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I think 3D printing is overrated. If you have a mold shop and an injection molding machine, you can get a mold made in emergency mode within 24 hours (yes, its

I think 3D printing is overrated. If you have a mold shop and an injection molding machine, you can get a mold made in emergency mode within 24 hours (yes, its possible). Optimization can take another 24 hours and some blank shots. If you don't care about aesthetics, you can do it much, much quicker. Then, its 20 seconds per part for next 300,000 parts for dirt cheap. Raw polymers can be sourced rapidly as there is a very strong supply chain around the world. 3D printing said it will change the world in 2011. Then it said it will revolutionize manufacturing in 2015. Its 2020 and it didn't happen. Injection molding is not going anywhere. SLA litho has nicer quality parts but take exceedingly long to print and more importantly - clean/UV bake takes a long time to cure. One area where 3D printing is actually useful is to be able to print parts that would be impossible to manufacture using injection molding - that cost to benefit ratio must be evaluated and questioned - do we really need a part like this? Perhaps its a dental implant, etc. Then it's justified.

pfranz 7y ago
I agree. I can't imagine how 3d printing is a solution for mass production unless you have no other skills or materials (but have time). As an individual, if I had to make more than 3 of something I'd 3d print the first (or fashion it some other way), make 1 or more molds and cast the rest.
- RealDinosaur 7y ago
  How long would it take to spin up an injection molding line? Aren't there parts that exist that are easier to 3D print, due to overlapping elements or internal geometry which require additional manufacturing steps when using injection molds?
  - systemvoltage 7y ago
    Within 48 hours or less if there is a national emergency calling to get it done. The main time sink is CAD work to get the part designed, and then designing mold cavity and runners and getting the EDM die made, and running the EDM process to create cavity. The injection molding machine if run by a competent expert team - they already know most pitfalls of things such as rib/wall thickness, shot weight, run time and temperature for a particular type of plastic. You can run test shots and optimize the injection molding parameters in a very short time. Alternatively, its possible to just use Aluminium molds for upto 10k parts.

pfranz 7y ago

I agree. I can't imagine how 3d printing is a solution for mass production unless you have no other skills or materials (but have time). As an individual, if I had to make more than 3 of something I'd 3d print the first (or fashion it some other way), make 1 or more molds and cast the rest.

RealDinosaur 7y ago
How long would it take to spin up an injection molding line? Aren't there parts that exist that are easier to 3D print, due to overlapping elements or internal geometry which require additional manufacturing steps when using injection molds?
- systemvoltage 7y ago
  Within 48 hours or less if there is a national emergency calling to get it done. The main time sink is CAD work to get the part designed, and then designing mold cavity and runners and getting the EDM die made, and running the EDM process to create cavity. The injection molding machine if run by a competent expert team - they already know most pitfalls of things such as rib/wall thickness, shot weight, run time and temperature for a particular type of plastic. You can run test shots and optimize the injection molding parameters in a very short time. Alternatively, its possible to just use Aluminium molds for upto 10k parts.