The future of 3D Printing Services will be huge—literally. But is it ready for mass production?

Many have tried to bring 3D Printing Services into extensive manufacturing, but the technology has always been too slow and expensive to generate accurate results. The biggest problem is that the printers are made of many moving parts, which slows down printing time.

Charles Hull invented the first 3D printer in the year 1983, but it didn’t print much larger than a breadbox and could take up to 24 hours to finish one object.

Nowadays, companies like Makerbot & Ultimaker make consumer-friendly printers that can print items more significant than the size of a microwave, but they can still take between 1 and 2 hours to print an object.

From clothing to food to spacecraft parts, 3D printers have made significant inroads into niche markets and the public eye, but they haven’t yet been seen as viable replacements for mass manufacturing. However, with the advent of metal 3D printing, that perception may be changing.

While we have seen progress in 3D Printing over the years, some limitations keep it from being used for mass production (or even smaller-scale production).

The most significant limitation is that the machines cannot print large or complex objects quickly enough to make them viable in manufacturing or even distribution.

Also, the materials used with these machines are limited and need to be purchased from a third-party supplier. And the cost of these raw materials is still high. We are optimistic about pricing for raw material to come down in the coming years as the demand for AM industrialization is peaking.

When using a production 3D printing service, many failed attempts are often before having a successful product. And companies don’t want to cash out the money required for all these failed attempts.The process of manufacturing a 3D model is not that complicated.

Once you streamline, you’ll be able to crank one out in no time at all (well, depending on what you’re printing). When designing a mass-production-worthy model, the critical consideration is design for AM. What is DFAM?

It means constantly leveraging lightweight, topology optimization and intricacy viable for 3D Printing. Start small and often test before the production scale.Make with Amuse! Get your parts into production, today.