It’s a whole new revolution. Who would’ve thought that you would eventually be able to design your own products from your computer and then turn it into a real thing? I bet it never crossed your mind.
This is just the start, and we’ll be seeing more and more companies slowly moving into 3D printing.
Although this is still relatively slow compared to conventional methods, improvements are on the way.
3D printers’ prices have also dropped a lot compared to past years. If everything keeps going this way, we might see even lower prices.
In this article, we’ll be going through the main 3D printing pros and cons and how it has changed the market forever.
3D Printing Advantages
3D printing is still trying to make its way into major companies. Although slowly, in a few years, we should start seeing more and more companies fully adapt to 3D printing technologies.
There’s just so much you can do with 3D printing and how it just beats any conventional method out there.
To find out more about this, let’s go over the advantages that 3D printing has to offer.
Inventory and Shipping
More and more companies are slowly adapting to 3D printing and have begun to move their tools closer to customers.
But why is it? Being closer to your customers allows you to massively reduce prices since you don’t have to worry about inventory and shipping expenses.
On top of that, 3D printing is slowly getting faster. So, if you can bring all that together, that means you’re more likely to get more clients and sell cheaper.
Some customers have gone as far as getting their own 3D printers and are making their own products.
Consistency
It’s been more than a decade since all of this begun. It all started when someone in Britain decided that he wanted to create a 3D printer.
Quickly released on the web as an open-source project, it’s now been optimized by hundreds of programmers all over the world.
And because of this, 3D printing is slowly getting better and better. This is how it works: a machine is pretty much doing all the work behind the scenes.
Through mathematical equations, the machine evaluates how and when it should operate. Because of this, you don’t have to worry about consistency or precision.
Production Cost
Although this is still making progress, the whole idea behind this, and why so many companies are investing vast amounts of money on 3D printing, is to reduce production prices.
If you managed to move closer to your clients, you would easily be able to reduce the production costs. And that means your sales will skyrocket.
Read our related article on How Much to Charge for 3D Printing. If you run a business that uses 3D printing, this guide is for you!
Not So Risky
You never see this, but behind the scene, lots of incidents take place in manufacturing plants. Sometimes a product is poorly assembled, sometimes something gets lost due to poor practices.
And you can’t really blame anybody here. You’re assembling hundreds of products every day, and at some point, you’re likely to mess up.
But since a machine is behind doing all this work, you don’t have to worry about it. Because of this, you can sleep well at night, knowing everything is going according to your original plan.
All you need is to test the product beforehand using the 3D printer, and if it turns out just like it should, you know for sure that you can begin mass-production without having to worry about poorly-made products.
High Quality
Just like before, a machine is carefully doing all the work behind the scenes. Because of that, you can mass-produce hundreds of products and still know that your products are going to come out just fine.
All you need is a sample and see how it turns out. If it looks good once, the others should come out just like the first one.
Convenience
The 3D printing revolution has caused 3D printer prices to drop significantly over the years. And because of this, it has become more and more affordable for people all over the world.
If this trend keeps ongoing, we’re going to start seeing more and more entrepreneurs getting into 3D printing.
Compared to having to hire hundreds of people and deal with all the expenses that a traditional company puts up with, 3D printing is a piece of cake.
Read More: Interesting Facts About 3D Printing. These facts may surprise you!
Competitive
At some point, all companies will have to get into 3D printing. How can you compete against someone who’s using a machine to build hundreds of products from scratch and outperforming your company in just about every single way?
The only solution to that problem is to get into 3D printing as soon as possible.
Creativity
One of the best things about 3D printing is that it can almost create anything within its boundaries, while traditional methods have a hard time assembling and building projects.
With 3D printing, all you need is a design on your computer and then let the printer do its job.
3D printing also allows users of any background to edit the original design however they like.
Read More: How Long Can You Leave a 3D Printer Running? 3D printers can run longer than you think (sometimes for days)!
3D Printing Disadvantages
So far, we’ve only covered the advantages of using 3D printing. But just like with anything, it has pros and cons as well.
To find out more about this, let’s go over the disadvantages of 3D printing.
Limitations
While it is true that 3D printing has started a new revolution, we cannot overlook the fact we’re still limited by the materials that it can use.
It is also true that this is still under development and that we should see more from this soon. So far, we can only use plastic as a means of production.
And because plastic is not the best for some products, some companies are not sure whether it’s worth the investment.
Not User-Friendly
As of now, 3D printers are by no means user-friendly. They are incredibly hard to handle for anybody without a technical background. Even those with a technical background still have a hard time with it the first time.
However, we’re slowly seeing more and more efforts from researchers trying to make this whole process more accessible to the majority of people.
Slowness
3D printers are incredibly slow compared to traditional methods. As of now, 3D printers are still nowhere near to what traditional methods can accomplish.
Depending on the size and the quality of the product, it might take several weeks before you see any decent results with it.
Read More: Thangs 3D Printing World. Here are the details you need to know about this 3D print model search engine!
Price
Are 3D printers expensive to use?
This has gotten a lot cheaper over the years. But it still is quite the investment, to say the least. Industrial 3D printers are quite expensive, which can be a massive turn-off for anybody trying to get into 3D printing.
Although in the future, we should expect to see lower and lower prices. if you are looking some cheap 3D printer under $500 then follow our selected models.
Frequently Asked Questions
In this section, you can find the most common questions about 3D printing. If you still have any questions, you might find the answer to your question down below.
How much does it cost to do 3D printing?
It heavily depends on what type of 3D printer you want. But If you want to get your hands on a professional 3D printer, you can find them for about $4.000 to $5.000.
What can 3D printing be used for?
With 3D printing, you can create just about anything within the boundaries of 3D printing. Although this technology is still under development, people are slowly making progress towards more exciting and new boundaries.
Is 3D printing worth it?
Yes, it is worth the investment. Soon, we should expect to see hundreds of entrepreneurs trying to get into this industry. So, it’s better to start early on.
Is there a demand for 3D printing?
So far, 3D printing only accounts for a small percentage of the global manufacturing market. However, this number is expected to grow by a lot in the upcoming years.
Is 3D printing a job?
If you’re a designer that can take any idea and turn it into a real thing, you’re good to go. Shortly, we should see massive growth for 3D printing jobs.
Read More: Do You Need a Good Computer for 3D Printing? Discover the computers that are best for 3D printing!
Final Words
The 3D printing era has just begun, and it is here to stay. While it is true that this technology is still under development, there is absolutely no doubt that in the near future we’ll see it more often. It is only a matter of time before everyone gets into 3D printing.
So, if you plan on getting into 3D printing, it is not a bad idea to get into it before everybody else.
