Disadvantages of 3D Printing Technology : Limitations of AM

3D Printing which is also referred as Additive Manufacturing is a marvelous technology invented by ChuckHull in 1986. After that many new inventions were made in 3D Printing by using different material and different processes.

Scientist and other industrialist started more research on this technology and they discover many benefits that we can get by using 3d printing technology. Many companies like 3D Systems, Stratasys, started making 3d printer machines and the industrialist started using this technology in their manufacturing line up.

But as we know every technological invention has some advantage and some  disadvantages which limits the use of technology to some extent. Similarly, 3D Printing technology also have some limitation.

Low Product Strength

As we already know that most 3d printers uses plastic materials to built parts and they are generally used for prototyping. Because of this the 3d printed parts are 10% - 50% weaker than then the parts made by traditional method.

3D Printing is widely used as a prototyping machine which is used to test the geometry of the new product before we start the production. But there are some 3d printers like the DLMS and SLM which uses metal as their main material to make finished product. These parts are more reliable and are equally durable as the one made with traditional methods.

Due to such advantages of DLMS and SLM printers, aerospace industries have started investing on these 3D Printers and are now a part of their manufacturing line-up.

Less Economical at Higher Production

3D Printing is mostly used for prototyping and not for production. The product designer and development team use this technology to test the geometry and appearance of the product so that if there are any changes regarding the product size or appearance than it can be solved without any extra cost.

But when it comes to mass production than traditional method of production is only applicable as the 3d printing method is slow in batch production. The price per product decreases minimally in 3d printing.

When the production in huge than CNC Machining and Injection Moulding, Hot and Cold Extrusion and many other technologies are more reliable to complete the batch on time with accuracy and good quality.

Less Accurate and Low Tolerance

Additive Manufacturing has many different methods of printing and also has many different types of materials. The most used printer is FDM 3d printer, as this printer uses plastic material for prototyping and it ejects melted plastic through nozzle it has the lowest accuracy and the tolerances vary between ±0.1 mm to ±0.5 mm.

There are many other methods of printing which are more accurate than FDM which includes SLA and Material Jetting. These methods give accurate parts with tolerances of ±0.01 mm. So, if you want to use 3d printing to make end user product than FDM 3d printer is not suitable.

Post-Print Process and Support Removal

The parts that are produce through 3d printing technology are generally not ready to use after printing. We have to do some post processing like removing the support and cleaning thepiece from extra material which get stuck in between the process.

For example, if you want to build any part in 3d printer than it needs support which is attached from the base. This support holds the parts while printing because 3d printer cannot print the part on thin air. These supports are than removed once the printing part is over they often leave marks on the surface of the part which you need to clean it with the help of sanding, smoothing or painting. 

After and Before photo of 3D Printed OWL

3D Printing has some more draw backs that can be managed which includes by-product waste, limited printing materials, size limitation, possible toxic emissions.