The Evolution for Commons
Samyoung Machinery
Is there any way we can retain the foundry process in Korea?
Dr. Han, the president and research director of Samyoung Machinery opened up the ‘Smart Rookies of Neo Manufacturing’ talk with this question, sitting in Shina Casting factory, which is one of the oldest casting factories of Euljiro. Samyoung Machinery started from a factory that produces engine parts for ships and trains and recently developed their own sand 3D printing technology to digitize the casting process. Now, Samyoung Machinery is leading the digitization in the foundry industry with their robust and price-competitive solution that is being applied to various fields such as construction, sculpture, game, media, arts, and even cosmetics. Seeing the innovative transformation of Samyoung Machinery, one cannot but wonder the motivation and rationale behind such transformation. What can we learn from Samyoung Machinery’s innovation, and how will it be applicable in the time of radical changes in societies and industries going through the pandemic?
The scene of the talk (Photo: Taxu Lee)When asked about the challenges the company is facing, Dr. Han responded that there are new challenges everyday. However, the biggest challenge has been to stay competitive in the global market, to secure the sustainability of the business over the next decades to come, while also to ensure security of their key technology from global competitors. Rather than outsourcing the casting process to places in other Asian countries to reduce the production cost, Samyoung Machinery decided to invest in a more long term future. They decided to develop their own 3D printing technology using sand to not only replicate and prepare for the retirement of crafted casting technicians, but also for the company to gain competitiveness. Dr. Han explained that their key technology lies in the precision in the casting process, and that therefore, outsourcing their processes in other countries would have meant that they are exposing it to their competitors.
Samyoung Machinery’s Sand 3D printing technology (image credit: Samyoung Machinery presentation)The main innovation in the digitization of the processes using sand 3D printing technologies is threefold: the products were cheaper, faster, and more precise. As the casting products did not require wooden molds, it was possible to shorten the prototyping time, which leads to shorter development time in the fast-paced industry. By applying integrated core printing molds, they were able to produce also small batches of products and reduce the production time regardless of the size of the batch. The end products were also proven to be more precise and cheaper. The company is now focusing on experimenting with clients from various fields, to generate a design process that allows for more freedom in the innovation such that high added value products can be produced with their new technology.
The journey of Samyoung machinery is inspiring in light of the COVID19 pandemic as this is the time where almost every industry has turned to low growth. Dr. Han proclaims that integrating the manufacturing process with more high value added processes such as design, marketing, branding or R&D is integral for manufacturing to remain competitive. He adds that securing flexibility is the starting point in doing so. The motivation behind developing their own technology and actively disclosing their solutions in the manufacturing community lies in the desire to elevate the root industries collectively as they are integral to secure sustainability of any type of industry in the future. Especially with the pandemic, Dr. Han realized that despite the relatively small market size of Korea, building a solid local client base and growing with the local industry is an important risk management strategy.
The 'Smart Rookies of Neo Manufacturing' talk show series is cohosted by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation and the Beta City Center of the University of Seoul as part of the Sewoon Global Forum 2020. The talk with Samyoung Machinery was the very first of the series and the next talk is scheduled on August 5th at 7pm, featuring The Hive, a company that developed a USB rechargeable electric screwdriver pioneering the market. The talk was streamed live on Youtube and the recording is available at: https://youtu.be/_c1S5s6UDfk
More information can be found on the Sewoon Global Forum 2020 website: https://forum.betacity.center.
