3D printing, which emerged about 30 years ago, is also called additive manufacturing (AM). Starting as a niche hobby, it was quickly used in rapid prototyping (RP) and manufacturing workshops to enable faster and cheaper manufacturing processes.
Additive manufacturing has the ability to reduce the time to produce complex prototypes. By applying additive manufacturing, products can be put into market quickly by avoiding wasting valuable time waiting for changing tool or mould. For any changes or adjustments on design, it can be made to the CAD file and programmed into the 3D printer in simple ways. 3D printers can also lower the time needed to manufacture fully functional products for use in operations.The process of additive manufacturing is additive, making it possible to manufacture products in a single step, without the need to produce different parts to be assembled later, thereby reducing production time. Further, the additive approach can help in producing more rugged and sturdy equipment. This gives it a competitive edge over traditional manufacturing processes and also improves material use by reducing waste.Traditional manufacturing results in lots of waste that may not be correctly recycled, on the contrary, the only material that is consumed via additive manufacturing is the actual material used for the end-product.
With additive manufacturing, you have the ability to make parts that can’t be produced by traditional ways. Parts can be printed with multiple integrated components, made to perfectly fit together with other 3D printed projects. Advances in 3D printable materials means that the industry can now print with countless new materials. The result is that beautiful, complex and durable end products can be produced through additive manufacturing.
Compared with traditional manufacturing, additive manufacturing can produce parts with more complex design and reasonable structure. The resulting parts are highly functional and lightweight. 3D printing can achieve economical and rapid iteration, cut the relationship between scale and cost and promote the development of customization.
In a word, with additive manufacturing, you can produce lightweight and complex parts in a shorter and convenient way without unnecessary material waste. As the demands to produce parts quickly continues to rise, additive manufacturing will become more and more related to our lives in the future.
