One disadvantage of FDM parts are that they are usually weaker than injection molded ones because of how the extruded lines have to fuse together rather than just being moulded in one piece.
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3D prints are great for those one off things. In the past I’ve printed replacement parts for a swimming pool, a g-clamp I needed for a one off task, I’ve fixed a rotary clothes line…
My most recent print was an AirTag holder for my wallet. Aviator who make the wallet wanted €35 for their one. Mine cost me probably 5p in plastic 😂
3D printers are also great if you only have space for one machine.
They give you the highest versatility for the lowest footprint.
Yea, the versatility of 3D printing is a perk. You don’t need to buy a mold just download/create what you need and viola a few hours later its there.
Sure its good for “rapid” prototyping but the cost and time advantage dont scale. If I need exactly 1 of something FDM will almost always cost less and take less time. If I need 100-1000-10,000 of something FDM will cost far more upfront for printers than the cost of molds and doing a large injection run.
So it really comes down to what you need and want. For testing, and developing something FDM is fantastic, but once you need to scale, traditional manufacturing will win every single time by a mile!
Wow, there are some really in depth and great replies thank you everyone.
Right now for my use cases some of the advantages I see are:
- Rapid Prototyping
- Using FDM where injection molding would struggle, examples include articulating toys.
- Low volume production runs
Does anyone have a multi-filament printer? I am not quite sure how this would compare with injection molding, but I am able to get relatively fine color changes on a single part. See picture of an earring that I am prototyping.
Advantage of 3D printing is that you can virtually print anything you want and have it available to use within minutes to a few hours without leaving your place or order something to be delivered. The down sides are that it usually needs to be designed with 3D printing in mind. It’s also a bit weaker due to the layer adhesion, it’s surface finish is not as precise (resin is another story though) Also with a decentralized manufacture there is no QC possible so if you design something and put it up online the quality will vary depending on who prints it and on what. Finally, there’s a problem with IP, when you manufacture a mold and inject then sell, you can charge per item, with 3 D print you may pay for the STL but the. There are no restrictions on how many copies you can make. So it’s a challenge to adapt pricing of designs if you’re looking to make a profit from it.
Weaker, not smooth without postprocessing, not food friendly, and of course much slower.
