Massivit Pushes RapidWings Into U.S. Composite Tooling Workflows
Massivit is expanding beyond selling large-format additive machines and towards providing manufacturing services with its RapidWings platform for composite tooling designed specifically for aerospace and defense applications. For the U.S. audience, the key message is not the brand name; it is all about the throughput that the company tries to improve by incorporating its Cast-In-Motion digital tooling solution into its partner facilities.
What matters is that composite programs often are not defined by part design, but by the costs and time associated with creating molds and production tooling. As Massivit claims, RapidWings allows for reducing some of the workflow processes that would previously take about three months to be done in just several days. Also, the company notes that completed programs saw 40% to 70% tooling cost reduction compared with conventional tooling solutions, with some partners reporting up to 70% savings against metallic or machinable board tooling.
From the mechanical and manufacturing point of view, the logic is clear. Conventional composite tooling consumes machining capabilities, qualified labor force, and procurement chain for tool materials. Digital tooling based on dual-component thermoset deposition changes the equation significantly. This way, it does not only affect the prototype creation speed, but also the ability to react to engineering changes, produce replacement tools, or handle low-volume production runs.
RapidWings relies on Massivit’s Cast-In-Motion (CIM) technology. As described by the company, it is the technology which enables the company’s reduced cycle times and RapidWings is a package of this capability in a form of a turnkey platform, instead of the standalone machine sale. This is a quite significant change in industrial strategy. CEO of Massivit Yossi Azarzar noted that RapidWings represents a strategic milestone for the company as Massivit is shifting from being a provider of industrial 3D printers to manufacturing platform aiming at eliminating bottlenecks and helping manufacturers scale up.
Instead of constructing greenfield facilities, Massivit is planning to expand via Regional Joint Manufacturing Alliances, or JMAs, where it will integrate its CIM-based digital tooling into existing Tier 2 composites manufacturing facilities. The model allows to increase output without capital expenditures, according to the company. Equally important for suppliers is the fact that the existing facilities and customers will stay under the control of partner manufacturers, with added capability for taking more orders.
From the perspective of the U.S. audience, the partner-facility model is what really matters. Aerospace and defense supply chains normally don’t get resiliency from the single central production node. They get it from the distributed capacity, local control, and shorter logistics between design, tooling, layup, and the production of parts. Massivit says it is building RapidWings as a global network of on-demand manufacturing facilities and is currently accepting applications from qualified composite manufacturers in the U.S. and Europe.
First JMA, implemented in partnership with Israel-based Comparts Ltd., is already operational. According to the company, it supports the ongoing defense engagements of leading OEMs. While the launch of the solution was framed to some degree by the defense demand, the overall manufacturing implications are equally applicable to all aerospace composite work. If tooling can be created faster and cheaper via qualified regional suppliers, primes will be able to eliminate bottlenecks and outsourcing friction without building new factories.
Massivit claims that it has seen an increased demand during the last year from buyers in Europe, the U.S., Southeast Asia, and India. The company also says that unstable supply chains and outsourcing restrictions contributed to the production backlog. It is a familiar diagnosis for any composites facility struggling with the lengthy process of tooling, constrained machining capability, and the risks of schedule delays due to the mold or tool creation delays.
There is still the important difference between a prospective production model and an industrial network proven to operate effectively. The company’s performance claims are its own. The challenge of scaling up from a single operational alliance to a broad multinational industrial network in itself. The qualification process, repeatability across the different locations, and integration into customer production system will define if RapidWings becomes a niche fast-turn solution or part of composite manufacturing infrastructure.
Even so, the technological basis of this solution is strong enough to watch for it. In the case of composite manufacturing, the bottleneck is often not the part, but the tool. Platform which is capable to shorten the tooling process from months to days and uses existing manufacturing capability of qualified Tier 2 facilities, instead of requiring new brick-and-mortar investments, attacks one of the most persistent constraints in aerospace production. If Massivit will be able to deploy this model in the U.S., the benefits will be real. It will be faster tooling turns, non-recurring cost reduction, and more responsive manufacturing base.
By Edward Collins — Senior editor for AMI’s performance systems and mechanical design coverage, focusing on powertrain, drivetrain systems, manufacturing precision, materials and high-performance engineering.
