Is additive manufacturing or 3D printing new technology? Not really. Paul Mullen (Managing Director) has been using this ‘new technology’ during product development since the 1990’s. In recent years, the cost point of the equipment has reduced to a level where it’s possible to have a 3D printer at home, but is this type of equipment suitable for commercial use?

Over the past 5 years or so, many hobbyist or semi-professional machines have come onto the market, mostly based on the Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM) process. FDM is a process where a filament of material (usually PLA) is extruded onto a plate in layers to build up the shape of the model being produced. This technology is great, its low cost to run and to own and often can result in great quality output but the final product often has limited use beyond the product development.

Five years ago, we purchased a Tier time UPBOX printer which uses this technology, and it has worked hard ever since, often being used to produce internal components, ‘looks like’ models and production test fixtures. The downside is strength and accuracy. We have also used this printer to produce parts on ABS so that we get the impression of an injection moulded enclosure. However, because of the manufacturing process, any prints always end up with striations, which is not great from an aesthetic viewpoint.

In our latest investment round, we have increased our 3D capability by adding in 2 machines – Stratasys Objet which uses a polyjet process and a Markforged Mark 2 which is a Continuous Filament Fabrication (CFF) process. These two additions offer a wealth of options for both prototyping and production due to their radically differing printing approaches.

The polyjet machine gives very high accuracy, repeatable, real-world parts which can be used in low volume manufacture straight from the printer. The Mark2 on the other hand offers the ability to produce carbon fibre or glass fibre reinforced parts which are great when traditionally you might design a metal, fabricated part. Parts using this technology are unbelievably strong and ideal for use in prototype applications.

To find out more about our capability, get in touch.