Advantages of 3D Printing : Benefits of using 3D technology

3D Printing technology or Additive Manufacturing is one of the marvelous technology in the history of science. This technology has completely changed the working pattern of manufacturing products. Over the years many advantages of using this technology have been found by scientist and researchers. 

3D Printing technology has been upgraded and adopted by many top international companies and also, they have been customizing this technology according to their manufacturing setup.

This multinational companies understood the formula to success in today’s market. They understood the constant desire to reduce cost, timing, and risk in production programs because successfully achieving improvement in these areas leads to sustained, long-term success.

As this new technology gets develop and researched, more and more advantages are been revealed due to which many MSME companies are been attracted towards 3d printing and are now adopting this technology in their manufacturing machine line-up.

But there are some companies and manufacturing setup that doesn’t know the benefits or use of this technology. For these companies, below listed advantages would be beneficial.  

Affordable Machine Cost

When a small or medium scale industry wants to add 3d printing technology in its manufacturing setup, the first thing they evaluate  is the cost of 3D Printer. History of additive manufacturing tells us how expensive these machines were when they first got invented.

But soon as their patent got expired many companies started the production of low cost 3d printer, so a small and medium scale industry can easily afford this technology. This technology has capability to reduce the amount of capital that is needed to scale up production without making major changes, manufacturers may be able to increase the speed and profitability of their business model.

Production Speed

Every successful businessman wants a fast production process. In today’s growing market the competition in every sector and every product is huge, so to step ahead of other companies one needs to launch its product fast into the market.

In traditional method if a company wants to launch a new product, they first need to do the market research then they have to make a proper design and after that they need to justify proper tooling to manufacture that product step by step. This complete process takes at least 4 to 5 days and after that the testing and development of the product is started.

But with additive manufacturing process there is no need to justify tooling cost nor does they have to wait for the proper tool to be manufactured. They can straight away start the design process and after that 3D Printer prints a prototype within 5 to 7 hours depending upon the size they make. By this method one can decrease time need for product development and the company can start the production fast.

Ease of Making and Customizing Complex Parts

3D Printing technology is just not about making the production fast, it also gives us freedom to make complex geometry of the product and also, we can customize our product so that there is less waste of material.

In traditional manufacturing method the company has to invest in the tooling and machines needed for the product and after customization was done if there is any major changes than it lead to significant cost increases or time delays as tooling on a production line is changed out. It also has some limitation to it like draft angles, undercuts and tool access and many more. 

But when it comes to 3d printing these limitations do not apply as the product is made layer by layer. So additive manufacturing also gives us enough time to properly test and develop the product before market launch that to without any extra cost. 
  

Better Quality

When it comes to quality the additive manufacturing has a upper hand when compared to traditional manufacturing method. A product which has complex geometry parts or has small components can easily be made through 3d printing technology.

Let us take an example of a jewelry which has a complex design or watch it has many small and complex components. An expensive watch has much more complex parts and design with that they also have a very strict manufacturing tolerance. In this case 3D Printer comes in action. A 3d printer can make complex geometry and plus it is less costly. The quality of the product will be good as the 3d printer can make the part as per the dimensions mentioned in the design.

Easy Machine Operation

The other most common problem faced by a businessman is if his/her production team will be able to learn this technology or not. What if he/she has to recruit new staff who has specialize in 3d printing and how much salary should they have to pay and many more.

For those who want to adopt this technology they need only one operator who has basic knowledge of tooling and design. There are no complex parts in the 3d printer nor they need any specific degree to operate the machine. The basic procedure is explained and taught to the customer during the installation and an online support is always given by the OEM or the distributor.

Reduced Production Waste

As the term Additive Manufacturing suggest that it adds the material while manufacturing and not remove as per the traditional subtractive manufacturing method. Due to this the material wastage is reduced to 70% as the subtractive manufacturing method removes material from a block of metal to attain desired shape which leads to material waste. 

While in additive manufacturing the material is added layer by layer to attain desired shape. If there is any failure which manufacturing than only the printed material is wasted but in subtractive method the entire block gets wasted which leads to increase in cost.

These are the basic advantages that one needs to know before adopting this technology. There are many more benefits which one can obtain from this technology once they start using 3d printer on regular basis.