If you’re facing resistance from your manager, sceptical about 3D printing as a serious technology for batch manufacturing, you’re probably not alone. Convincing them requires a solid understanding of the technology’s benefits and its potential impact on production. 

Here are the top eight arguments, with compelling data points and examples in favour of considering 3D printing to arm yourself with for your next conversation.

1. Now a mature technology

While 3D printing was initially synonymous with rapid prototyping, the market has evolved rapidly. Solutions are now available designed from the ground up  with batch manufacturing in mind e.g. HP’s MJF technology. In fact, according to a report by SmarTech Analysis, the global market for 3D printing in production reached $4.1 billion in 2020 and will grow to $46bn billion by 2030. That kind of growth signifies a real shift towards adopting 3D printing for end-use parts and products.

2. A great leveller in reducing time to market 

Traditional manufacturing methods like injection moulding involve lengthy setup times and tooling processes, resulting in slow time-to-production. 3D printing eliminates the need for tooling, allowing for rapid changes and faster product launches. And while companies like BMW and Adidas have reportedly leveraged 3D printing to reduce time to market by up to 50%, 3D printing’s other advantages mean there’s no reason why you need to be at their scale to do the same.

3. Cost-efficiency at any scale

Batch manufacturing using 3D printing is the great leveller for SMEs to compete. With almost no set-up costs, plus the ability to produce almost limitless combinations of products and parts in each run, efficiencies can be made at almost any quantity. Working with a 3D print manufacturer also removes the up-front fixed costs of production grade machines. Now you can prototype in-house on smaller machines, then sub-contract out at the production stage.

In addition, unlike subtractive manufacturing methods such as CNC machining, 3D printing produces very little material waste. Instead, it is an additive process that uses only the necessary amount of material, reducing waste and associated costs. 

4. Greater design flexibility 

3D printing enables intricate and complex geometries that are challenging or impossible to achieve with traditional manufacturing. It also provides a potentially lower cost alternative and complementary manufacturing methods for components and sub-assemblies.  This design freedom can mean weight reduction, consolidation of parts, and customisation, enhancing product performance and functionality, and potentially reducing assembly times. For example, GE Aviation utilised 3D printing to turn 855 parts into just 12 for their LEAP aircraft engine fuel nozzles. This resulted in both weight reduction and improved fuel efficiency. Not limited by fixed tooling, design changes can be incorporated in every production run delivering an unrivalled agility.

5. Lower stockholding and on-demand delivery

Traditional manufacturing is a risky business. It needs large upfront investment, accurate forecasting and large inventory stockpiles to meet demand. This can lead to overproduction, excess and potentially obsolete inventory costs. 3D printing enables on-demand manufacturing, allowing companies to produce parts and products as needed, reducing inventory holding costs and minimising the risk of obsolescence.

6. Improved sustainability

With increasing awareness of environmental issues, sustainability has become a priority for many companies. 3D printing offers sustainability benefits such as reduced material waste, energy efficiency, and the ability to use recycled materials. It also facilitates manufacture much closer to the point of end consumption. A study by the European Patent Office, 3D printing can reduce material usage by up to 90% compared to traditional manufacturing methods, all contributing to helping businesses meet their carbon reduction targets.

7. Customisation and personalisation 

In today’s consumer-driven market, customisation and personalisation are key differentiators. 3D printing enables mass customisation by allowing for unique designs, part identification markings and individualised products without incurring additional costs or production lead times. This capability opens up new opportunities for product differentiation and customer engagement.

8. Agility and Adaptability 

In a fast-paced and constantly evolving market, agility is crucial for staying competitive. 3D printing offers unparalleled agility for batch manufacturing, allowing for quick design iterations, product customisation, and rapid response to changing market demands. Companies like Nike have embraced 3D printing to create customised athletic footwear tailored to individual athletes’ needs, Ford Motor company have offered customers the ability to customise their vehicles, and Ocado have created entire solutions heavily utilising HP’s Multi Jet Fusion technology across their robotic warehousing solutions. 

 

By presenting these compelling arguments backed by facts, figures and the tacit endorsement of the technology by household brands, you can effectively convey the benefits of 3D printing for batch manufacturing to your sceptical manager. Emphasise the technology’s ability to drive innovation, reduce costs, and improve efficiency, not just for major multinationals, but also for organisations at almost any scale, ultimately positioning your company for success in the dynamic manufacturing landscape.

 

 

As a next step, why not set up a no-obligation conversation with us, and we’ll share our own examples and case studies, relevant to your own business and industry.

The team here at Midlands 3D is both virtually and in a very real sense, a family. With our origins of the business in the garage of our family home (not unlike the start of HP – the makers of our MJF machines), our team includes not only me, but my wife Deborah and daughter Megan. My son Jake helps out too when we’re busy and he’s not at college. Even my brother, Andrew, has been known to help with our marketing from time to time.

Not one to be idle when visiting, we even managed to rope in my now retired father, Ron, into a shift on a recent trip to Staffordshire!

A history in print

Maybe a career in printing was inevitable for at least one of us three siblings, after all Dad spent his entire career in the print industry – the “2D”, ink on paper variety. Starting first on the shop floor, he moved into sales in the 1980’s. Maybe printing is in the blood indeed.

During that time he worked for some of the world’s biggest print companies including BPCC and Canadian HQ’ed Quebecor. At the time Quebecor were the world’s largest commercial printer, with more than 200 printing plants and shops in over 15 countries on three continents. Back then, I seem to remember, some of the biggest and most hotly contested contracts were for the big mail order catalogues that it seemed every home would have at least one of. It almost became a Christmas tradition to circle items for “Santa” to select from! 

Printing parallels

When I look at how that industry has changed over the years and think about our world of 3D Printing, I guess the biggest parallel is the growing use of “print on demand”. it offers numerous options for individuals and businesses to print brochures, business cards and even books and merchandise as orders are received, and in locations close to the point of demand.

For us, online ordering via our website and membership of the HP Digital Manufacturing Network, for international customers delivers just that.

Maybe printing is in the blood, maybe not. Great to see the old boy back on the shop floor though, even if it was just for an afternoon!

 

With the cost of money spiraling right now it’s no surprise that management teams the world over are looking for innovative ways to driving growth at the top line while cutting costs and improving cash flow. For product based businesses, if there is one class of manufacturing technology that holds immense potential for delivering just that, it is additive manufacturing, more commonly known as 3D printing. 

No longer just for prototyping, market adoption of 3D printing is mushrooming, with the global additive manufacturing market size now projected to reach $83.56 billion by 2030 – a CAGR of 21.2% from 2022. 

Here are six key ways we’ve seen our own customers adopting the technology at scale to positively impact their business models. Could one or more of these approaches help your business to do the same?

1. Reduction in stock holding, liberating cash flow

One of the most significant advantages of additive manufacturing is its ability to produce parts on-demand. Longer lead times associated with many traditional manufacturing processes often mean maintaining large inventories to meet fluctuating demand. Large order volumes are often also needed to make unit pricing stack up. With 3D printing though, you can manufacture components as needed, eliminating the need for the stockpiling of parts and/or finished goods. This reduction in stock holding translates to significant cost savings and frees up cash that can be reinvested into other areas of the business.

2. Rapid design modifications for product innovation and cost reduction

In the fast-paced world of manufacturing, agility is paramount. Additive manufacturing enables quick and cost-effective design changes, allowing you to optimise product designs for both manufacturability and cost efficiency. With 3D printing, prototyping and testing of various design modifications is quick to achieve. This ensures that your products are both functional, competitive, while also being cost-effective to produce, enabling you to move from concept to production quickly.

3. Nearshore manufacturing to reduce lead times 

As global supply chains face increasing disruptions and uncertainties, many companies are re-evaluating their manufacturing strategies. Additive manufacturing offers the flexibility to “nearshore” production, bringing manufacturing closer to end users and distribution hubs. By decentralising production and reducing reliance on distant suppliers, you can both significantly shorten lead times, freeing up the “cash” that would otherwise be sat in shipping containers. Supply chain resilience, can also be improved, for when those containers get stuck in a canal! The adoption of 3D Printing for your most carbon intensive parts or products may also have significant benefits in any carbon reduction related targets you are working towards, especially when considered as part of a full LifeCycle Assessment (LCA).

4. Profitable production at lower volumes

More traditional manufacturing processes often entail high setup costs that require long production runs to make unit costs viable. This often makes small-batch production economically unviable. However, additive manufacturing excels at producing complex components in low volumes, all with minimal setup costs. This capability enables you to cater to niche markets and customer segments profitably, unlocking new revenue streams and market opportunities.

5. Adopting mass customisation for competitive advantage 

Innovation is key to maintaining a competitive edge. Additive manufacturing empowers you to not only innovate rapidly, but also gives you the freedom to create unique and custom designs and novel product configurations that might previously be unattainable in a commercially attractive way. Harnessing the full potential of 3D printing technology could be the key to further differentiating your offerings and driving top line growth by capturing market share or even opening up new market segments entirely that would previously have been unprofitable to target.

6. Minimising downtime with on-demand change parts

Beyond direct part production, additive manufacturing can also be the key to innovating across your production processes. By enabling the rapid design and deployment of, for example, custom tooling, jigs, and fixtures – bespoke solutions can be deployed to deliver workflow efficiencies or minimise downtime. Indeed, where parts for equipment in your production line are expensive and/or hard to source,  leveraging 3D printing for tooling and fixtures can streamline operations, increase up-time and throughput, while driving down unit costs, all enhancing your bottom line.

The adoption of additive manufacturing presents smart leadership teams with a unique opportunity to drive business transformation and create tangible value for their organisations. By embracing this technology, you can streamline operations, enhance agility, and unlock new avenues for growth and innovation. As you chart the course for your company’s future, consider the profound impact that additive manufacturing can have on your business model and financial performance. Embrace the possibilities, and position your company for success in the era of Industry 4.0.

 

 

The team at Midlands 3D have guided many of our customers on this journey and would welcome the opportunity to help you too.

Why not get in touch for a no-obligation chat and let’s see how we can help.

3D printing for Industry

By now, a good portion of the population has heard of it (unless you’ve been living under a rock, then there’s a good chance you haven’t.) 3D printing is the process in which a three-dimensional digital model is printed into a physical object. This innovative technology has steadily gained popularity with manufacturers and smaller businesses who it was previously inaccessible to.

One of the main settings used to determine the quality and cost of your 3d print is layer height.  A key principle of all 3d printing processes is that a part is made up of layers on top of each other in much the same way as a terraced landscape and the layer height is simply how high each of those terraced layers is.  The thinner the layer, the higher the resolution the final print and the less obvious each layer will be.

The thinner the layers, the longer the part will take to print and its important therefore to consider what layer height you need in order to ensure you aren’t paying over the odds for a higher resolution print when the benefits will be minimal, or be disappointed with the result when you placed your order based on price at the expense of using a larger layer height.

4 things to consider when choosing layer height:

1 – Cost
As we’ve said, higher resolutions costs more to print, but it isn’t always necessary.  The improvement by going to a finer layer height will be marginal on a print with lots of vertical faces vs a print with gradual slopes for example.  A good rule of thumb is to start with 200 microns (0.2mm).
2 – End use
It might sound obvious, but if it is only a prototype for basic shape/fit requirements, does it really have to be the highest resolution possible?  If it is for end use and might be painted, perhaps a lower resolution is ok and the time/effort is better spent on post-processing (filling, sanding and painting).
3 – Detail
If your part has many intricate details, it may be necessary to increase the resolution (choose a smaller layer height) in order to print these details.  Where greater levels of detail are required such as dental 3d prints, jewellery or character modelling, a resin based SLA process may be best suited.
4 – Model Size
The larger the part the more likely it is you will be able to use a larger layer heights as the physical size of the print masks the layering effects.  Obviously this isn’t always the case, but we recommend large format 3d prints have a minimum of 300 microns (0.3mm) layer height.
As you can see, there’s a few trade-offs and in many cases it comes down to cost, but we regularly help our customers to reduce 3d printing costs by working with you to understand the best trade-offs between printing method, layer height and finish required.

We are proud to annouce the acquisition of the Lancashire 3D brand and associated operations making Midlands 3D one of the largest 3D printing services in the UK.

Our respective businesses have grown in parallel over the past 4 years and we have maintained a great professional relationship throughout that time. As the current owners have now decided to move onto other ventures, Midlands 3D has taken the opportunity to complement our existing volume and large format printing capability with the Lancashire 3D range of services including the use of recycled filaments.

It’s always great to receive an order which puts an extra large smile on our faces and a recent order from the Martin-Baker Aircraft Company did exactly that!
As the world leader in the design and manufacture of ejection and crashworthy seats for nearly 70 years saving over 7,500 lives, the Martin-Baker company approached us to print 2000 model ejector seats in super quick time.  Having been let down previously and with less than two weeks to go before the Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT), the 3D printed ejector seats were needed for a very special interactive display in the Techno Zone at the show focused on STEM subjects: Science, Technology, English & Maths.  A model F-35 was used to demonstrate ejector seats enabling kids (of all ages!) to create and eject their very own seat.

Henry ejecting his own made ejector seat from the F-35 model on the Martin Baker stand @airtattoo @MB_EjectEject @thef35 pic.twitter.com/YIg4kwslG4

— Mark Suffield (@mark_suffield) July 13, 2018

— Mark Suffield (@mark_suffield) July 13, 2018

Our volume 3d printing capability enabled us to allocate 15 machines from the print farm to create 2000 models in time to be used on the display.

We recently showcased the new addition to our 3D printing service line up, a Raise3D large format machine capable of printing up to 305x305x610mm parts, and it wasn’t long before the first order arrived to test it!

A customer contacted us with their own design for a race car dashboard which needed to be printed in as few pieces as possible using ABS plastic.  We worked on the design a little to cut down on cost but also improve the printability of the design and the end result is both a great looking print and a very happy customer!  The pieces included a three dial binnacle and main section for larger speedo and rev counter with a smaller piece for warning lights to the right of the clocks.  The pictures show the dashboard trialled in place shortly after receiving them.

Do you have a project on the go? Contact us for a quote.

We’re continuing to invest in the print farm at Midlands 3D and have now added the awesome Raise3D N2 Plus to the line up.  The new machine will enable much larger print volumes up to 305x305x610mm and greatly improve the number of available materials.

To-date, we’ve been focused on volume capability with a line up of 12 identical machines producing both PLA and ABS batches and 2 further machines dedicated to more complex print jobs.  Having previously needed to turn away work which would have required printing a part in multiple pieces, the new machine will enable larger print jobs to be completed in one piece.

Quality isn’t compromised either with layer resolution between 0.01-0.25mm and positional accuracy to XY-axes: 0.0125 mm, Z-axis: 0.00125 mm.