This is How 3D Printing Can Help You Own The Competition

Considering if a 3D printing can help your business in any way? As you know by now, 3D printing is widely used as part of many businesses’ manufacturing, invention, parts, and design process. Tools like Konica Minolta 3d direct metal printers can even produce parts that can be used in aircraft, medical facilities, engineering and other fields that need quick and precise prototypes and working models.

3D printers opened up new frontiers for small businesses and here’s how one can help you boost your business and own the competition.

3D printing

Prototypes and working products

In its earliest days, 3D printers are almost always just used for prototyping, but not actually for models that can be used with its full functionality. These days because of the decreasing prices of 3D printers and its materials, creating your own products is a cost-effective alternative to using third party providers for product development.

Using 3D printers with specific functionalities like metal printing can help businesses, big or small to produce prototypes of almost any type of product, giving you a more realistic chance of detecting failures and coming up with a working product. Parts, models, and subsystems can be printed and tested quickly, which makes this technology a must-have for businesses dealing with physical products.

Altering products continuously

You might have experienced customers asking you to customise/modify their orders based on their preferences. This tends to be an expensive way to please clients and often causing your business to rely on third-party manufacturers.

With 3D printing, following the whims of your customers are easier thanks to compatible software that’s available whenever you require customised items. This is usually accomplished within a short period, which just proves how beneficial this technology is to small businesses looking to expand to new, better frontiers.

Also, your staff don’t need exhaustive learning curve or advanced design expertise to create customised and practical items using 3D printer. Ideas can easily be conceptualised and printed into tangible objects. Thanks to unique software that allows even newbies to fully implement ideas.

Rapid prototyping of differential gears
photo credit: John Biehler / Flickr

Cost and time savings

3D printers have been continuously decreasing ever since it has been sold commercially. This makes them an affordable and extremely valuable asset for your business. Owning one can help you save as much as 70 percent on operational cost due to a lesser need for manpower and more focus on the creative and manufacturing part of the process. Better production equals to better sales.

3D printing is also much faster compared to conventional printing or model prototyping methods. Some 3D printers like Konica Minolta 3d direct metal printers can produce prototypes within a short time span. Traditional production methods can take several days and are becoming more obsolete by the year. More time saved ultimately leads to more money saved.

Conclusion

We’ve just scratched the surface. As you utilise 3D printing, you’ll begin to see why it’s a technology your business can’t do without. And even if you’re an inventor or merely an enthusiast, there’s so much more that you can do with 3D printers apart from business dealings.