The advent of 3D printing promises a new age of efficient computer-controlled manufacturing technology that dramatically reduces the time it takes to go from initial design to a tangible prototype. By significantly reducing the cost of, and dramatically speeding up, the most difficult stage of the manufacturing process, 3D printing could be game-changing. Some manufacturers, however, have been slow to adopt it. This is largely due to two issues that have yet to be resolved.
The first stumbling block that has been keeping 3D printing from becoming the go-to solution for manufacturers is precision. Though the laser sintering process is able to achieve a high degree of precision for certain processes, such as fuselage fabrication, small-scale applications are finding that the printing process falls just short of the required accuracy. Watchmakers, for example, demand a level of precision that is not yet available with the current state of manufacturing technology. While watch cases are relatively easy to construct using laser sintering methods, the delicate internal workings of a high-quality watch demand a level of precision that still eludes even the most advanced printers.
Another obstacle that stands between the new fabrication method and universal adoption is basic large-scale efficiency. While 3D printing has become one of the most efficient methods for building complex, intricate items relatively cheaply, the process still lags behind traditional manufacturing processes in the mass production of cheap, simple machine parts that can be stamped out by the hundreds of thousands on existing equipment. This disconnect, in which laser printing technology displaces traditional prototype development without being able to dislodge the older and more established fabrication methods currently in use, suggests that laser sintering is best used as a supplement to the development process rather than as a manufacturing cure-all.
It seems paradoxical that the laser sintering process at the heart of 3D printing is both too painstaking for mass production and not precise enough for clockwork, but the shortcomings of the process are not necessarily insurmountable. As the new technology develops, and as techniques are evolved to work with an ever-larger supply of metals and plastics, many of the concerns that are keeping manufacturers from adopting the relatively new printing technology are likely to at least be addressed, if not solved outright.
The rapid parts fabrication that laser sintering makes possible greatly reduces the cost of development for manufactured goods. If the process is not yet efficient enough to wholly replace more traditional machine tools, or sufficiently exacting to manage the precision demanded by certain industries, then it can at least act as a partner to the established methods used by industry all over the world. It's in this role that 3D printing shows its greatest promise.
(Photo courtesy of Stuart Miles at freedigitalphotos.net)
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