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There is no room for confusion when considering 3D Printing as one of the most fascinating technologies around. Either it’s a usual wall decorative or a complex prototype, the technology has helped enhance designs in the best possible ways. From end products to functional prototypes, 3D printing has instilled its importance within almost every industry. And, it’s mostly because of the creative freedom that it offers.
With that said, it is no wonder that 3D printing has the potential to offer tomorrow’s creators the higher abilities in return for some extra effort today. Yes, learning to operate a 3D printer may not come to you like the simplest job. However, if you know what the technology has to offer, you may not be able to resist acquiring the skill.
To manufacture a keyholder, spectacles, showpieces, wall décor, clocks, or any other small item that can be used in our homes, all we need is a single machine that costs less than $200. Stating about bigger items, manufacturing complex objects in industries such as Aerospace and Defense, Automobile, Jewelry, Fashion, Medical, and a lot more, industrial 3D printers are making parts at a level of precision that can never be matched by traditional manufacturing techniques.
We’d like to point out four ways in which the creators of tomorrow are getting the authority to create via 3D printing.
1. By providing an infinite amount of design freedom
Source: pick3dprinter
With the growth of software technologies, coding, and algorithms, 3D modeling software offers tools to design the most complex parts. Idealizing and conceptualizing such objects before the development of software technologies was impossible. 3D printing technology has one major benefit over other traditional manufacturing techniques i.e. it’s based on a 3D design file that can be created using modeling software.
The 3D design file happens to be the base for the 3D printing manufacturing process. So, if you are a 3D designer, imagine the amount of freedom that you are getting over traditional design engineers! Even today there are tools in existence that will tell you the flaws in your design giving you an opportunity to improve them to make sure they are not reflected in the final part. Pick 3D Printer’s list of the best free CAD software that can help you model a design that can be printed using additive manufacturing. And, all this is possible when the technology is still in its nascent stage. Think of yourself as a creator of tomorrow! Tremendously brighter prospects yeah?
2. By supplying adequate machinery
Source: neolms
Not everything can be achieved by providing an infinite amount of design freedom. You need proper machinery in place to execute what you were able to think of and create on the 3D design file. And the experts manufacturing 3D printers are leaving no stone unturned in making it happen.
You can get 3D printers working on different 3D printing processes helping with a variety of applications. Agreed, may have to make some minor changes when shifting from traditional manufacturing techniques to 3D printing. So, what? That’s the rule of change.
If, with small effort, you are able to 3D print parts with the highest level of precision and at a faster speed, isn’t it worth it? There are so many different 3D printing techniques. Yet, companies always keep bringing better variants every now and then. Enabling users to create parts with desired results. From appearance to physical and mechanical properties, one can design a number of different objects, depending on their needs.
3. By bringing art back
Source: parametrichouse
The importance of art, which was dying in textbooks, is becoming popular once again. In schools, particularly through STEAM education, a lot of changes are happening and art is making a strong comeback. Not only students’ creative design skills are improving, but also their spatial reasoning skills are seeing new heights.
And this is the key factor that will grant tomorrow’s creators much more confidence than we have today. They will learn how easily things can be imagined, be created so easily, level by level. Their way of processing mechanisms, grasping knowledge, imagining, and creating would be completely different and more impactful.
3D printing is making all this possible. What’s the best part is that the students find it interesting to learn about the technology.
4. Helping Faster Iteration of Designs
Source: 3drapidprints
Traditional manufacturing techniques had a vast amount of difference between the actual part and its design. That’s what made failure a hazy picture. But 3D printing is an iterative process. It reflects your design to the maximum amount on your part. So, if there is any minute design failure, you will get to know it as soon as you 3D print.
After printing a part, you can test the same against your expectation. If it does not fit your needs, all you have to do is go back and correct the same in your design and that’s it! Your next print would not have the same failure, at the very least. This is something that was never exactly possible with traditional manufacturing techniques.
And here’s one most important aspect: 3D printing could help see flaws more clearly than ever. In addition, it also allows me to fix the problems, faster. Hence, ensuring that the users can go through as many iterations as they please, without investing too much time and effort.
The Conclusion
Although 3D printing excels at rapid prototyping, its use within the commercial application is still in the initial stage. The need for the technology to create end products is still growing and touching industries and associating with them. A decade or two later, it is predicted to be as mainstream as the injection molding of today. And that is where the real empowerment owned by today what we term as “creators of tomorrow” will manifest.
There would be many better 3D printing automated systems in place than we have today. Who knows we may be able to curb the limitations that exist today with technology? For instance, the limited build volumes or expensive industrial printer’s cost, etc.
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This content is brought to you by Kyryk Oleksandr.
Photos provided by the author.