A Revolution in Mass Customization

There has been a dramatic shift in society and the economy since the development of machine and power tools in the 1760s and large-scale industrial manufacturing.The United States was the world’s industrial powerhouse throughout the first 70 years of this century. In the 1960s, the phrase “Made in Japan” was seen as a joking reference. Those same terms had established themselves as the de facto industrial lingo by the year 1980. Manufacturing in the United States was in a serious slump in 1985. Poor quality, uninnovative products were offered at a price that was prohibitively high.

Again, the United States leads the world in manufacturing (World Competitiveness Report, 1996).

The industrial revolution that began in the United States in 1985 is largely responsible for the country’s top ranking. America’s indomitable spirit of invention has served as the foundation for this peaceful revolution. The United States of America was built on a foundation of innovation. Manufacturers in the United States are among the most creative in the world. Any business may be built on a solid foundation of technology and skilled employees. Mass customisation, the capacity to create things in amounts as small as one while generating them at mass-production rates, is being enabled by these new technologies, and it is poised to become a significant new phenomenon. The Industrial Age paradigm of mass manufacturing is being replaced by one based on mass customization in the Information Age.

The end result will be a system that allows for simultaneous production. Here, the product is already in production as the buyer places their order. It may seem like science fiction, but a consumer will soon be able to go into a retailer’s fitting room, have their measurements entered into a computer, pick the design and kind of material they want for their apparel, and their order will be in production before they ever leave the store. Now that’s a consumer who is actually in control!

Lasers have been the subject of a number of publications in recent years. Each author includes just those applications that are relevant to their particular field of knowledge. What EdgeWISE Tools hopes to accomplish with this essay is to arouse your interest in the myriad of items that may be made using a laser. Allow yourself to get carried away by your own sense of fantasy. Don’t be afraid of the unfamiliar. Those who are able to perceive the future have the best chance of making their aspirations come true. “Carpe Diem” is Latin for “seize the day.”

Thermal contact cutting tools for roll-feed plotters were invented in 1985. The “Hot Tip” was the industry’s first large-format cutting system. Most plotter manufacturers developed their foundations on this method. The cutting hardware has evolved over time, and great progress has been made. Progress has been made to get us to where we are now in technology.

Touch cutting tools are still widely used in many older production processes since that is where the tool is designed to cut when it comes into contact with the surface being worked on. In order to maintain quality, cutting tools must be re-sharpened or replaced on a regular basis. A new revenue stream has opened up for manufacturers thanks to this outmoded technology, which allows them to sell a single or several disposable tools. A more cost-effective alternative to contact manufacturing has recently emerged, allowing it to be phased out.

It’s time to get rid of contact cutting equipment and replace it with non-contact cutting tools. Laser technology for mass customisation is the natural next step. Roll Feed Laser’s progress has been hampered by the expensive expense of laser technology in the past (RFL). In terms of technical advancement, a day is equal to a year. In recent years, however, the cost of laser technology has fallen to the point that it is now a viable production method.

In 1988, work on the first Roll Feed Laser system started (RFL). It was not merely a new product that came out of this study. It led to the creation of brand-new manufacturing theories and practices. Lasers are making mass personalization a reality. EdgeWISE Tools refers to this as the “laser manufacturing revolution” because of the convergence of these two developments. Laser manufacturing is about to undergo a transformation that no one could have predicted. A vast number of untapped markets and sectors are still waiting to be uncovered.

When it comes to the shifting tendencies of time, there will always be some who lack foresight and insight. Large-format computerized cutting systems were ridiculed by the industry in 1986 when they were first introduced. At that time, there was a lot of opposition to change. More than seven years ago, the majority of plotter manufacturers scoffed at the concept of a low-wattage roll-feed laser system and did not see the possibilities for its production. Take a look at the news right now. A wide range of applications for low-wattage CO2, Nd: YAG, and diode laser systems have emerged since 1990. The CO2 laser industry has grown at a 60 percent annual rate over the last five years.The advantages of employing a CO2 laser over more conventional production equipment are increasingly being recognized. Low-wattage RFL systems are taking the place of high-priced equipment, including dies, routers, hot knives, and mechanical engravers. Inkjet printers are losing ground to low-wattage lasers used for marking, which are becoming more popular.

What other company allows you to purchase a piece of equipment that can be used to create such a wide range of goods? There are a variety of materials that may be used to make products, including plastic, wood, cloth, rubber, and metal. Almost any design can be cut with this laser since the kerf is so thin and the laser is computer-controlled. Creating one design is just as simple as creating a million of them. When compared to other production equipment, an offset printing machine might cost anywhere from $50,000 to $500,000. Only one kind of material may be printed with this particular piece of equipment. Anyone working in the manufacturing industry—whether they’re screen printers, sign makers, engravers, or anything else—will buy a particular piece of manufacturing equipment to do a certain job. It’s possible that a machinist is the only one who’ll spend money on equipment that can be used to deal with a limited number of various types of materials at once. The limited kinds of patterns that a machinist can shape demonstrate their limits. Machinists’ tools, however, are not capable of working with the wide range of materials and patterns that a Roll-Feed Laser can produce.

In most cases, it’s tough for a startup or a developing company to get necessary capital equipment. One of the most challenging aspects of starting or expanding a business is coming up with enough money to invest in the company’s future. One of the most difficult things to explain to a new business or an existing business looking to reinvest is the need for new capital. When a multipurpose alternative is available, a single-purpose piece of capital equipment is not cost-effective. 

To develop a unique product, the capital investment is so large that these funds are quickly becoming insufficient. The use of a laser in manufacturing is a cutting-edge method that has emerged recently. The failure to follow this procedure might lose the company owner’s market share and, eventually, his whole market. This has probably occurred to someone we know at some point. Any excellent organization may meet its doom due to a lack of willingness to adapt. EdgeWISE Tools does not know of any other procedure that can generate the range of goods and free up design creativity as much as the RFL does. Only with a single piece of equipment can you work with paper, plastic, wood, and pretty much anything else in between. There is now just one difficulty remaining for the owner or operator to solve: how to make the product.

Using a laser, spoiling may be greatly decreased since it does not come into contact with or utilize force on the material being created. A company’s output will rise thanks to the use of lasers. Polls reveal that 95 percent to 99 percent of the time, In the late 1980s, when I operated a printing company, the best days yielded between 80% and 85%, while the average yield was between 75% and 80%. The greater yield rates may be attributed to the reduced material interaction. Because of this, automated laser processes tend to be more reproducible than other approaches. Once the process has begun, it remains immutable from day to day.

If you think of the industrial revolution, try to envision it with mass customization included. The jeans business is an excellent illustration of mass-customization in action. Tailor-made jeans are often only available to the well-off. The majority of people may only purchase jeans in sizes that are based on manufacturing costs, not on their actual body types. Manufacturers must once again supply the American people with a high-quality product now that mass customization technology is accessible. Mass-customized items are becoming more available to customers thanks to the roll-feed laser and denim industries.

By mass-producing goods, the industrial revolution made them more inexpensive. A single setup was all that was needed to crank out thousands of them for mass consumption. One of the most significant costs in determining the break-even threshold is the cost of tooling. Customization was sacrificed to keep production costs low throughout the Industrial Revolution. There’s a better way now, with more processing power, more user-friendly software, lower laser wattage, and little to no setup time. Consider roll-feed laser technology’s end-product quality, cost-effectiveness, and efficiency while making capital expenditures.