3D Printing has been a game changer from traditional manufacturing in building prototypes. It takes a long time to prototype using traditional manufacturing methods. The 3D printing process builds a three-dimensional object from a digital file. It's commonly used for fabricating parts such as tools, jigs and fixtures in manufacturing for rapid iteration and testing during the product development process.

The revolutionary 3D Printing changes the way organizations design and manufacture products as it can save impressive amounts of time and money without jeopardizing the product quality.

Industry 4.0 is gaining momentum moving forward and the world is again taking notice of 3D printing. The usage of 3D Printing is increasing as time passes by while the capabilities are increasingly up to the challenge of demanding manufacturing environments and end-use conditions. With the utilization of 3D Printing, more agility, more on-demand and just-in-time production, lower costs, new geometries are just a few of the many benefits the 3D Printing provides.

In a recent survey conducted by Jabil, it was discovered that in just over a year, the number of companies utilizing 3D printing as well as the variety of applications rocketed dramatically; the percentage of companies using additive 3D Printing to manufacture production parts rose from 27% to 52%, bridge production increased from 23% to 39%, and repair went from 14% to 38%. Although the 3D printing industry is currently worth around $9.3 billion a report by Smithers Pira predicts that the 3D Printing industry will be worth $55.8 billion by 2027.

Source:https://www.jabil.com/blog/future-of-3d-printing-additive-manufacturing-looks-bright.html

CUSTOMER CHALLENGES:

Traditional production line equipment such as grippers, suction pads or jigs are constantly exposed to temperature-induced stress, which will lead to wear and tear of the parts. Any unexpected failure in this equipment will affect the whole chain of production line which would result in manufacturing downtime that will cause losses for the company.

Cost effectiveness is always the main factors to stay competitive in the market. Sometimes the demands for certain products are not high where it only requires small amount, it is pointless to mass produce these products as they have limited shelf life which leads to product expiry and a higher production cost.

During the product prototype process, numerous testing needs to be done in order to examine the integrity and capability of the product. In the nature of testing, redesigning and modifications on the prototypes are unavoidable. Process of redesigning and modifications are extremely vital and frequent. Following the traditional way when the frequency of redesigning increases, the repetition of this process would increase thus greatly increasing the lead time of just creating a prototype.

There are times during the manufacturing process, the requirements of the products are not met within the measurement tolerance. It will cause a longer time and is not flexible to modify the equipment to meet the requirement.

Traditional production may have limitations on the range of shapes and they may have challenges in manufacturing one entire piece for the prototype.

The workers who deal with heavy and bulky machineries and tools in the traditional production line are prone to injury compared to other workers. Any injuries happen will definitely affect the production.

A COMPETITIVE EDGE IN PROTOTYPING & PRODUCTION

Ultimaker printers are able to print composite material and has excellent multi-material capabilities. The Ultimaker printers supports a wide range of materials. The wide ranges of support materials are inclusive of but not limited to: PLA, ABS, Nylon, CPE, CPE+, PC, PP, TPU 95A. Users may also test other materials with Ultimaker’s open filament system to fit their own requirement and standards.

Furthermore, the printers also have built in camera to capture every aspect of the print process. With this, users are able to supervise the printing throughout the whole process. Users can immediately halt the printing process should there be any malfunction to minimize the material wastage. 

Moreover, Ultimaker printers feature a heated building plate, a geared feeder, and efficient cooling. These make it particularly effective for printing bridging and accurate details, allowing the users to create the consistent results required. With the new level of design complexity, the Ultimaker uses a reliable dual extrusion technology and water-soluble support to allow complete design freedom with minimal post-processing during printing.

BENEFIT

Manufacturers no longer need to purchase big and bulky equipment in order to perform the same functions – produce parts and components. All they require is to purchase a Ultimaker 3D printer, place in on a table top and it is already capable of printing up an object to the volume of 330 x 240 x 300 mm. With this, manufacturers can also save costs by hiring fewer workers to operate the manufacturing machines and minimize the overhead costs.

The prototyping process can also be sped up with the lowest cost possible compared to the traditional way of manufacturing, which requires manufacturers to create the mould first in order to produce the parts.

Ultimaker printers print their products with composite materials which comprises of numerous varieties of materials. With the range of materials used, users can specifically mix the composition of different materials in order to produce the highest quality of products which suits the users’ requirements and applications.

Ultimaker printers can produce a greater range of shapes that are capable of printing a maximum object volume of 330 x 240 x 300 mm. Hence, for designs that cannot be manufactured in one entire piece with traditional means can easily be achieved. This eliminates the need for any form of attachment between different components which results in a stronger structure as there are no weak spots which can be compromised or stressed.

The 3D Printing process with Ultimaker is very swift and hassle free too. With the assistance of the Cura Software, users are able to tweak any changes in the design by a simple click on the mouse. The prototype can be produced as quickly as an overnight for production to proceed with mass. With this, manufacturers save significant time in order to bring the products to the market as compared to the previous supply chain.

Producing a part on-demand with Ultimaker Printer enables flexibility for manufacturers in supporting the urgent needs of the customer. Users can easily store the digital files of the parts in Cura Connect software and retrieve them whenever necessary. Hence, 3D Printing is the perfect fit for low to mid-volume production.

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