EDITOR’S CHOICE
3D PRINTING
3DPRINTUK-low volume calculator
3DPRINTUK
AN ALTERNATIVE
TO INJECTION
MOULDING
How many times have you needed to
produce just a few hundred small parts?
What are your options? CNC? Vacuum
casting? Rapid injection moulding? If you
haven’t done so before, it’s time you added
3D printing to that list.
Typically, injection moulding can be quite
expensive due to the necessary tooling
costs, resulting in both SME and global
corporations opting for cheaper alternatives
that are still high quality and durable.
3DPRINTUK are specialists in low volume
production using state of the art SLS 3D
printing systems, with the aim of bridging
the void between prototype and injection
moulding.
SLS 3D printing is ideal for smaller parts and
allows 3DPRINTUK to produce parts for as
little as 20p each. With no tooling cost this
mean there is no financial barrier to entry
other than the unit cost. This technique also
offers additional design freedoms and scope
for complexity. Parts can be as complex as
you want. Unlike with moulding, milling
or cutting, there is near complete design
freedom. As long as everything is above
approximately 1mm thick, it will print. One
huge benefit to this is where complexity
previously required a product to be made
up from two or more parts that were each
moulded, finished and assembled; you
can now make that in one part, saving on
multiple tooling and unit costs.
Playerdata - custom cases
Is your part viable? Additive manufacturing
is not suited to every application and
establishing if it is a viable option requires
you to look at several factors.
1. How big is your part? Pricing is based on
size. The larger the part, the less viable it is,
but small components such as jigs, fixtures
Suss my bike - production part
and fittings can be extremely viable.
2. How complex is the design? Complexity
is no issue for 3D printers; however, it is
for injection moulding. This means that
the more complex the part, the higher the
tooling cost, and therefore the greater the
viability of additive manufacturing.
3. How many do you want? If you’re looking
for tens of thousands, then injection mould
is a better option. If you need a few hundred,
or low thousands, and the parts are small,
then you’re in the right place.
If you already have a moulding quote,
3DPRINTUK has a handy comparison tool
on their website. Simply input the tooling
cost and the moulded unit cost, along
with the XYZ dimensions of the part, and it
will produce a graphical cost comparison.
Essentially, the smaller and more complex
the part is, the greater the viability of
additive manufacturing.
bloc blinds - custom parts
38
PECM Issue 37
3DPRINTUK.co.uk