Polymer (FDM) 3D printing involves the process of extruding hot thermopolymer material from a nozzle and layering it on top of one another, creating a 3-dimensional object. This process is commonly used for rapid prototyping but can also be used for short-run productions or to develop molds for long-run production, reducing the cost of tooling by avoiding traditional means of tooling production with a CNC mill or lathe.
Capabilities
Polymer (FDM) 3D printing performs really well when it comes to developing short-run production parts and minimizing cost as well as lead time compared to other forms of manufacturing. There are various applications for using this manufacturing process, but when your deciding to use (FDM) 3D printing to produce your parts, there will be certain expectations to hold before using this process. The first is understanding the cost of manufacturing using (FDM) 3D printing, which is substantially lower due to the upfront cost, your easily reducing your cost by 10-30% when compared to injection molding. The process only uses what material is required therefore the material expense is lower and the amount of tooling required to produce a 3D print is significantly lower than most other processes, this also helps cut down on production . Lead time is usually lower than most other manufacturing processes because unlike injection molding, which requires a multiple tools (single cavity, multi-cavity, and family tools) to manufacture vs Polymer (FDM) 3D printing where you are only using a single tool to produce that object/part. If you have any questions about our processes or what we have to offer please contact us, we would be glad to help you on your next project.
Limitations
Polymer (FDM) 3D printing does have its drawbacks and compromises are to be expected, this includes, lower tolerances, due to how the thermoplastics tendency to expand then contract when changing from its molten liquid state to harder solid state as it cools causes a small deviation in the parts tolerance. The next limitation is that it requires a post process for making the objects water tight due to the way in which it lays down the deposited material, layer by layer leaving very small holes and can develop over certain features(depending on the geometry of the part). Another limitation would be in the case of the objects unprocessed appearance, there will be visible layer lines on the surface of the part and will require post process work to remove the visible layer lines, see our qualities guide for more info on that.