What are Advantages and Disadvantages of 3D Printing Technology?

There are various advantages and disadvantages of using 3D technology. While it has many advantages, as well as it has also few major disadvantages; as follow them:

Advantages of 3D Printing Technology

There are various advantages and pros of 3D printing technology; below mentioned all, you can check them:

Also Read: What is Mobile Computing? Applications, Advantages & Disadvantages!

Flexible Design:

3D printing allows to print and design of more complex methods as compare to traditional manufacturing concepts. Traditional processed are managed by the limitations on a design that are not applicable to the application of 3D printing.

3D printing, as the opposite of conventional methods, allows the inclusion of couple of material in the single object, permitting a range of color, texture, and mechanical characteristics to be varied and coordinated. As well as, 3D printing allows to all users, even who are getting less computer aided design skill, to modify the design in the way they prefer, designing unique, personalized fresh parts. So, every provided design is capable to develop through an array of varied materials

Improved Speed:

The main concern of 3D printing is primary the speed at the rate of which the parts are often produced as comparison to the conventional manufacturing models. CAD model permits complex designs to be uploaded and printed in the handful of hour. 3D printing also lets for quickly verification and development of design models.

Industries additive manufacturing machines mostly take more time for getting to print and post-processing a part, the capacity of producing function end part at low to mid amount facilities a heavily time saving perk in the relation to conventional manufacturing models.

Having Rapid Prototyping:

3D printing is capable to manufacture parts within hours that help to speed up the prototyping process. With the helping of this, every stage is to done as fastest. Whenever we try to compare it with machining prototypes, its outcome will be shown that it is inexpensive and instantly at the creating parts as the part can be completed in hours that allow to every design modification to be done at the much sufficient price.

Confidentiality:

With getting to continuous prototyping and manufacturing in house, 3D printer make ensure that designs never leave the company premise, safeguarding your intellectual property. Third-parties are not able to claim your innovations for them. Each innovation design in kept in-house, so there is no requiring to worry about confidentiality any longer.

Printing on Demand:

Printing on demand is also another pro of 3D printing that means it doesn’t require the more space to stock inventory, like as traditional manufacturing process. Cause of this, to keep save space and costs as there is no requiring printing in massive unless needed.

Enhanced Quality:

Traditional manufacturing models can make lead to poor designs and worst quality prototypes, and the involvement elements are not being blended perfectly, the final result can be spoiled, like as in scenario of subtractive or injection methods, then quality is not made ensure. 3D printing permits for step by step assembling of the product otherwise its part; and it makes ensure for the boosting of the design and enhance quality parts or items.

Durability & Lightweight Parts:

Today, plastic is going to use for getting to 3D printing material, although few metals can also be utilized for 3D printing. Hence, plastics provide the benefits as they are much light weight as compare to their metal equivalents. This is specific important in industries like as automotive and aerospace where light-weighting is an problem and can deliver greater fuel efficiency. As well as, components can be also constructed from custom material to serve certain characteristic such as great strength, water resistance, and heat resistance.

Fastest Design & Production:

At the based on the structure of parts and design, 3D printing is able to print parts in a matter of minute that is very much sufficient to mold or machined parts. It is not only manufacturing process that can keep save time along with 3D printing, but also the designing process is rapidly. It occurs by making deal with STL and CAD designs that are always ready to printing.

Less Waste:

The process of the making parts needs the components required to make the part itself; and it is getting to minimize or non-waste as opposed to other processes that are constructed of enlarge chunks of non-recyclable material. This is not just assists to the usage of resources but also decreases the prices of the material utilized.

Cost Affordability:

In the scenario of small production, 3D printing is a higher sufficient and helpful manufacturing process. Traditional prototyping concepts like as CNC machining necessitate a higher number of pricey machines and having highly labour cost since they call for well skilled machine operators and technicians for operating them.

This is in difference with 3D printing procedure in which rarely a couple of machines and fewer numbers of operators are needed for getting to manufacture a part. Thus, minimal waste material is produced as the part is designed from scratch as compare to carve from solid blocks.

Getting to Access with Ease:

The 3D printers are getting more accessible along with more local service providers providing the outsourcing services for the manufacturing work. This helps to protect time and doesn’t need expensive transport prices as compared to more conventional manufacturing processed produced abroad in countries such as Russia and China.

Friendly-Environmentally:

Cause of using this technology, it helps to cut down on the amount of waste material employed, so this concept is green. Thus, the environment benefits can be enhanced when you take into account factors such as improved efficiency of fuel of using lighter 3D printed components.

Sustainability:

With helping of 3D printing, fewer parts require to be outsourced for making manufacturing. It implies the less impact on the environment as lesser number of stuffs is shipped around the globe and there are few requirements for operating and keep maintain an energy consuming factory.

Advanced Healthcare:

Now these days, 3D printing is being used in the medical and healthcare sector to keep save lives via printing parts that are required for human body, such as livers, heart, and kidneys. The advanced development and applications are going to create in the medical area, bringing the greatest technological enhancement that result from the usage of 3D printing.

Decrease Time:

It is also big advantages of 3d printing is that parts and its products can be also manufactured much quicker as compare by using the traditional techniques. Complicated designs can be constructed as a CAD model and then they transformed into reality in a fewer time duration. Its delivers design ideas in such way that makes enable them to be verified instantly and designed in a less space of time. This is so much advantage over the conventional concepts as they take more time like weeks or months to go from the design stage to prototype stage and right through to the production process.

Decrease Errors:

While coming to designing parts and products, the designers are going to consider efficiency. Most of parts and products need the higher number of step by using the traditional models of manufacturing in the order to be produced. So, each step could result in an error, with having the risk of starting over again, making to lead to problems along with the overall manufacturing process. Thus, a single step manufacture process is the most beneficial.

3D printing is capable to eliminate risk because designs can be verified via creating a production ready prototype before going to ahead along with the finalize creation. Then, it helps to enhance the confidence in making the design before investment and further money is paid take it to the further level of production for the globe market.

Decrease Risk:

3D printing makes enable businesses to minimal their manufacturing risks. It also makes enable product designers to get verify product prototype prior to 3D printing technology and permits product designers to verified product prototypes prior to kick-starting on substantial manufacturing make investment that can prove to be disastrous.

Production on Demand:

The capability to have to completely freedom in the making design is one vast advantage of 3D printing. It also makes enable designer for getting to customize designs. So, 3D printing is the better solution for one off production and creating a single parts in one process that means it has ability to customize is there to take advantage of. Due to its customization ability, most of sectors are going to adopt the 3D printing like as medical and health industries.

Therefore, 3D printing creates the customization of products that leads to enhancement structure integrity improved, complicated changes made and parts altered to fit specific needs. At the finally, 3D printing offers the endless customization volume of possibilities.

Disadvantages of 3D Printing Technology

In this section, we are going to cover several challenges and limitations of 3D printing technology; below explain each one:

Also Read: What is Green Computing with Examples? Advantages and Disadvantages!!

Highly Usage of Energy:

As per the research by Loughborough University, that 3D printers are getting to consume about 50 to 1000 times more energy as compare to injection moulding, whenever the melting plastic with laser or heat. Cause of this, the environment gets the impact related to product manufacturing, shown that direct laser metal deposition consumes 100 times as much electrical energy as tradition manufacturing. Hence, for the mass production, 3D printers use the lot of energy and so better solution for the small batch production runs.

Initial Expensive of Printer:

You have to need the 3D printer, and difficult the tough task to get return on investment is quickly and higher, so the initial investment has to be done.

Restricted Materials:

3D printing is capable to create items in the selection of plastics and metals the available chosen of raw material in not exhaustive. Cause of this, not all plastics or metals can be temperature handled enough to permit 3D printing. As well as, lot of these printable materials unable to recycle and some are food safe.

Limited Build Size:

At this time, 3D printers are getting small print chambers that limit the size of parts that can be printed. Any bigger item will require be printing in individually parts and merging together after getting the production. Cause of this, increase the price and time for longer parts cause of the printer requiring to print many parts before manual labour is going to use to merge the parts together.

Getting to Post-Processing Requirements:

As you know very well that enlarge parts are needed to post processing, as shown above; so most of 3D printed parts require few form of cleaning up to eliminate support material from the make and to smooth the surface to obtain the needed finish. Post processing technique is used to enable with sanding, water jetting, a chemical soak and rinse, air or heat drying, assembly, and etc. The volume of post processing needed based on the factors enabling the size of part to be produced, the targeted application and kinds of 3D printing technology utilized for production. Therefore, 3D printing permits for the fastest production of parts, the speed of manufacture can be getting to slow by post processing.

Enlarge Volumes:

3D printing is getting a static cost unless the traditional methods like as injection moulding; where enlarge volumes might be more cost effective to produce. Whenever, you get to investment for 3D printing might be lesser to other manufacturing approaches. Once it is scaled up, then it provide the enlarge volumes for huge production, the cost per unit doesn’t decrease as it would along with injection moulding.

Having Part Structure:

While doing to 3D printing parts are produced layer to layer. Although these layers adhere together it also means that they are capable to determinate underneath specific orientations or stressed. This issue is most significant when providing the items by using fused deposition modelling; while getting to multijet and polyjet parts also toward being more brittle. In this case, it might be better to grab injection moulding as it makes homogeneous parts will not individually and break.

Elimination for Manufacturing Jobs:

Another major disadvantages of 3D technology is the mass elimination in human labour, hence mostly production is getting to automatic and completed by printers. Although, mostly third world countries reliance on less skill jobs to keep their economies running, as well as this technology can put these manufacturing jobs at the risk by getting to cut out the require production abroad.

Harmful Emissions:

3D printers are going to use in enclosed areas like s homes can produce the potentially toxic emissions c and carcinogenic particles as per the researchers at the Illinois Institute of Technology. 3D desktop computers could emit enlarge numbers of ultrafine particles and few hazardous volatile organic compound while doing to print. The 3D printers are capable to emit 20 billion ultrafine particles per minute by using the PLA filament, ABS emitted up to 200 billion particles per minute.

Design Hasn’t Proper Accuracies:

It is also another major hassle with 3D printing is tend to directly related the kinds of machine or process usage; with few printers having lesser tolerance, meaning that final parts may different from the original design. It can be solved in the post processing; but it should be getting to consider that this will further enhance the time and price of production.

Too Much Reliance on Plastic:

Most eminent and cheap 3D printers always use the plastic filament. By using of raw plastic decrease waste generation, the machines still leave unused otherwise excess in the print beds. The plastic by-product in the landfills gives the negative effective the environment. As well as, 3D printers will require using other materials like as metal or carbon composites to get more helpful to consumers and manufacturers alike.

Copyright Infringements:

3D printing is getting most popularity and accessible there is a greater possibility for people to make fake and counterfeit products. So, it will almost be going to impossible to tell the difference. This can be evident problem around the copyright as well as for the quality control.

Production of Dangerous Weaponry:

With helping of 3D printers, it is easiest to make 3D knives, explosives, guns, and other harmful things. Few criminal firms have already used the 3D printing concept to make card readers for bank machines. As well as, 3D technology will become more user-friendly and cost affordability and it has responsibility that design and production of unlicensed weaponry will increase.

Benefits of 3D Printing

• Fastest production & design
• Enhancement of Originality
• Easy to maintenance
• Ease of customization
• Longer life span
• Automation process
• Quality control and design control
• Integrated production system for better outcome results

FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)

What are the main advantages of 3D printing in construction?

• Less waste construction
• Highly speed of construction
• Enhanced Accuracy
• Design freedom for higher level
• Tailored Constructions

What are the benefits of 3D printing for students in school?

3D printing is going to use in schools in 3 significant ways like as boost analytical thinking, increase comprehension, and generate greater retention.

What are the advantages of 3D printing in medicine?

3D printing plays the major role in the medical sector in different areas like as:

• Complex operations
• Intricate care
• Expensive procedures and long waiting time
• Customization

What are the advantages of 3d printing in automotive industry?

• Keeps saving your time
• Better for the environment
• Freedom of design

What are the disadvantages of 3D printing in medicine?

• 3D Printing process Is Not Eco-Friendly
• Inconsistent Quality of 3d-printed objects
• Limited options of 3d printing Material

What are the main disadvantages of 3D printing in manufacturing?

The biggest drawback of 3D printing is the lack of standardization of machines, and the potential for low-quality products.

What are the limitations & challenges in 3D printing?

There are many challenges seem to vary like as cost of pre- and post-processing, the limited selection of materials and technology limitations.

What are the major pros and cons of 3D printing?

In this article, already we have been explored above many advantages and disadvantages of 3D printing, you can check them.

Bottom Lines

Now i hope that you have been completely learnt about all major advantages and disadvantages of 3D printing; as well as many drawbacks and benefits of 3D printing with ease. If this post is helpful for you, then please share it along with your friends, family members or relatives over social media platforms like as Facebook, Instagram, Linked In, Twitter, and more.

Also Read: 20 Examples of Machine Learning in Real Life!!

If you have any experience, tips, tricks, or query regarding this issue? You can drop a comment!

Happy Learning!!