3D printers offer some significant advantages over other manufacturing techniques. One of the most essential is the fact that you don't have to worry about how and if manufacturing is possible during the design process. But there are other, important advantages over traditional manufacturing techniques:
Tool-less production e.g. for rapid prototyping, sampling and concept studies
No additional molds, fixtures or production equipment required
Demand-driven production possible from batch size 1 (on-demand production)
Wide range of different products (ABS, PP, PEAK, PETG, PEEK, PVA, PEI, PPSU, etc.) to adapt material properties to functional requirements
Often significant weight advantage over aluminum and injection molded parts while maintaining high strength and stiffness (optimized by carbon fiber filaments)
Extremely high design freedom with the possibility of rapid, customer-specific adaptation
Virtual design in CAD system with high design freedom without limitations of classical manufacturing processes
Possibility to produce parts that are difficult or impossible to produce using classical manufacturing methods
minimal waste, low energy costs, sustainable production
Time- and cost-efficient work for prototyping and smaller series, modifications available very quickly
Different component variants for functional tests can be produced without high tooling costs
Clustering of several components in one printing process enables high production efficiency and cost savings
Production of 10 identical components costs the same as production of 10 different components - advantage over injection molding: no additional tooling costs for variants
use of standard file formats that are recognized throughout the industry
robust, compact design, only one power connection is required
Development of new products with 3D printers
Comparison 3D printer and conventional development with injection molding
Additive manufacturing for prototypes and series products with 3D printers from CMC Maschinenbau