How Are People Using 3D Printing?

Additive manufacturing--3D printing--has a wide range of use-cases, which are growing regularly. 

Prototypes

Fifteen years ago, it was largely used for prototyping, saving time and money from having to have prototypes made by traditional manufacturing processes, often with long lead times and parts having to travel across oceans, only to find out that the part wouldn't work and would need to be redesigned, over and over again. 

Being able to create, print, modify, and print again in-house cut down on time and costs for product development as desktop 3D printing grew. As the desktop 3D printing market grew and became increasingly reliable, 3D printers found their way into more workspaces. While prototyping isn't the only thing the printers are used for anymore, an in-house 3D printer is still a valuable tool for product development.

Prosthetics and Custom Medical Devices

One of the earliest areas we saw adopting 3D printing was custom prosthetics, especially for children who tend to outgrow traditional, expensive prosthetics very quickly. Over the past decade the number of companies and non-profits creating prosthetics and other customized wearable medical devices has grown enormously.

Pairing 3D printing and 3D scanning allows for creating custom solutions that fit individuals.

Surgeons are also using 3D printed models to help visualize the best way to make a repair before surgery is performed. Being able to better see what they will be working with helps fine plan their approach, and pre-planning helps procedures go more smoothly and minimizes risk for patients.

STEM and STEAM Education

STEM and STEAM programs across the country have aimed to give students a hands on grasp of science and technology with real world applications. 3D printing is a safe and flexible way to bring STEM and STEAM skill to the classroom--from having students design their own projects, to having them take part in the printing process, and build robots, tools, and models to put what they're learning into action. Hands on learning is valuable for every age and student skill level, from elementary school through university, and from programs as diverse as bioengineering, art, and architecture. 

Architectural Models

Architectural modeling is another area where we've seen the adoption of 3D printing across the sector. Firms are able to cost-effectively create their models in-house on a fleet of printers now, rather than outsourcing the task. The printers are on hand for as many adjustments may be needed to for the design.

Jigs, Fixtures, and Repairs/Customization

Across a number of manufacturing sectors, including automotive, we are seeing increased use of 3D printing on the assembly floor to create custom jigs and fixtures for aligning tools and parts during the assembly process as the available printing materials and technology have grown. The expanding range of 3D printing materials includes extremely hard polycarbonate, durable glass fiber and carbon fiber nylons, and chemically resistant materials, printed parts are now suitable for a wider variety of applications. 

Being able to 3D print replacement parts to repair machinery or adapt equipment to better fit changing needs better equips companies to maximize their uptime and efficiency and in many cases saves them thousands of dollars per year in ROI.

Manufacturing End Products

The accuracy and reliability of 3D printing end use parts has made them the ideal choice for certain end use manufacturing applications. Particularly when viewed against the cost of traditional injection molding, 3D printing becomes an ideal solution for:

• short to medium run products
• products for which you have a wide selection, but uncertain demand per product (i.e. print on demand from a digital library of parts)
• customized products