Why 3D Print beyond the Prototype?

It’s time to address one of the most frequent questions that we get at 3DSI - “why should I 3D print versus other manufacturing mediums”? The answer can be tricky and depends on several factors. However, 3D printing provides a vehicle for mass-customization with very little investment, overhead, and associated risk. It’s not the solution for every new product, but you should always consider it as an option. This is especially true with early product development and market testing.

Most of the time when companies are market testing a product volume at the onset is vague at best. It can take awhile for a product to generate enough market traction to justify high dollar tooling, automation, and MOQ investment. This is the case when it comes to start-ups that are selling radical new ideas that do not have market awareness. 3D printing provides an avenue to bridge this gap, and even make product changes or tweaks along the way without significant cost. Hopefully the product is successful, but if not you can cut your losses without much impact.

Many contract manufacturers of molded parts want to produce high volume. This makes sense because time is money right? It takes time for them to changeover a machine to run your part. They need to flush the lines of the specific plastic and colorant. They need to pull the tool out of the press and load your tool. It takes some time to get things dialed in just right. So there’s an associated cost for this activity. They do not want to do all this work to stick your job in the press and run a few hundred/thousand small parts. They want to setup and run volume to make it worth their effort. Can you blame them?

3D printing materials are now production worthy. Sure the cost will be higher than a high-volume molded part, but when you consider the overhead, ROI, and the ability to change on a dime, it’s a more attractive proposition. Why would you not want to exploit this avenue to minimize your risk, and provide for flexibility in your product line? If you are able to find a molder that will run your low-volume part they will charge a premium. This cost will be close to the 3D printing cost plus the additional tooling investment that is not necessary with 3D printing. When you eliminate the investment and risk it will change your way of thinking about new product development. It will get the wheels turning on the possibilities of mass customization.

Tooling is expensive! Changes are inevitable even with the best product development strategy. It’s hard to have the foresight to imagine every tweak that might be necessary in the early stages of product development. 3D printing provides a means to an end in this regard. Especially in the early stage of product development and market testing a new idea. Your ability to make these changes without the associated tooling cost is huge. Small changes can cost tens of thousands of dollars and are typically not easily reversible. In some cases the change cannot be made without making a new tool. So why take the risk when you don’t have to?

It’s always best to request a quote for 3D printing and urethane casting. Then do the math on ROI for both processes compared to the molding investment. Rarely does it make sense to proceed with molding early in the product lifecycle. In fact, some products simply do not make sense to mold, such as niche markets that will never generate millions of dollars in revenue. However, you should always have a plan to scale your project into the appropriate manufacturing medium if the volume exceeds the capability of 3D printing or urethane casting.

Fixture and high-volume assembly tooling are another great use for 3D printed parts. This is an often overlooked application for the technology that can save thousands of dollars compared to metal counterparts. The image below shows the application of Tough Resin for a high-volume assembly insert that would otherwise be an expensive wire EDM part. The key is to think outside of the box and always consider 3D printing as an option.

The short video below shows how Gillette is capitalizing on the idea of mass customization.