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Can 3D Printing be Used for Mass Production

3D printing is changing how we think about mass production and how quickly products can be brought to market. It’s an exciting technology with endless possibilities! 3D printing is currently used in various industries, including medical, automotive, aerospace, and defence. 

3D printing has been around for decades, but it’s only recently become popular with consumers. The technology is still in its nascent stages in terms of being available to the mass market, but the rate at which this is happening seems to be speeding up!

Additive manufacturing or 3D printing works by using data from a 3D file and transforming this into a physical object by depositing material layer by layer.  It’s an expanding method of industrial production that enables the creation of lighter, more vital parts & systems that drastically cut product lead times.

Many kinds of 3D printers are available today; most commonly, these technologies are FDM (Fused Deposition Modelling), SLA (Stereolithography) and SLS (Selective Laser Sintering).

Additive manufacturing (AM) is already shaking up the balance of manufacturing, particularly in supply chains that typically take weeks or months to produce a product. A prime example? The aerospace industry-NASA uses AM to manufacture tools and parts on-demand instead of the slow and wasteful process of creating a large batch of a single product.

Benefits of 3D Printing

The first significant benefit of 3D printing is creating products quicker than making them traditionally. You also save money on production costs because you don’t have to buy as much raw material, which means that your products are less expensive. 

Another significant advantage is that you can customise your products before they’re even made. This means that you can add on individual components later on rather than buying a whole new product.

The final benefit of 3D printing is flexibility. In some cases, the more you have access to manufacturing technology, the less reliant manufacturing companies are on external suppliers, significantly mitigating factors such as Brexit, COVID-19, and spiralling shipping costs.

Drawbacks of 3D Printing

The most obvious drawback is that it’s not as efficient as mass production. Creating one product takes a long time, and you can’t make many at once. When we talk about 3D printed parts, typically, these take hours to print rather than seconds with other manufacturing methods. You also can’t make fast changes if your design changes, and this means you may have some wasted materials on hand. Some printers are better at this than others, but it’s still worth considering.

In addition, 3D printing isn’t perfect. The final product can often be flawed, and this means you need a skilled operator who can spot potential problems and fix them.  It also means that sometimes 3D printed items processes need to be tuned and may need to be reprinted to get the perfect product.

cropped-AdobeStock_164378664-e1534143465583-1-e1534145118133.jpeg

Source – Adobe

3D printers can’t replace mass production entirely, but they can help reduce it and make manufacturing more efficient. Engineers and designers love them because they can create new products in a matter of hours or days rather than weeks and months. They can even create new products that are replica of something else.

What does this mean for you? It means that more things can be personalised, allowing you to go from choosing an off-shelf product to pinpointing its design and assembling it yourself with your choice of options. And if you change your mind, the process is simple enough.

The Limitations of 3D Printing

The limitations of 3D printing do exist, but there are ways to work around these limitations. For example, one constraint may be that currently, the resolution is not high enough. There are, however, printers that allow for the creation of highly detailed models.

Another limitation that 3D printing has is that it can be very time-consuming. Creating products takes an extended amount of time, and if you don’t have suitable materials, your product doesn’t turn out how you wanted it to look.  

Despite these limitations, 3D printing changes how we think about mass production. It’s a constantly evolving technology, and with each new development, it becomes more efficient and easier to use. As this technology grows, we can expect to see even more impressive results!

Mass Production & 3D Printing

One of the primary purposes of 3D printing is to help reduce waste and save costs without sacrificing quality! In mass production, products are often made to meet customers’ needs or specifications. This can lead to wasted materials and money. With 3D printing, you can test new designs and prototypes at a lower cost without wasting materials.

3D printing is not a replacement for mass production but rather a supplement. It can be used to create unique pieces that mass production couldn’t do as well, or it can help reduce excess products if changes are made to the design of the product after it has been manufactured

Mass Production

Source – Predictable Designs

The Future of 3D Printing

The future of 3D printing looks promising, and there is a lot that we can do with these printers.  This technology is advancing fast, and it’s difficult to predict what will happen next.

3D printing can change the way we make several products, but whether this happens remains seen as the additive process. This type of printing can reduce waste and save costs without sacrificing quality. There are many benefits to using a 3D printer, but some limitations have yet to be surpassed. The future of 3D printers looks promising.

Volume Production

SGD is set up to support businesses looking to mass manufacture their products. Offering generous discounts of up to 30% off parts for volumes exceeding 1000+, we realise that 3D printing can play a crucial role in helping launch a product to market. Our in house SLS machines are well suited for producing parts on low volume runs from tens to thousands of parts.

Mass Production

Source – ERP Next

3D printing is an emerging technology that has many benefits. It can help reduce waste and save costs without sacrificing quality! When it comes to mass production, 3d printers can customise products for each customer. This makes much sense in a world where customisation seems more critical than ever.

There are many different types of 3D printers, but they all have one thing in common-they can help reduce waste and save costs. This is a huge benefit, especially when you consider that the quality of the products produced by 3D printers is not sacrificed in any way. Many experts believe that 3D printing will reduce the demand for mass production and better outcomes.  In a world where customisation is king, 3D printing is the perfect technology!

3D printing is quickly becoming one of the most critical technologies globally. It has many benefits, including the ability to help reduce waste and save costs. When it comes to mass production, 3D printers can customise products for each customer. This makes much sense in a world where customisation seems more critical than ever.

Do you have a 3D printing project we can help with? Please get in touch

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Sam Gribben

Managing Director at SGD 3D Limited

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Volume Production

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