Advantages of 3d printing over traditional printing methods

(1) Low-cost manufacturing of complex articles

As we all know, using traditional manufacturing methods, the more complex the shape and structure of processed goods, the higher the manufacturing cost will be. Therefore, in order to pursue the lowest input of production cost, manufacturers often produce standardized parts in batches through labor subdivision and standardized workflow, which is difficult to meet the diversified needs of customers. However, for 3D printing, the same processing principle is made by adding materials, and there is no need to process molds and mechanical equipment. Even products with complex shapes will not increase the production cost and labor demand too much. 3D printing can reduce the cycle and cost of sample trial production and small batch production, which is beneficial to the development of new products, personalized and luxury customized products industries.

(2) The product has short production cycle and high precision.

3D printing technology can optimize many complicated processes in traditional manufacturing and processing industries, and directly manufacture complex structures, so as to find the problems existing in product modeling and structural design as soon as possible, reduce the turnover and accumulated losses of other subsequent processes caused by frequent design changes, and significantly improve the efficiency of new product development and the success rate of putting into production lines. For example, 3D printing does not need mold opening process, which greatly saves operation time; The characteristics of one-step molding greatly reduce the workload of later auxiliary processing and outsourcing processing, and effectively ensure the security of confidential data in some confidential fields (such as aviation, nuclear power, military industry and other industries). At the same time, it also reduces the error accumulation in the post-processing process and makes the products more accurate, especially in high-end precision machinery industries such as automobiles, airplanes and nuclear power. 3D printing technology can realize the natural seamless connection of products, without parting lines and unnecessary gaps, which makes the product structure more stable, and the stiffness and strength are obviously higher than those of traditional manufacturing processes. Compared with traditional production technology, 3D printing technology can improve processing efficiency by 3.5 times and shorten product development cycle by 30%. Save the production cost by 30%. 50%.

(3) Variety and personalized design of product categories.

Traditional machinery and equipment are limited by their functions, and the types of products produced are also very limited. However, 3D printing technology does not need to buy new mechanical equipment or train new professional technicians. Countless products with different forms can be printed only by using the same 3D printer, and an assembly-free structure and a complex porous structure can be formed, which can not be realized by the traditional technology, thus realizing the personalized customization experience of users. The tense and awkward relationship between designers and products, designers and users, and users and products has been alleviated because of the emergence of 3D printing technology.

(4) Integrated molding and manufacturing of products

The traditional production of large-scale systems needs to produce different parts, and then be assembled and adjusted by workers or robots on the assembly line. The more parts, the greater the labor and time cost of product assembly. The most typical example is the manufacturing process of electronic circuits. First, people have to make the internal plastic and ceramic parts one by one through different mechanical equipment, and then assemble them to form the metal parts of electronic circuits. 3D printing can realize the integrated molding of products. Through layered and regionalized manufacturing, different parts can be printed with different materials at the same time, which reduces many intermediate links, saves complicated assembly procedures and saves manpower and material resources. The whole production process usually takes several months to manufacture parts in the traditional way, while 3D printing technology may only take several years or even hours, which greatly improves the production efficiency. Boeing used 3D printing integrated molding technology to print out the duct of a jet airliner, which replaced more than 20 parts as a whole, effectively reducing the storage space of parts and reducing management costs.

(5) Unlimited design of technology and form

Traditional manufacturing technology is limited by tools, technological level and processing methods, and the form of products manufactured is also limited. For example, the molding machine can only do die casting, the traditional wood lathe can only produce round products, and the rolling mill can only cooperate with the milling cutter to process and assemble parts. And 3D printing technology can break through these limitations and provide designers with more possibilities. At the same time, the emergence of 3D printing technology may make many old products re-excavated, improved and redesigned, bringing new extraordinary creations.

(6) 6) The 3D printer has strong operability.

Traditional handicraft manufacturing requires professional craftsmen to master skilled professional skills. Even in the era of mass production and computer, a large number of experienced professionals are still needed to operate and calibrate the machine. 3D printing has created a new business model. Even the most complicated items, as long as they get the computer source files, anyone can make them in any environment, and the operation is simple and easy. Unskilled manufacturing makes it possible for ordinary people to manufacture products in remote environments or extreme situations.

(7) High portability of manufacturing machines

Compared with traditional manufacturing machines, the production capacity of 3D printers is more powerful. For example, limited by the physical size of the machine, the traditional injection molding machine can only produce products much smaller than its own size, while the 3D printer can produce products as big as the printing table because of its small size and convenient movement. The advantage of high portability makes 3D printers hopeful to be a must-have in the future home or office. At present, the existing home 3D printers on the market are almost as big as ordinary printers. Of course, some industrial-grade 3D printers are similar to traditional industrial equipment, requiring special production environment, and portability is not applicable.

(8) Environmental protection of the products produced.

Traditional metal processing methods will make nearly 90% of metal raw materials be discarded, which is easy to cause serious waste of resources and seriously endanger environmental health. Another invisible benefit of 3D printing technology is that it can recycle the remaining materials after processing, which not only effectively relieves the shortage of supply and demand of some non-renewable resources (such as rare earth metals), but also greatly reduces the generation of by-products and wastes. At the same time, the global "electronic transportation" aims to replace the transportation of raw materials and finished products, so that factories can produce products nearby, simplify and eliminate complex production lines and parts supply chains, reduce carbon emissions of products from the perspective of environmental protection, and improve the global "resource production efficiency". With the gradual development of printing materials and technology, 3D printing is expected to become a more environmentally friendly processing method with "zero emission and net molding". Another great contribution of 3D printing to environmental protection is its "zero inventory" feature. 3D printing technology allows manufacturers to produce and manufacture products on demand, without establishing product storage mechanism or even spare parts inventory, thus reducing the risk of cost investment and the waste of discarded products. Especially in the military field, it is of great significance. When the military needs to ensure the sufficient supply of foreign military bases and combat frontline weapons reserves, it can ensure the continuous reserve of military weapons in time and quickly by deploying 3D printers and raw materials. In the future, mature 3D printing technology can print parts at any time, reducing the transportation and assembly of a large number of bulky spare parts.

(9) Diversified production of raw material combination

Because the current industrial equipment is cutting, casting and multi-dimensional processing of raw materials, it is difficult to simply integrate raw materials with different properties into stable new materials. With the in-depth study of 3D printing technology on multi-material fusion, it provides many possibilities for the mixing of materials with different characteristics, resulting in many functionally gradient structures and heterogeneous material structures with unique attributes and functions, optimizing product performance, helping to realize the lightweight of product structure and further improving the utilization rate of materials.

(10) global economic localization

The wide application of 3D printing technology has changed the pattern of global import and export trade, and the dependence of importing countries on imports has decreased. Localized production can effectively reduce the global economic imbalance. At the same time, the huge potential of the future 3D printing market can drive the rapid development of the global economy. From industry to commerce to government industry, from enterprises to families and individuals, 3D printing will spread all over the world in the next few decades, and the growing customer base will bring trillions of commercial resources in product design, product manufacturing, printers, consumables consumption and other fields. For developing countries, more economical local renewable resources greatly reduce their dependence on imported advanced and expensive technologies and materials, thus further reducing production costs and benefiting their own people. For the aging developed countries, the 3D industry reduces the demand for expensive domestic labor and the dependence on cheap foreign labor, which is conducive to improving the overall production capacity of the country.

(1 1) The close relationship between manufacturing and service industries

Another great influence of 3D industry on the global economy is that the industrial boundaries between manufacturing and service industries are increasingly blurred, which makes the industries no longer have the previous simple division of labor, but show a trend of mutual integration and increasingly close development. Manufacturing enterprises can obtain various user service requirements through the network, and minimize the allocation cost of each production factor. On the other hand, the network platform provides a broader channel for service sales and promotes the global sales ability of new products in a short time. With the advent of the experience society, the experience and service value of products account for an increasing proportion of the whole product use value, which requires manufacturers and distributors to cooperate closely, not only to provide the basic use functions of products, but also to play an active role in a series of subsequent hidden services (such as supporting information systems, software systems, product maintenance services, etc.). Only in this way can we improve the comprehensive strength of products and occupy a place in today's fiercely competitive society.

(12) miniaturization reform of production mode

In the traditional industrial manufacturing process, once the parameters of automatic machinery and equipment are determined, it is difficult to modify them, so it is suitable for the manufacture of a single kind of products. 3D printing technology makes manufacturing system more flexible and inclusive. By recombining, reusing and updating the combination mode of the system or subsystem, it can be quickly adjusted to adapt to different printing production tasks. The "third industrial revolution" brought by 3D printing technology has successfully transformed a large number of physical material flows into virtual information flows under the background of the information age, which may fundamentally change the original production organization mode. A computer and a 3D printer can be used for product development and manufacturing. This low-threshold production mode weakens the advantages of intensive production of large enterprises, increases the survival opportunities of small and medium-sized enterprises and even individual entrepreneurs, and turns large-scale factory production into a new mode of socialization, community and even personalization.