Technology content from IndustryWeek: 3-D printing, also known as additive manufacturing, is quickly becoming a widely embraced technology, with companies using it for prototyping and low-volume part production and hobbyists and do-it-yourselfers purchasing smaller machines for creating customized parts on their own.
5 comments:
A lot of people have been asking what 3d printing is useful for if we can do it cheaper the way we have been. I think this is the answer. We tend to think of things in a certain way that has to do with our experience and knowledge of how the materials we build with are used, or how they can be ordered. That is restricting our view of what 3D printers can do because we are forgetting that it has fewer limits. We can create things with a printer that would be otherwise impossible. We might not know what they are yet. But the only way we get there is by playing with it.
To be totally honest I kind of hoping for five tips that were a little more process oriented…having said that it’s not like the advice given in the article isn’t helpful. I often restrict myself in designing parts because I know the limitations of the tooling, but with 3D printing, the possibilities are virtually endless. With that though, I’ll also say that not always is the process faster. There are times in which I can design a part for manufacturing, let’s say for instance that I would to have a part machined on a mill. Let’s also say that this part requires more than one hole to be drilled and tapped, and from various angles. Okay, so we’re looking at more than one set-up, let’s say it takes a skilled machinist 4hrs to fabricate one. To 3D print this same part, could take anywhere from 8-16 hrs depending on the quality of printer I use. To me, there isn’t an incredible amount to gain here. However, I’ll fully admit when there are instances that the opposite is probably true. What I’m getting at is, 3D printing isn’t always the be-all, end-all. And sometimes shouldn’t be the answer at all. But it’s up to the designer to make an educated decision and choose the best and most efficient tool for the job.
What makes 3-D printing so useful and great is the fact that there are little to no limits on what you can do. When I went to Chicago, I got to visit SOM one of the leading architecture firms in the world and they had an entire exhibition of their models and the different styles of making the models. Some of them were craftily put together and some where 3D printed. The 3D printed ones, though they couldn't to a lot of the automation that the other could, they had details beyond belief. Details that would be impossible to make by hand. I'm not saying that 3-D Printing is the solution for everything but there are so many things that a 3-D printer can do and it should be used to it's full potential!!
I agree with Joe on this article. 3D Printing has amazing potential, but the linear time can be so long it forces tech designers to really think about how badly they need the part printed. I remember last year at the Victoria Secret fashion show there were wings that were 3D printed. Those were absolutely stunning. Ever since then I have been thinking how 3D printing can be used to advance fashion. Those are shows that can afford the timeline needed to 3D print the right intricate parts. In the world of fashion “breaking away from traditional manufacturing” is encouraged and look up to in the fashion world. Designers are coming up with more way to incorporate media in their deigns, higher finishes of construction, for example with 3D printing, is further developing a well.
This article is more for expressing the limitations of CNC and how 3D printing is less restricted, but it is still not perfect.
This article treats 3D printing as a manufacturing process more than a prototyping process. There are plenty of things that 3D printing technology can accomplish that any other single manufacturing process can do, but usually not nearly as fast of cheap.
I think it will be a long time before we see warehouse of printers, printing parts away all day long. Its just not an efficient enough process yet, and I don’t think that any company looking to mass produce any “thing” should be really considering it as a viable alternative to traditional manufacturing and fabrication.
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