Additive manufacturing, Rapid prototyping and 3D printing are the acronyms of the same new technology that is increasingly challenging the traditional manufacturing approach. Although, 3D printing has been in the picture since many decades, its potential use has been recently identified as more studies are being carried out to make more materials printer friendly.

As a matter of fact, manufacturers have already started applying this technology to revamp their existing products and bring-in a whole new set of customized product designs. There’s even an increase in number of vendors that offer rapid prototyping services for conventional manufacturing units. However, there’s a strong debate within the engineering community about restricting the activity of RP in-house rather than outsourcing it to supply vendors.

To some extent, the argument makes sense as partnering to a third-party raises several quality and IP rights issues, which can keep manufacturers skeptical on choosing an outsourcing option. However, the idea of outsourcing RP projects should not be eliminated entirely based on the issues that can be actually solved by simply identifying the service provider’s capability and past domain experience.

Despite the fact that 3D printers are being highly tweaked and different material compatibility being tested frequently, having a fully-functional, industrial 3D printer is still a costly decision. While investing in a 3D printer might be a great step for companies that are looking forward to mass produce products using this technology, most of the organizations require prototypes during the design phase.

The real product is manufactured using conventional subtractive manufacturing techniques such as CNC machining. Purchasing a costly machine for the sake of physical examination could then be a costly affair. Moreover, continuous research in the field of additive manufacturing makes it difficult to make an investment on a gadget that is highly vulnerable to transformation.

Outsourcing on the contrary could turn out to be highly cost-effective decision, if applied properly. The initial investment cost of printer directly gets eliminated, which helps manufacturers in keeping the product development costs lower.

Products of all sizes can be easily printed by providing the design to the vendor who will ship the printed part directly, reducing the turnaround time considerably. There is no need to worry about experimenting the product design using different materials, as vendors will usually have the capability to print products with different sizes and materials.

However, this does not imply that owning a desktop 3D printer should be avoided. Ideally, it is better to have a small printer in the lab for some of the applications, as it will provide a better idea on whether to apply the technology at full scale. For other cases that require quality printed pieces, partnering with an expert is a profitable choice, considering the present trends in the additive manufacturing domain.

About Author:

Nikunj Patel is a design engineer working with Hi-Tech CADD Services - CAD Drafting for the past 4 years. He loves designing specialized industrial equipments and can always be found in the lab discussing, brainstorming & tweaking designs.