3D Printing at Techbuyer

Over the past several years, the Repairs Team at Techbuyer has made remarkable progress in integrating CAD (computer aided design) project development and 3D printing into the department’s workflow. This has fundamentally changed how we approach equipment repairs and helped extend the lifespan of critical IT components.

3D Printing at Techbuyer

Starting as a simple experiment from our repairs team, a single 3D printer has since grown into an entire farm running near non-stop, serving a range of purposes and becoming its own subsection within Techbuyer – our Additive Manufacturing Section (AMS). AMS now has its own internal logistics, stocks, documentation, processes, and workflows, required to ensure efficiency and quality of the remanufactured products. 

Our 3D printers operate more than 20 hours a day, producing custom parts, tools and protective components, all going from idea to fabrication completely in-house. This shift has drastically improved our repair processes and capabilities by reducing lead times, lowering repair costs, and increasing our ability to quickly respond to issues. 

 

“Our manufacturing capabilities include FDM 3D printing for higher volumes, MSLA 3D printing for high precision and accuracy and 3D scanning for capturing a physical objects geometry in software. Our design capabilities include engineering, CAD design, project development, reverse-engineering and rapid prototyping. All this enables us to provide custom solutions for very specific needs. The AMS and our Team can take care of all the stages – starting with the problem statement, all the way to the finished physical product.” 

Eugene Malega, Repairs Team & AMS Team Leader 

The Benefits of 3D Printing  

3D printing provides a lot of different opportunities, but one of the major ones is the ability to create replacement parts for components that are difficult or impossible to source externally. For example, we can make our own bespoke items such as CPU socket shields, connector covers, and internal protective elements. These all help to protect delicate parts of equipment during handling, shipping and assembly. These components help to prevent damage and decrease the number of returns received.  

It’s not just protective elements we manufacture; CAD design and 3D printing can also improve the durability of existing equipment. In certain hardware, we see common faults and reliability issues that can be attributed to specific parts. By analysing these parts, our team can design and manufacture improved versions with enhanced stress resistance, customised features and added functionality. 

These benefits alone allow us to work much more efficiently and save an incredible amount of equipment from reaching end of life, but there is another major benefit we haven’t covered: the cost.  

An in-house fabricated part tends to be significantly more cost efficient than an OEM alternative, as well as being completely localised, further driving costs down by removing expense from sourcing, ordering and transporting. For the customer, this means parts that are more durable and reliable while costing significantly less than an original part would. 

In addition to hardware repairs and parts replacements, the AMS team can develop custom tools, storage solutions and fixtures that assist with any number of tasks. Taking a short walk through our warehouse will quickly reveal just how many applications our team have found. Solutions include spacers, storage boxes, tool holders and even fans! There is no department within Techbuyer that hasn’t benefitted from AMS at some point. We are even creating a parts library that will allow members of other departments to request any of our 3D printed components and the AMS team can have them manufactured at high capacity on demand.  

The Future of 3D Printing at Techbuyer

The AMS team’s ongoing efforts are focused heavily on expanding the range of 3D-printable parts tailored specifically to Techbuyer’s needs. AMS has undergone a huge reconfiguration recently as the 3D printing farm got modernised. Several latest generation printers have replaced a few older machines, providing greater reliability, speed and results. The new printers also provide the opportunity to experiment with new materials. The option of numerous materials is a particularly exciting one, as it opens the door to further improving our sustainable practices. Additionally, we can experiment with more durable materials that allow us to further expand our offerings, providing the opportunity to make parts with higher thermal and mechanical resistance. 

Another focus for the AMS team is to minimise post-processing. This refers to the time it takes between a physical part being printed and it being ready for use. Our goal is to have the vast majority of fabricated designs to be ready for use straight from the printer bed. This requires our team to continue developing their knowledge on CAD design criteria implementation, specifically for FDM 3D printing. This process differs significantly from more commonly used industry methods, such as injection moulding. 

Our AMS team continues to be a Swiss-army-knife for Techbuyer, solving issues that otherwise wouldn’t have been possible, lowering costs and improving durability. You can learn more about our 3D printing practices here.