Digital Transformation Project – 3D printing technology

13

October

2016

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CabinetCo*, a children’s design furniture company, struggles with the problem of high lead time and production costs. The bottleneck in the production process are the window frames of the cabinets. Due to the labour-intensive nature of these window frames, the supplier repeatedly exceeds the agreed delivery time. To solve this problem CabinetCo considers a 3D-printing solution that has recently been proposed by a 3D printing company. We consult CabinetCo by investigating the possibilities of 3D printing. Two alternatives are considered:

The first one is 3D printing a high injection mould for the window frames. By injecting these steel moulds with plastic material, window frames can be produced quickly. In order to create window frames that are similar to the current wooden window frames  wood-plastic-composite material can be used to mimic the natural material wood.

The second alternative is to print the window frames with an 3D printer. “The downside of 3D printing is that it is limited to a narrow range of plastic, ceramic, biological and metal materials compared to traditional manufacturing processes” (Basiliere, 2016). Therefore we evaluated this solution for two kinds of materials: plastic and wood filament. Wood filament is a mix of plastic and wood fibres that tries to imitate the natural material wood.

Our findings suggest that CabinetCo should not consider 3D printing of the window frames, as this technique will not reduce costs or lead time. The better alternative is the development of a high injection mould, after which the window frames will be constructed of wood-plastic-composites. This will reduce the yearly production costs. Also, it will reduce the lead time with 3 weeks. However, this solution contains a high risk of damaging the authentic image of CabinetCo because the cabinets will be not made out of 100% handmade wood anymore. Therefore, an investment in 3D printing is not recommended. Laser cutting and water jetting are raised as alternative possibilities that require further research.

*Note: Due to a confidence agreement we replaced the company’s name by a fictive name

Source:

Basiliere, P. (2016) What 3D Printing Means for Your Supply Chain [Online] http://blogs.gartner.com/pete-basiliere/2016/04/12/what-3d-printing-means-for-your-supply-chain/

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Can Signal disrupt Whatsapp?

2

October

2016

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A few weeks ago I heard a friend of mine: “I am now using Signal instead of Whatsapp, because Signal is more secure.” Then I thought by myself is it really that bad to still use Whatsapp?

When you look at the properties of Whatsapp and Signal they are pretty much the same. The only thing that differs is the fact that Signal is an open source platform. Herewith, they want to guarantee security by enabling anyone to audit the code.

Signal makes it seem like they are the only platform that really protects messages from users by using end-to-end encryption. This means that you and other participants of the conversation are the only ones who can see the messages. But Whatsapp also uses end-to-end encryption. So why should Signal be safer to use than Whatsapp?

I don’t know why. One thing I do know is that Whatsapp still has a lot more users than Signal. Therefore, Whatsapp has a larger network effect compared to Signal; the value of Whatsapp is much higher because they have more users. That’s also why I am still using Whatsapp because all my friends are using it. When I decide to switch to Signal it takes a while for I can take advantage of that again. Furthermore, I am used to work with Whatsapp. Switching costs are high; because when I switch to Signal I have to learn how to work with it (although it will probably work almost the same).

Another communication app, Telegram, also tried to disrupt the market but they not really succeed. They could not compete against big competitor Whatsapp. Now I am wondering if Signal will be a failure too or can it push Whatsapp out of the market? If yes, how long will it take? What do you think?

Sources:

https://itunes.apple.com/nl/app/signal-private-messenger/id874139669?mt=8

https://androidworld.nl/apps/signal-private-messenger-snowden/

http://www.nu.nl/apps/4207675/whatsapp-heeft-1-miljard-gebruikers.html

http://www.pcmweb.nl/nieuws/privacy-vriendelijk-whatsapp-alternatief-heml-stopt-ermee.html

https://theintercept.com/2016/06/22/battle-of-the-secure-messaging-apps-how-signal-beats-whatsapp/

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Optimization of bicycle traffic lights

25

September

2016

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After the introduction of bicycle traffic lights with rain sensors, the Rotterdam city council now came up with smart bicycle traffic lights. These smart bicycle traffic lights measure the number of people waiting based on body heat. If there are many people waiting, the light goes earlier and more frequently to green. The goal they want to achieve with these smart bicycle traffic lights is encourage people to take the bicycle instead of the car. With the optimized bicycle traffic light they want to improve the cycling journey.

Due to the smart traffic lights car drivers have to wait a little longer, but not that much longer. Where cyclists have to wait up to two minutes now, this waiting time will be about thirty to fifty per cent less with the new smart traffic lights. So the longest cyclists will have to wait for a green light is about a little more than a minute.

In my opinion the new traffic lights are a real improvement to my cycling journey. It saves me a couple of minutes every trip I make. Also when it is raining, I will be happier when I am faster at home. Besides that, this innovation is really good for the environment, because if more people are convinced to go by bike instead of a car, there will be fewer emissions. Furthermore, cycling makes people fitter. The government and insurance companies will be more satisfied with a healthier population.

Now there is only one smart bicycle traffic light in Rotterdam as a trial. The trial of the bicycle traffic lights with rain sensors did not really succeed. For now, it remained to the trial period. They did not spread the innovation across the city. Do you think they will spread smart bicycle traffic lights across Rotterdam or even across the Netherlands?

Sources:

http://motherboard.vice.com/nl/read/rotterdam-heeft-nu-een-verkeerslicht-met-een-regensensor

http://nieuws.nl/populair/20160923/slim-fietsstoplicht-rotterdam-meet-aantal-wachtenden/

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Technology of the Week – New age news

22

September

2016

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One of the most interesting developments in the field of information goods takes place in the news industry. With the introduction of the internet, free online news, social media, online newspapers and new business models, the news industry has dramatically changed. The number of payed printable copies has decreased from 4.5 million to 2.6 million subscribers in 20 years in the Netherlands alone. The research organization Future Exploration Network predicts that as soon as 2027, business models of newspaper publishers as we know them now, will be extinct.

In this blog we will discuss how the traditional newspaper NRC and the new digital initiative Blendle operate in the revolutionized news industry.

Blendle is an internet platform that allows its users to buy online articles from multiple magazines and newspapers. The main idea is that you no longer pay for a newspaper or magazine as a whole, but only for the articles that you actually want to read. On average, an article costs €0,20 of which 70% goes to the publisher.

NRC Handelsblad offers its members the choice between a digital format of the newspaper for €25,50 a month, and the combination of a digital and a paper format for €39 a month.

Both business models possess their own strengths and weaknesses. From a customer perspective, the strengths depend on customers preferences; if customers don’t read  a lot of articles and are interested in specific topics they prefer the non-committal option to pay per article and use Blendle. If, however, the customer reads a lot, about many different topics, they would want to have a subscription to NRC.

From a business perspective, Blendle and NRC are almost each other’s opposites. First of all, Blendle doesn’t have to pay a lot of employees because they get their content from other publishers, like NRC, who does have a full staff. This also implies the second strength and respective weakness: NRC is not dependent on third parties, whereas Blendle couldn’t exist without them. Third, because of the payment system, NRC has secure future cash flows because of the fixed subscriptions and Blendle has highly fluctuating cash flows. Fourth, NRC can gain extra revenue from newspaper advertisements but since Blendle offers an advert free experience, they can not. Lastly, Blendle can easily reproduce and distribute articles since they don’t have printing and delivery costs. One thing they do have in common is the fact that they can serve a big customer segment, even though they do this is different ways. Where Blendle offers a great variety of articles from different sources, NRC can serve the elderly who do not possess the technical skills or willingness to read online.

Between Blendle and NRC, you see a real trade-off. There are things Blendle does better than NRC, but also the other way around. Is there one best solution? After all, the one initiative needs the other to survive.

Link to movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2x5b-kFfE9Y

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