to have open for sale creates an adversarial rela- tionship. It forces his business development rep into the role of pest or bully, someone only trying to press a short-term interest. To prevent this, Mr. Baklund scores his reps' success on how many live contacts they make with prospects. That's it. The contact does not have to go anywhere for it to be counted a success. This is because the rep cannot control whether any particular contact happens to generate business. What he can con- trol is whether Baklund R&D; makes and maintains a positive impression. Therefore, the impression is the goal. The reps reach out to new contacts only to learn about the contacts' business, and only to ask whether Baklund R&D; can be of help. That's all. Because a certain percentage of positive re- lationships will sooner or later turn into business, the theory is that building enough positive rela- tionships will provide a way for the shop to obtain the business it seeks without having to scrape for work, and without having to infict encounters onto people that they do not welcome. Bleck says additive manufacturing is tremen- dously effective at advancing these relationships, because having this capability in a machine shop is still so distinctive. He goes on prospecting calls with 3D-printed sample parts in hand. Prospects who later do not remember his name or his com- pany's name will nevertheless recall him when he reminds them that he is "the 3D printing guy." It's often the case that the contact had kept the 3D- printed part on his desk since the day of receiving it. In fact, the 3D-printed part sometimes gets through when nothing else will. Business cards or brochures left for a busy contact are often ig- nored, says Mr. Bleck, but the sample part gets a different reception. He can tell the contact's recep- tionist, "I just wanted to leave this part for him that was made through 3D printing." This is generally met with interest, and the part is passed along. Medical device companies in particular often note that the shop has this capability. Minnesota has many such companies, and it is not uncom- mon for one of them to call Baklund R&D; out of the blue a year or more after Mr. Bleck or another rep frst made contact. When such a company calls, it is because of an urgent need, and Baklund R&D; tries to be ready. By running the 3D printer through the night, often it can produce a short run of functional parts for delivery to the customer the next day. In one case, a medical device company called after 5:00 p.m. need- ing parts by 8:00 a.m. the next day. Demands such as this can't always be satisfed, says Mr. Baklund—the quality of the available CAD model is a factor—but in this case his shop was able to deliver those parts by the early deadline. He says that when the company satisfes a new customer's short-run needs through 3D printing in this way, the success leads to CNC machining work 90 percent of the time. It even leads to work outside of CNC machin- ing and outside of the shop's capabilities. Again, Mr. Baklund asks his business development reps not to scrounge for machining work—not to be that self-interested or narrowly focused—but instead to reach out to fnd companies involved in manufacturing that are interested in building a relationship. As a result, on various occa- sions, Baklund R&D; has outsourced molding, high-volume machining, welding and additive manufacturing for metal parts—all operations the shop is not equipped to do on its own. It has done this because sometimes it is the relation- ship alone that accounts for the business, not the shop's capabilities. That is, customers sometimes appreciate the relationship with Baklund R&D; to such an extent, and trust in this company's care and knowledge far enough, that they are willing to pay a small markup to allow the shop to over- see the needed manufacturing no matter what the manufacturing process happens to be. Lead- ing with 3D printing thus opens doors for Baklund R&D;, including some doors that challenge the shop to reimagine the role it can play.