By Todd Louthain, Owner/Business Development, Coex 3D
3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing, has emerged as a transformative technology, revolutionizing the way products are designed, developed, and ultimately brought to market. By enabling the rapid and cost-effective creation of physical prototypes, 3D printing empowers innovators to iterate quickly, reduce development time, and ultimately bring better products to market faster. Selecting and using the appropriate 3D printing materials allows printed prototypes to mirror the production-ready version.
The Power of Prototyping:
Prototyping is an essential stage in the product development lifecycle. It allows designers and engineers to:
- Visualize and Validate Concepts: 3D printing brings abstract designs to life, allowing stakeholders to physically interact with and evaluate the form, function and aesthetics of a product before committing to expensive tooling and manufacturing processes.
- Identify and Address Design Flaws: By holding and testing physical prototypes, engineers can identify potential design flaws, such as weak points, interference issues, or ergonomic problems early in the development process. This allows for timely design modifications and reduces the risk of costly rework later on.
- Improve Communication and Collaboration: Physical prototypes serve as powerful communication tools which can facilitate better collaborative efforts between designers, engineers, and sales and marketing personnel. They provide a shared understanding of the product and enable more effective feedback and decision making.
- Accelerate Time-to-Market: Effectively using 3D printing as part of the design process allows companies to respond quickly to market demands, gain a competitive advantage and capitalize on emerging opportunities.
3D printing is a technology that exists in many different styles. Regardless of the type of 3D printing, each style works in essentially the same way resulting in finished products which are created from a CAD drawing and converting it to a physical and tangible three-dimensional object. The materials used in 3D printing can range from plastics to ceramics and even metal. To date the most affordable and most widely utilized form of 3D printing is known as FDM printing (Fused Deposition Modeling). FDM printing is essentially printing with thermoplastic material, known as 3D Filament. There are many types of filaments used in 3D printing and all of them have unique qualities in terms of strength, flexibility, and heat resistance. Choosing the right material for the task at hand can make a big impact on your overall results. In commercial applications, it is important to select a material that will allow your prototype to mirror the production version.
Common 3D Filaments:
- PLA or PolyLactic Acid is a very commonly used material due to its relatively low price point and large selection of colors. In addition, PLA is produced from renewable resources and is compostable making it very popular among hobbyist printers. PLA is very easy to work with and all FDM style printers will be able to print with PLA however it lacks in strength and heat resistance as compared to other types of filaments.
- PETG or Polyethylene Terephthalate Glycol is a co-polyester known for its durability and ease of use. Generally considered to be an engineering grade material, PETG is often used when strength of the finished product is desired.
- ABS or Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene is a thermoplastic material commonly used for injection molding. ABS has more desirable mechanical properties and is durable and lightweight. ASA or Acrylonitrile Styrene Acrylate is an ideal, all-purpose material suitable for many different applications. It has a similar chemical makeup to ABS but offers better mechanical strength, produces a smoother finish and it is naturally UV resistant.
Material Selection:
When choosing the right material for the project being 3D printed, the designer should think about what qualities are needed in the finished product. If the 3D print is going to be used in production, it will be important to use a material that meets the physical requirements. If the print is simply going to be used as a prototype it still may make sense to choose a material that will closely mirror the characteristics of the prototype to the production version.
The Right Material Selection Can Save Your Business Time and Money:
A commercial lighting manufacturer had been utilizing 3D printing for product development, as many companies do. The team of engineers working with additive manufacturing had primarily been printing the prototypes with PLA, simply because that was a material that they were most comfortable with. It was discovered that they were designing prototypes for light fixtures, so a simple suggestion was made by the team at Coex 3D. Why not use the same type of material that will be used in production? Ultimately, the production parts were going to be injection molded overseas. Since these were simply prototypes, the design team had previously not been concerned about what plastic was being used for the prototyping process. The finished parts would be molded with a fire-retardant ABS plastic that meets the UL requirements required by the NEC (National Electrical Code). What this manufacturer hadn’t realized was that there was an ABS flame retardant filament available. This material meets all UL standards required by the code. By making a simple change to their process and using this material instead of a basic PLA, they were able to significantly decrease their time to market. By printing with a material that met the compliance requirements, they were able to submit their prototype parts for safety listing approval instead of waiting for the production parts to come in from overseas. This simple change in their process has allowed this team to move more quickly and has saved the company a great deal of money and has decreased their time to market with several of their popular product lines.
3D printing has emerged as a powerful tool for innovation, transforming the way products are designed, developed, and brought to market. Enabling rapid prototyping combined with the proper materials selection allows organizations to reduce development costs, increase design freedom, and create better products faster and more efficiently. As 3D printing technology continues to evolve, we can expect to see even more groundbreaking applications in the years to come, further revolutionizing industries and shaping the future of manufacturing.
About The Author:
Todd Louthain is Owner / Business Development at Coex 3D. Coex was founded in 1996, as a manufacturer of plastic spiral book bindings. In 2016 Coex realized that manufacturing a PVC monofilament was very similar to the way that 3D filaments were being made. It was at that time that Coex made its first spool of ABS material and entered the 3D printing industry. Todd purchased the business from the previous owners in 2022. Coex 3D has since shifted the business focus entirely on 3D material production and has continued to build a staff of talented team members. The Coex 3D team works hard every day to research, listen to the voice of the customer and add materials to expand deeper into the ever-evolving world of 3D printing. https://coex3d.com/.
All Images: Coex 3D
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