In-house 3D Printing: Invest or Outsource?

Back in June 2013 we wrote a series of articles on the past, present and future of 3D Printing.

In the final one entitled 3D Printing – where’s it all heading?, we said: “…at the entry-level end of the market there is an unprecedented level of hype and hysteria about the technology, both across industry and mainstream press”.

As of June 2016, the hysteria does not appear to have abated. In fact, if anything, it’s more widespread – and it is creating false expectations.

Despite the fact that there is obviously a gulf between the capabilities of ‘affordable’ 3D printers, and the professional level machines used by specialist prototyping and additive manufacturing bureaus like Prototype Projects, we do come across instances of smaller design consultancies sourcing low-end 3D printers for quick jobs.

In this article we’ll take a look at the hype versus the reality to shed some light on the question about whether it makes sense for a design consultancy to outsource or invest when it comes to 3D printing.

The hype vs the reality

3D printing technologies (SLA, SLS and FDM and DLP) are evolving all the time, and the range of uses and applications is growing.

Many of the innovations that make headlines on the BBC or in the daily newspapers give the impression that a commercial 3D printing capability is within easy grasp of almost anyone.

Yet most are created using very expensive 3D printing machines.

The business case is still not strong for product design consultancies considering investing in their own in-house 3D printing capability – for one main reason: it simply doesn’t stack up.

Achieving the range of 3D printing technologies, applications, materials, volumes and properties that a professional bureau can deliver would require a capital investment of £millions – and that’s before any training or maintenance costs.

Applications of industrial 3D printing include additive manufacturing, rapid prototyping, production of concept and presentation prototype parts and manufacture of parts for functional testing, as well as master casts for other processes such as vacuum casting.

To invest or not to invest: the inevitable question

If you’re a product designer or engineer, you’ll already know the importance of fast, reliable and cost-effective prototype supply.

For larger design consultancies and OEMs with their own internal product and technology design capabilities, the question inevitably arises as to whether or not complementing these internal design capabilities with in-house prototyping technologies is a justifiable investment.

Whether it makes sense to make the capital investment in in-house prototyping technologies will depend on the size of your business, the frequency and nature of your requirement – or whether you can develop a relationship with a reliable supplier.

Factors to consider

Here we discuss a few factors to consider if you are thinking about bringing 3D printing in house.

Price: Recent reductions in 3D printer prices mean that a desktop machine can be bought for £1,000. The capabilities of these low end machines are, however, limited when compared to industrial 3D printing machines, which may cost upwards of £100,000.

Space: As the name implies, “desktop” 3D printers may be no larger than the size of a regular inkjet printer and can sit on a desk.

But even if you’re intending to replicate the abilities of a 3D Printing bureau on your own premises, you’ll need a lot of room. A single industrial 3D printer capable of producing professional level presentation parts may weigh in at a hefty 1,000kg or more – a full suite of machines capable of delivering the range of 3D printing technologies may need 1500 – 2000 square feet.

Operation: The operation of modern professional 3D printing machines involves a significant learning curve and requires users to undergo in depth training to develop their knowledge to expert level.

Ideally, and given the time-sensitive nature of prototype development in product design projects, more than one operator will be needed to ensure coverage for sick days and holidays, thus doubling or trebling the cost for this training.

Properties: Most low-end 3D printers are typically FDM printers which, while capable of producing good 3D parts, fine detail requirements may be difficult to achieve and the number of material properties that can be replicated is somewhat restricted.

On the other hand, the range of properties, levels of detail and types of finish available from a professional prototyping bureau with FDM, SLS, SLA and figure 4 machines is much greater.

Materials: Continuing from the “properties” point above, a major advantage of outsourced 3D printing is that a professional bureau will typically have a range of 3D printing machines running a wide range of materials.

Prototype Projects offers ABS and specialised SLA materials including Xtreme, ClearVue and Watershed along with PA 2200 for SLS.

Part size & resolution: the complexity, size and resolution of parts delivered by a single in-house machine will be significantly lower than the range of options available from a professional outsourced 3D print bureau

Speed: time is always of the essence in product development projects, so prototype delivery time is a competitive success factor. Many 3D printing bureaus have multiple machines running round the clock – meaning that a CAD file delivered by close of play on one day can likely be delivered the next. This level of fast turnaround service may be step up too far for many organisations.

Volume availability: if you’re going to invest significant capital in in-house 3D printing capabilities, you’ll want to make the business case based on a fairly consistent utilisation level; on the flip side however, you may find that demand can outstrip the capabilities of your own 3D printing resource’s ability to supply – creating bottlenecks and delays. A professional 3D printing bureau can’t always promise to have overnight delivery capacity, but there’s a better chance of consistent turnaround times.

Summary comparison

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