An engineer reports back from their latest trade show visit with a bright idea about how a 3D printing system is going to completely redesign a component that weighs a tonne and costs a couple of limbs too. Their company’s procurement team hit back immediately: “How much floor space does it take up? How many people do you need to operate it? What’s the depreciation? The service costs? The materials costs?”

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Much to the engineer’s dismay, all of these factors will be used to amortise the cost of the machine into the projected cost per part, before they get the nod to order the machine. “In most cases, the equipment is bought and depreciated over a period of time,” Jabil’s VP of Digital Manufacturing John Dulchinos explains. “While the depreciation schedule is supposed to approximate the economic life of the equipment, it tends to underestimate. You depreciate it over […]

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