Custom Manufacturing

3D printing is a very interesting technology that I believe is really going to change the way that manufacturing takes place. There are quite a few methods of manufacturing in circulation right now, including machining, mold manufacturing, and others – but none of them work at the same level of 3D printing. First off, what is 3D printing?

3D printing is essentially the layer by layer creation of products through laying down small layers of material. In order for this manufacturing process to work, a design will be created by an artist or a designer of some kind. This artist will then take care of sending the design to the printing facility. These facilities will then plug in the design into the printer itself, and the printer’s computer aided manufacturing system, or CAM system will take the model as a blueprint. This printer will then take the blueprint into account when actually producing the piece. When it actually comes down to producing the parts, the printer will start laying down layers of material .There are various methods in which these printers lay down material, but typically the material will be stacked in very small layers at details as high as 11 microns. The diameter of a human hair on average is around 40 microns. Quite a few printers fall in between the 20-30 micron resolution range, but some offer greater detail, and others offer less. A product will be slowly built up, one layer at a time on a platform – or build tray.

One of the fascinating things about the 3D printing process is the capabilities that these machines have. The process of 3D printing allows for the creation of very organic shapes, various curves, and intricate centers. Because the products are created layer by layer, very detailed centers can come about. If someone were to use machining to create something or to create something by hand, there would be a huge concern about making parts with hollow centers, where 3D printing doesn’t have to worry about this.

Another strong factor about this technology is that each piece is made individually. By that, I mean 3D printed pieces aren’t mass produced. Some might see this as a negative, but I view it as a positive. Parts can be created at units of 1, or 20. Typically you won’t see a part mass produced by 3D printing, but I suppose it’s possible. This means that truly custom pieces can be manufactured. If a designer could get ahold of few pictures of YOUR face, he or she could replicate it or use software to replicate it into a 3D image. Your face could then be printed! Depending on which material you use, it could maintain all the details, as well as all the colors. The pieces which are pulled out of printers have the possibility to be truly unique to you as an individual. Especially as some of these 3D printing companies are coming out with customization software, it is becoming a much more dominant application. Truly custom products can come about through this technology.