To bring 3D printing mainstream there are several related factors that need to be improved upon to make it an equal partner with traditional production.
There’s been a great deal of press about the benefits of metal 3D printing, and rightly so. We are only beginning to experience the impact that this technology will have on all aspects of manufacturing. And yet, 3D printing in metal has not been adopted on a large scale as a volume production solution for commercial products. Why is that? And what can we foresee a few years down the road that may change this equation?
First, let’s understand that conventional manufacturing has a long history and has achieved a degree of maturity that additive manufacturing can only dream of. It’s been more than 200 years since the beginning of the industrial revolution, so every conventional process that we use in a factory today has been tried and tested through billions of made objects. That means for most products, it’s hard to compete with the speed and efficiency of traditional manufacturing.