Edits to designs can be made at very low costs by editing individual files without wastage of out of date inventory and investing in tools. The main 3D printing material used is plastic, although some metals can also be used for 3D printing. However, plastics offer advantages as they are lighter than their metal equivalents.
This is particularly important in industries such as automotive and aerospace where light-weighting is an issue and can deliver greater fuel efficiency.
Also, parts can be created from tailored materials to provide specific properties such as heat resistance, higher strength or water repellency. It is not only the manufacture of the part that can offer time savings through 3D printing but also the design process can be very quick by creating STL or CAD files ready to be printed. The production of parts only requires the materials needed for the part itself, with little or no wastage as compared to alternative methods which are cut from large chunks of non-recyclable materials.
Not only does the process save on resources but it also reduces the cost of the materials being used. As a single step manufacturing process, 3D printing saves time and therefore costs associated with using different machines for manufacture.
As mentioned above, this manufacturing process can also reduce costs on materials as it only uses the amount of material required for the part itself, with little or no wastage. While 3D printing equipment can be expensive to buy, you can even avoid this cost by outsourcing your project to a 3D printing service company. As this technology reduces the amount of material wastage used this process is inherently environmentally friendly.
However, the environmental benefits are extended when you consider factors such as improved fuel efficiency from using lightweight 3D printed parts. Further advances and uses are being developed in the healthcare sector providing some of the biggest advances from using the technology.
Like with almost any other process there are also drawbacks of 3D printing technology which should be considered before opting to use this process. While 3D Printing can create items in a selection of plastics and metals the available selection of raw materials is not exhaustive. This is due to the fact that not all metals or plastics can be temperature controlled enough to allow 3D printing. In addition, many of these printable materials cannot be recycled and very few are food safe.
Anything bigger will need to be printed in separate parts and joined together after production. This can increase costs and time for larger parts due to the printer needing to print more parts before manual labour is used to join the parts together.
Although large parts require post-processing, as mentioned above, most 3D printed parts need some form of cleaning up to remove support material from the build and to smooth the surface to achieve the required finish. Those tiny layers stick together to form a solid object.
Each layer can be very complex, meaning 3D printers can create moving parts like hinges and wheels as part of the same object. You could print a whole bike - handlebars, saddle, frame, wheels, brakes, pedals and chain - ready assembled, without using any tools. That world, where you can make almost anything at home, is very different from the one we live in today. That means furniture made to fit your home, shoes made to fit your feet, door handles made to fit your hand, meals printed to your tastes at the touch of a button.
Even medicines, bones, organs and skin made to treat your injuries. After all, the notion of doing your supermarket shopping on an iPad was like something out of Star Trek 20 years ago. What Is 3D Printing? Key Takeaways Three-dimensional 3D printing is an additive manufacturing process in which a physical object is created from a digital design by printing thin layers of material and then fusing them together.
Some industries, such as hearing aids manufacturers, airline manufacturers, and car manufacturers, use 3D printing to create prototypes and mass produce their products using custom scans.
While it is currently too slow to be used in mass production, 3D printing technology is still evolving and has the potential to massively disrupt both the manufacturing logistics and inventory management industries. Article Sources. Investopedia requires writers to use primary sources to support their work. These include white papers, government data, original reporting, and interviews with industry experts.
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Related Terms What Is Manufacturing? Manufacturing is the process of turning raw materials or parts into finished goods using tools, human labor, machinery, and chemical processing.
What Does Weightless Economy Mean? The term weightless economy refers to the trade of products and services that are abstract or intangible, such as professional services. Disruptive Innovation Definition Disruptive innovation describes innovations that make products and services more accessible, affordable, and available to a larger population.
But they are limited by the kinds of materials they can use for "ink" and by their size. For very large objects, say a house , you would need to print individual pieces - or use a very large 3D printer. But most printers will designed to use only one type of material. Some interesting examples of 3D-printed objects include, but are not limited to: -.
Different CAD software will use a variety of file formats but some of the most common are:. As we have already touched upon above, 3D printing can have various advantages over more traditional manufacturing processes like injection molding or CNC milling. This means that in some instances, 3D printing can be more resource-efficient than CNC. Another example of traditional manufacturing processes, injection molding, is great for making lots of objects in large volumes.
While it can be used for creating prototypes, injection molding is best suited for large scale mass production of approved product design. However, 3D printing is better suited for small-scale, limited production runs or prototyping. Depending on the use, there are some other advantages of 3D printing over other production processes.
These include, but are not limited to:. By subscribing, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You may unsubscribe at any time. By Christopher McFadden.
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