3D Printing, also known as Additive Manufacturing, has been around since the mid 1980s. It was primarily used for high value prototyping, but in the past decade has grown dramatically. This was due in part to many more companies developing their own unique machine or print technology, and thus offering lower cost hardware, a wider array of material options, and printers built for specific applications.

For manufacturers, the 3D print applications are seemingly endless. The only reason a manufacturer of any size isn’t using 3D printing is either they don’t understand it, or they don’t know about it. If you fall in one of those categories, here are 22 ways manufacturers are using 3D printing in their business today.

MasterGraphics installs one of the first HP Multi Jet Fusion 5210 3D Printing Production  Solutions at Illinois based Service Provider RE3DTech.

Madison, Wis., August 13, 2019 – Last week, Re3DTech solidified its commitment to HP’s 3D print technology by adding the new HP Multi Jet Fusion (MJF) 5210 to its growing portfolio of HP 3D Printers. The Illinois based service provider has been a proponent of HP’s 3D print technology since its introduction three years ago. The 5210 installation compliments the multiple HP MJF 4210 and HP MJF 580 printing solutions already in place at Re3DTech.   Re3DTech has seen increased market demand in the mid to low volume production space since the inception of their business, which is built on HP’s MJF technology. The 5210 system builds off the core 4210 technology and adds software and print technology that brings traditional manufacturing practices and standards to additive manufacturing. These enhancements ensure repeatable and predictable results.  

Kevin Carr, President of MasterGraphics, explains “the capabilities of the HP MJF 5210 are game-changing. This new technology creates more scenarios where it is cost-effective to utilize additive manufacturing versus traditional manufacturing processes such as injection molding. As the market is changing and adapting to new 3D print technologies, digital manufacturing is a term we continue to hear more and more. Manufacturers want to be more innovative, cost-effective, and quicker to market. The HP MJF 5210 helps enable achieving these goals. We have seen a more flexible manufacturing process and reduction in overall inventory to produce specifically what you need.”

“We see clients such as Re3DTech not as a service bureau but as a manufacturing hub. We are at a true tipping point where innovators such as HP are providing technologies that production houses like Re3DTech are building businesses on by providing unique and cost effective manufactured goods”, says Carr.

Learn more about Re3dTech.

HP recently announced their new, sub-$100k, 500 series of 3D printers utilizing their innovative MJF (Multi Jet Fusion) 3D print technology. This is the same technology being used in HP’s revolutionary 4200 production-level 3D printers that were released in 2017. I should also note that HP MJF uses HP PageWide print head technology, which is also used in their 2D line of printers.

The 500 series of HP’s first expansion of their portfolio, at a lower acquisition price, and in the case of the 580, the ability to print true color. These are all-in-one systems, that produce nylon plastic white parts (HP 540), or full color (HP 580). For those familiar with traditional SLS, let me just repeat, these are all-in-one systems. Both printing and processing are contained in a single unit.

HP is positioning these units to not only produce traditional prototypes, but also short run production parts. While the HP 4200 is slotted for full production, the 500 series is intended to provide ramp-up capability for 3D print production.

The color technology integrated in the 580 is attracting most of the attention and, yes, although certainly industry changing, I believe the market is missing what the non-color version actually provides. Let me explain…

The base 540 systems starts below $90k and, although it does not offer color output, it prints utilizing HP’s Multi-Jet Technology. MJF melts PA12 nylon material, which on the 540, results in a smooth, white finish for outstanding visual appeal. More importantly, these are truly functional parts. In fact, I often refer to HP’s MJF technology as SLS (Selective Laser Sintering) on steroids. SLS has been the standard for high quality, durable parts and HP has created a process to increase productivity – up to 15 times faster – with less waste. Historically, SLS systems were north of $250k. In addition, you had to set up special environments and have highly trained operators. The HP 540 system is completely self-contained, office-friendly and easy to use.

In the past, our clients have spent more than $100k on 3D printers to produce prototypes; 3DS Projet 3500 for example; that were slow and expensive to run. Now, with the HP 540, you can make a similar investment and get the returns that, in the past, were only possible on systems costing well over $350k.

Our client’s previous investments around 3D printing clearly offered business advantages and financial returns but, with this new 500 series, offers a return on investment – also steriod size.

As a manufacturer, product designer, etc., this new printer truly offers a new way to be more innovative and get to market even faster. How fast? Within 24 hours you now have the ability to produce an end-use part – not just a prototype. Our smaller clients can compete with larger ones – in fact in most cases they are able to implement the process changes faster – this is the world we are living in.

In the past 18 months – we have helped two startup companies leverage HP Technology to create brand new businesses that are thriving.

I encourage you to look at the new HP 500 series 3D printers – look past the cool factor – and at the true design/manufacturing capabilities possible. we are in a Manufacturing revolution and HP has now provided a unique tool to help you be more competitive. Let’s build the future of manufacturing in the U.S. We are excited to have one of the first 500 series units installed at our facility and invite all to come visit.

When HP introduced their Jet Fusion color 3D printers, some may have had initial thoughts of “ho hum, Z Corp already did this years ago.” Right?

Admittedly, Zprinters produced good quality color models for marketing or design concepts. They made a big impact on product development for consumer products like toys, hand tools and items where the visual appeal was just as important as functionality. The problem though, was the models were limited in their use. They couldn’t reliably be used for fit or function because they basically consisted of glued drywall powder. This made the parts fragile, heavy and brittle.

Conversely, HP’s Jet Fusion output is engineering-grade thermoplastic. The parts are actually created from fused (melted) plastic using the same process as the current production-focused HP 4200 3D printer. Currently, the color material is Nylon PA 12, which is a very durable, rigid plastic. And, parts printed on the HP Jet Fusion are extremely precise – very similar to SLS units costing over $350k.

The HP Jet Fusion 580 | 380 print in full color so they can be used for marketing or concept models. But, think bigger picture here. Think end-use parts like prosthetic devices, CMM fixtures for inspection, or labeling for unique customization per part.

Let’s look at CMM (coordinate measuring machine) fixtures as an example. The CMM measures the geometry of objects using a probe. It’s supports are traditionally manufactured using CNC machining and multiple iterations are usually created because the measured object might change during the design phase.

The CMM Fixture holding the the object needs to be precise and durable as aluminum. Typically, they will have labels and coded supports added for the inspecting engineer to know tolerances, dimensions and other important specs to make sure the inspected part being held by the CMM fixture matches the required geometry.

Just imagine the time and cost savings being able to print these fixtures in-house, in a few hours, while freeing up valuable CNC production time. And, in full color.

The new HP 300|500 series printers will start shipping in Q2 2019 and offer never seen before final use parts in the sub $100k price level AND offer color. It will be exciting to see the new markets and uses this new technology will offer.

The recent introductions from both HP and Carbon have not only affected how we can produce functional parts in new print processes but they are also approaching the investment in two very distinct ways.  Carbon only leases their solutions for a specified period of time with no true ownership – similar to the way software licenses have gone to subscription models.  HP has chosen to create an open powder platform that they believe will drive down consumable prices to lower the cost per print.  At a lower cost per print, along with the output being functional, the goal is for new opportunities and applications to displace and/or augment traditional manufacturing processes while speeding up design cycles.

What these new pricing models mean, is the way you look at the total investment for 3D printing, or cost of ownership has changed.  As an example, I’ll discuss the HP model, since I am familiar with it.

Currently, HP’s consumable cost is around $3 per cubic inch and can go as low as $2, based on efficiencies.  I’ll assume the $3 going forward to err on the higher side.   Although this pricing is not uncommon in the production 3D print space with SLS and SLA, it’s more typical that part costs are upwards of $8 per cubic inch on traditional jetted technologies – plus the cost of support material.

The traditional jetted 3D printers we implemented had an initial investment of just about $ 110,000 and running cost for material was $8- $9 per cubic inch.  Let’s assume you are running 500 cubic inches per month of build and support material – that’s $4,000 per month in consumable expenses.  Compare this to HP which currently has an initial investment of about $240,000 for the print system and, at $3 per cubic inch, the monthly consumable expense would be $ 1,500.  This is an estimated $2,500 savings in the material by running HP.  Spread out over time, that would have a breakeven point of somewhere around 56 months.

Now, this may seem like a long period, but the real advantage is the new applications that HP (and Carbon) open up, along with the fact that system pricing and consumable pricing will continue to lower as machine adoption grows.  Traditional prototype machines are often limited by throughput and material properties, with the production output from these new technologies the breakeven point is often moved up considerably through new applications.

For an example of throughput, take the example of 500 cubic inches of printing per month. The HP technology can print this in a matter of days, where often the typical jetted or FDM technologies would take weeks.

Now, I realize all these numbers are examples, and everyone’s true numbers may be different. But, the point I am trying to make is the way we look at total cost of ownership and payback is shifting.  Beyond the initial equipment investment, it’s important to understand all the costs of supporting a printing process.

Lastly, my example only covers one portion of cost because you also need to look into things such as support contracts, finishing equipment, software resources, etc… so there is more to it and that’s the trick – looking beyond machine acquisition expense to fully understand the true investment over the life of the unit.

The game is changing for manufacturing and in my opinion, this is a good shift that will open up new processes and markets for 3D printing.