3d printing service came into existence in 1980’s; it was not readily acceptable to the industry. The process of 3D printing is a process of the rapid prototyping technology and involves laying of thermosetting resins layer after layer to reproduce an exact replica of a 3D image. Most 3D printers were expensive at the start and this was one of the reasons of its slow acceptance by the industry. However with time there has been a steady fall in price of the 3D printers and today an average 3D printer costs less than $10000.
3D printing service faces some obstacles in its rapid acceptance. The software which drives the rapid prototyping technology needs some fine tuning. The finished product also needs some sort of fixing and setting also. In spite of these disadvantages which can be overcome with some technological advances, the benefits of 3D printing service cannot be understated and today it is increasingly getting wide acceptance in several highly technology savvy industries such as aerospace and medicine.
Most manufacturers say that there is immense potential of 3D printing service and with a little overhead costs, most of the downside associated with the technology can be easily overcome. What needs to be done by companies is to hammer out a streamlined end process so that the technology becomes cost effective. This will help them survive in a competitive environment rather than just spending a huge sum on 3D printers.
3D printing and Rapid prototyping are popular in the Aerospace industry, partly because most Aerospace industry is financed by the state and cost is not a very big factor. However it is increasingly finding applications in other sectors particularly the health care sector. One such field is the manufacture of better prosthetic limbs and in the development of skeletal components like artificial joints. 3D technology enables better utilization of the 3D digital imaging for creating exact replicas of joints including the finest contours of bones.
One common drawback which has been often cited with the 3D printing technology and rapid prototyping is that it harps on accuracy to a very high degree which is often not required with products which are manufactured on a very large scale. However this handicap can be suitably remedied by better manufacturing processes which can maintain the accuracy as well as the volume of production. It needs to be seen how the rapid prototyping and 3D printing technology fares in the coming future.