3D Printing used to be strictly used for prototyping but it is now offering to transformative advantages at every phase of product creation. With the growth in applications for 3D printing across industries, ranging from aerospace and automotive to durable goods, healthcare, dental and jewellery, the requirement on the range of 3D printing materials and increasing in speeds are playing a part in selecting the right type of 3D Printer for your applications.
Finding the Right 3D Printer for your application
Using these evaluation guides help you clearly define your 3D printing needs.
1. What is the size of your single largest part?
3D printers come in many different print volumes and bigger does not necessarily equal better. You will need to balance maximum print volume with accuracy and printer cost. 3D printers that can both print large parts and achieve high levels of accuracy generally have the highest upfront investment.
2. What is the strength requirements for the 3D printed part?
Production strength and durability – Performs similarly to molded plastics (in the case of plastic printers) or cast metals (in the case of metal printers) for long-term use (e.g. production parts, functional prototypes subject to high mechanical stress).
Functional prototype/limited-use strength – Performs similarly to molded plastics for short-term use (e.g. functional prototypes subject to low mechanical stress, one-time use products, short-run tooling, injection molds, RTV molds, carbon fiber molds, jigs, fixtures).
Appearance – Specific mechanical properties are not important. Parts must be robust enough to be handled and shipped but no mechanical loads will be applied (e.g. visual prototypes, sales models, artistic objects).
Sacrificial patterns – Printed objects will serve as sacrificial patterns for investment casting of metals (e.g. Wax or resin patterns).
3. What is the quantity of parts per month?
Knowing how many parts you expect to print per month will help you select the optimal printer for your needs and neither overspend nor be stuck with a printer that can’t keep up with your anticipated part quantities.
4. Do you require to get a single part printed and post-processed as fast as possible or printing as many parts as possible per day, week or month?
Some 3D printers are optimized to print a single part very quickly but slow down when you try to print multiple parts simultaneously. Others are slower to print one part but can print 10, 50, or 100 parts simultaneously in only slightly more time. Similarly, some 3D printed parts need to be post-processed one-by-one, whereas others can be post-processed in batches.
5. What is the part tolerances for your printed parts?
Accuracy, precision, and repeatability are complex topics that have many nuances and are dependent on a variety of factors including part size, material, geometry, post-processing, print orientation and more.
6. What are the finishing requirements for the printed parts?
Some applications require printed parts that are visually appealing or have specific look and feel requirements. Other applications are purely functional, and part appearance doesn’t matter as long as it performs as expected. While there are many ways to get the exact look and feel you need for a given part, including post-processing techniques such as sanding and painting, you’ll want to choose the printer that best fits your application’s aesthetic requirements.
7. Do you anticipate the needs to print in different materials?
Each 3D printing technology has a unique set of material options. An important consideration is how frequently you anticipate switching the materials you’re using. Some 3D printers are configured to run one material most or all of the time with infrequent changeovers, whereas others make it easy to swap materials with little downtime or wasted material. Still, others can print in multiple materials simultaneously.
8. What are the budget for the initial investment and total cost of operation?
Low initial investment – Expect to use 3D printing less frequently, and are willing to trade off part properties, higher per-part costs and lower throughput for a lower initial investment.
High throughput and/or production-grade parts – Willing to make the upfront investment to print in high volumes and/or print production-grade parts and enjoy a low per-part cost when printing in high volumes.
9. What are the requirements for the part properties?
Many applications require specific part qualities.
