Should You 3D Print Your Product? When you Should (and should not) Consider 3D Printing

Should you print your product? This is a question we often get asked and there’s no true “one size fits all” solution. There’s a lot of factors that go into determining your manufacturing method and more often than enough, additive manufacturing just might not be the right solution especially when it comes to mass production.

The first thing to consider is volume. How many of these parts are needed? If you’re aiming to make just a couple parts, maybe you need a replacement part for a project you’re working on, 3D printing might be the best solution. Low volume parts and products benefit from additive manufacturing because of a massive cost saving when compared to other solutions such as injection molding. If you need to produce thousands or tens of thousands of products, traditional manufacturing methods make a lot more sense. The efficiency of current mass production methods will save you time and make more sense from a cost perspective.

3D printing parts and products will save time and money in certain situations. As mentioned previously, low volume production and customizability at no extra costs are the strong suits of additive manufacturing. Numerous industries have found 3D printing as a very cost effective solution. In previous news episodes we covered big industry names like AirBus and even the US Air Force saving big with printing low volume spare parts to service planes and jets and even seeing massive cost and lead time savings of well over 50%.

In this video, we go over a number of parts we’ve printed, their use cases and whether there's any cost or lead time benefits to printing them.

At Vision Miner, we specialize in Functional 3D printing, especially high-performance plastics like PEEK, ULTEM, PPSU, PPS, CFPA, and more. If you're interested in using functional 3D printing and materials in your business, feel free to reach out, and we can help you make the right choice for your application.

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[JasonEllingsworth]

One thing to also consider is if you have the rights to print the model you acquired. While a great many models are shared under Creative Commons Attribution, and you are free to do whatever you want with it, there are also some that are provided as "personal use only" or are creative commons NC(non commercial) or even more confusing, they don't say anything at all and it is technically illegal to replicate for personal use until you have asked for permission. Too many people are under the impression that the license only applies to the digital model. It doesn't. Any replication using that file falls under the protection of its license. So before you go and start your business printing a file you found online, make absolutely sure you have permission to legally do so, or you could see your profits go to fines and court fees. Also if you offer a printing service, it is you that is responsible for the illegal replication of the file in the event you are caught. The customer can plead ignorance, but the printing service is supposed to be aware of these laws and following them.

[edwardpaulsen]

That orange vase is NOT going to injection mold as it exists... you would have to simplify those contours by a lot and then it will not be the same product... yes, the volume is high, but the shape is simply not achievable through other means without changes or huge expense...

[Iamwolf]

As is all too often the case, 3d printing is increasingly better suited for small scale production operations, and may actually make conventional methods more viable in the long run.

[blakemeding]

Love the professional angle on 3d Printing! Thanks so much!

[peterleblanc]

One thing you didn't mention. There are some geometries that would be very difficult or impossible to do with other manufacturing methods like injection molding. I don't know how you would mold those two vases(though I am still learning lots of the tricks of molding). If redesign to make other manufacturing methods work is not an option > 3d Print. Nice vid again.

[stevesloan]

That was great!
Definitely in the running for “you win the internet today!”
Makes me want to make an enclosure and buy a all metal hotend to print high temperature filaments.
🇦🇺🤜🏼🤛🏼🍀🍀🍀😎🤓🎁

[samroesch]

Any special tricks with making the coffee part food safe? I was the under impression the gaps between layers make it difficult because bacteria can grow there.

[caveboy]

I’d like to see you revisit this and actually show all 3d print processes and not just fdm. You also need to highlight the manufacturability of certain parts that cannot be injection moulded. This subject is massive but I guess what you were trying to break down some fundamentals for those with limited experience of anything to do with manufacturing.

[Yannis]

Would it be possible to 3d print most of the parts in a table router fence including all the micro adjusters?

[Soothsayer]

Thank you, that clarified some of my questions.

[robertlackey]

Great video ! I have a question, I am designing a rugged electronics case for use in environments like mines where not producing any toxic smoke in a electrical fire would be a big selling point, I was looking at injection molding it from a fiberglass filled polyimide, but the manufacture does not recommend major changes in wall thickness, and I have a place where you have a 15mm wall joining a 2mm internal divider, also it has a lot of undercuts, and would require a very complex mold, the volume will probably over 10, 000 over it's production lifetime, but that could be 20 years . The manufacture of the plastic is not helpful in solving the wall thickness problem and I don't see how to make the wall thicknesses equal . So I am thinking maybe 3D printing it in PPSU, what are your thoughts ?

[divineikegod]

What filament material are the vintage parts printed from?

[guillermoelnino]

short answer, unless its niche and/or custom no

[Gilmore]

If not following then in short, if your needing prototypes to test fit then waste your money and buy a 3D printer, if you’re wanting efficiency then invest in injection mold and produce and cut out middle man and quit screwing around letting others make $ off you. 3D printers are for the bored novice who wants print or design dumbshit nobody needs or wanted like Peter Pump Stands or Extensions For Peter Pump for that XL Magnum wife stealer Bro Bro

[jcjensenllc]

Dial down the radio-voice.
Also, the cutaway to camera you aren't looking at disengages the viewer.