The myth of 3D printing as a purely prototyping tool has been laid to rest, finally.
“It’s okay for short runs in prototyping, but not for production”. “It’s a specialty process, and we need big volumes”. “It doesn’t integrate well in my production process”.
The rationales for keeping additive manufacturing and the design office were many, but a new generation of machines are changing that perception. Today’s 3D printing equipment offers a much larger build envelope, much faster build speeds, and a wide variety of available materials.
Just as importantly, today’s production additive equipment is designed for mass production use and can be integrated into production lines in the same way that equipment such as machining centres, injection molding and fabricating equipment is now. Any operation that currently uses G-code driven equipment is production ready for additive, but a few still cling to the notion that 3D printing is a prototyping process.
Max Eils, Senior Vice-President of Sales Excellence with EOS describes how modern production additive equipment has become capable and competitive.
