Four key questions about additive manufacturing

Question – Has the additive manufacturing industry reached its peak?

Answer – No. Machines are evolving to the point where they can efficiently work with engineering plastics, materials with various additives and specific fillers. There are also biocompatible resins, which are used in the dental sector for the manufacture of surgical guides, splints, patterns, and fixed models, among other applications. Not to mention metal printing. HP announced its HP Metal Jet technology in 2018, which enables fifty times more production compared to other metal powder sintering and bonding solutions.

Q – What role does 3D play within traditional manufacturing?

A – Additive manufacturing functions as a pivotal technology between current industry and Industry 4.0. Generally speaking, 3D printing does not replace traditional manufacturing technologies. What it offers is a complement to industry, making more tools available. Additive manufacturing is becoming one of the pillars of Industry 4.0. Right now, digitization and virtualization are key, and 3D printing allows us to move from the digital world to the physical world by combining it with other technologies, such as augmented reality.

Q – What is the main benefit of 3D printing?

A – Additive manufacturing saves costs and time from the prototyping phase to the production phase. Consider, for example, how much it costs to obtain a prototype or sample using traditional manufacturing methods. In many cases, it can take longer and require more resources than we can afford, in addition to the risk of developing molds without being certain that it is a definitive design. In this sense, certain technologies allow us to work both on the development of the final part and on the validation or pre-series mold itself, reducing time and costs.

Q – Which sectors could benefit most from it?

All these advances are allowing 3D printing technology to enter virtually any sector with production processes. Its use for prototyping, short runs, pre-runs, spare parts, and even final parts in many business areas, as well as the evolution in the type of materials used, make 3D printing a truly useful technology for a wide range of industries, from medicine to the aerospace sector.