Is 3D printing technology mature now?

3D printing can not only make design prototypes by laser rapid prototyping, but now, from initial conceptual design to final product manufacturing, 3D printing has transformative advantages in all aspects of product design and manufacturing. Especially in the highly competitive market environment, it is particularly important and effective to choose 3D printing technology in the product design and manufacturing process.

A few years ago, only a few professional design engineers were using 3D printers, and they were usually limited to making some concept models or prototypes. At that time, 3D printing was generally regarded as a novelty and luxury. Over time, it has been proven that 3D printing can help optimize designs, accelerate time-to-market, and create value for businesses. At present, 3D printing technology has greatly released the potential of designers, and more and more designs have been turned into reality with the help of 3D printing.

Usually 80% of the production cost is determined in the design stage, which is an important part of controlling product cost. Therefore, it is very important to find defects in the product design process in the early stage of product design and correct them in time to avoid problems in subsequent production. 

Among them, model making is an important link that we can use. First-class enterprises use 3D printing equipment to quickly produce enough models for evaluation in the early stage of product design, which not only saves time, but also reduces design defects. With the progress of product design and development, they will use 3D printing to repeatedly make prototype models for design communication, design verification, assembly testing and publicity display, in order to achieve product function improvement, production cost reduction, better quality, and target market acceptance. 

In the stage of small batch trial production of products, 3D printing provides the best solution for rapid prototyping, and 3D printed samples can be used for publicity and display, market research, trial sales, etc. In the most productive part of the product, more and more companies are using 3D printing to speed up the delivery cycle, reduce the price of personalized customization, improve the quality of product delivery, and increase production efficiency.

In recent years, 3D printing technology has developed rapidly and has made great progress in all aspects. Combined with manufacturing methods such as CNC machining, casting, metal cold spraying, and silicone molds, this technology has become an effective means of manufacturing modern models, molds, and parts. It also occupies a unique position in applied fields such as engineering and teaching research.