Business Technology

3D Printing as a Production Technology

Image courtesy of Pixabay

The printing industry has over the years benefited greatly from 3D printing technology. In the past decades, the concept of 3D printing could only be read in novels, or watched in movies. However, different industries now experience this technology first hand.

There is no question that 3D printing has meticulously progressed beyond merely making one-off products or prototypes. This can be seen through the rate at which Fortune 500 companies have adopted this technology on a massive scale. Whereas it was once perceived as costly, slow and quite limited in offering different options, today it’s exceeding manufacturer expectations by outperforming different conventional methods in the same field.

Today, manufacturers and producers are broadly using 3D technology to fabricate different parts in a production line that can’t be produced in conventional ways. These include fixtures, fit tests, different tools, jigs, and end parts among others.

Even so, some manufacturers use this tech in producing their products in entirety. Take for example the art of creating bobbleheads. In the past, the process of creating one was extremely tedious and costly. However, today websites such as bobbleheadninja.com, who specialize in designing and manufacturing top-notch bubbleheads, embrace this tech in producing their products. 

Bobblehreadninja.com is an online store that you can always trust to deliver top of the line bobbleheads for you. Their process is quite simple. Once you visit the website, you can choose from several designs for your bobblehead. You can also provide them the specific design that you need. Once you are satisfied with the design that you’ve chosen, you can sit back and relax. The company will manufacture the bobblehead and have it delivered to your doorstep.

When it comes to manufacturing, materials are supposed to meet a certain standard and 3D printing has made this possible because the materials produced using this technology are exceptionally accurate in terms of dimensions and quality standards. 

3d has completely overcome what were once the obstacles to its selling points. With the increase in know-how, companies are now manufacturing using different materials with bigger and faster printers to accomplish their tasks.  

Here are the reasons why more and more companies are continuously embracing this tech.

1. It’s faster    

One of the things that make 3D printing stand out from other methods is the fact that it’s  faster. Nothing is faster than 3D printing and this can be attributed to the fact that it utilizes modern technology, unlike time-consuming traditional methods which use tooling for injection molds and casts.

Manufacturers can enjoy the reduced turnaround time for production, as well as sit back and enjoy the benefits that come with it which include higher quality products. At the same time, faster production speed ensures that more products are created within the shortest time possible.

2. Lower cost

While printing can be fast, the materials used to make objects can be quite expensive. Take for example different molds and casts. They don’t come cheap. Couple that with a technique that takes a lot of time and you have a recipe for financial losses.

However, you can solve all these issues with 3D printing. Since 3D printing is quite accurate and fast, it is the perfect way to produce objects in large quantities. Say you want to produce objects in a medium production setting. Utilizing 3d printing will help you achieve more in the shortest time possible. This means that you will be able to save more while producing more, thus lowering the cost of production in the long run.

3. In-House manufacturing

In the past, companies outsourced manufacturing to other companies with the ability to run production on a large scale. 

This often led to a quick turn around for companies that could not produce their products in-house. Although this worked for companies during that time, it turned out to be quite expensive in the long run.

With 3d printing, companies now can manufacture their products in-house. Gone are the days when you would have to outsource the manufacturing of one part of a product or the entire product to another company. Today, you can do it all yourself. This goes a long way in reducing the cost of production, logistics, and time of production among many other things. Additionally, manufacturing in-house allows you to run quality control checks during production. In this way, production mistakes can be rectified quickly rather than waiting until the entire product is complete.

4. Renewable and Efficient

One of the biggest advantages of 3d printing is that it revolves around additive manufacturing rather than subtractive manufacturing. What this means is that 3d printing is intrinsically less wasteful than traditional ways of printing.

This technology makes it a go-to choice for large manufacturers who feel increasing pressure from both consumers and regulators alike on the impact of wastes on the environment. Apart from that, the additive nature of manufacturing ensures that all waste is put back to use in creating the object which significantly reduces any wastage of materials.

5. Increased Performance

3D printing, unlike the conventional ways of printing, involves continuous effort in material development. This ensures that new materials are constantly being used to develop new objects which ultimately improves the performance of the end product.

About the author

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Lydia Lee

Lydia Lee is a fashion blogger. She works at a Tech company and writes as a freelancer for several fashion magazines both local and international. She has a pet terrier named Fugui.