The Future Of 3D Printing: More Than What You Think
Introduction
Experimentation with 3D printing is not theoretical anymore because it is a manufacturing imperative. Today, it is considered a mainstream manufacturing technology.
Within the sector of aerospace, 3D printing provides the design that has the freedom to experiment with more effective and efficient part shapes, with a few potential points for failure.
It has been revealed in a survey that many companies consider it a “strategic capability”. If we look at the bigger picture, there are many considerations for the future of 3D printing.
Future Of 3D Printing
1. Scalability from rapid prototyping to production
This kind of printing is used for jigs, fixtures, and tooling, bridge production, and production parts have grown over the years. At that time, equipment and industrial machines have seen the highest production of use of jigs and fixtures.
Additive manufacturing remains the perfect fit for low-to mid-volume production. But with the right planning, engineering, and material development, 3D-printed parts can transit into late production equipment.
Producing a part with 3D printing permits manufacturers to print parts as needed instead of pulling the part from the warehouse.
On-demand production makes way for measuring reductions in inventory and storage costs. In the automotive industry, inventory of spare parts can be reduced by 90% with 3D printing, as per a report.
2. Making the supply chain resilient through digitization
It is no more to wonder that big supply chains have been affected due to a disruption named pandemic, in which the medical and healthcare industry has been affected much.
Additive manufacturing was a big part of the solution when there was a shortage of PPE kits and ventilator parts. The issue was the same with face shields.
But 3D printing has served as their main manufacturing method; converting their lines to produce shields was done without wasting time. It has also led to innovations in ventilator parts that helped in saving a lot of lives.
It enables manufacturers to connect better to the physical supply chain with a digital thread.
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3. Will offer flexibility and customized designs
Personalization and customization can be easily done with the low-volume production capabilities that are offered by additive manufacturing. In contrast, 3D printing offers a brand more flexibility in responsive design.
Manufacturers can afford to produce small batches and innovate in a cost-effective manner. The accessibility of this printing is reaching to the state, where we can say, “what can’t we print?”
It is just a matter of time that individual customers can print the food for their glasses. In the coming time, 3D printing and future permutations of digital production are going to make customers empower.
4. The future is all about materials
Outside the cost of equipment, the barrier is materials and closed additive manufacturing ecosystems, which has stymied the growth of the industry of 3D printing.
Various types of 3D printing materials in the market but only a few are advanced enough to meet the quality requirements of industries. The future of 3D printing is in materials, which are specific to engineered and application-specific materials.
By laying the processes to accelerate the development and release of materials into the additive markets, a large number of 3D printing materials will serve, and the overall digital manufacturing flywheel will spin.
5. Creating a sustainable future with 3D printing
Aside from reducing waste, this kind of printing also leads to the conservation of energy. In a study, 17 steps have been listed that are required to produce a truck gear utilizing subtractive manufacturing versus six steps to manufacture a similar product with additive manufacturing.
With 3D printing, the same product takes less than half of the energy. By bringing the products closer to customers, this printing reduces the need for transporting products and materials.
As a result, positively affecting the quantity of carbon poured into the atmosphere. That’s how we can see that digital and additive strategies are already leading to a more sustainable future.
It is a significant time for the manufacturing industry because they are standing at the epicentre of ideas, designs, and the products can be roughly fully represented in the digital space, and we can convert those representations.
The conversion can be made into physical products using sound production.
Concluding Words
According to various surveys, 87% of companies are expecting their use of 3D printing to at least double. As companies adopt additive manufacturing, they will be able to reduce both batch sizes and ultimately development.
With every preceding year, we are laying the foundation to enable distributive manufacturing for delivering more innovative products and improve user experience.
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