3D Printing vs Injection Molding: From Design to Price

[@resolute123]

This was an excellent video! Not only telling the characteristics of each method, but includes design and logistics considerations. Now I have better understanding why one manufacture would consider one method over another.

[@qlum]

Of course, mileage may vary, and it definitely depends on what you want to make. The same goes for overseas production, you may want to integrate it with other components that are all produced / assembled cheaper overseas. Then again, there are probably larger scale 3d print farms in China as well. Still, it does illustrate that even at larger production runs it's an option worth looking at.

[@goldfingerdash]

Thanks for the comparison! I am not sure if you noticed, but your camera has had a few stuck / dead pixels for awhile. Most video editing tools include a way to fix them without buying a new camera.

[@orange-micro-fiber9740]

Nice! I've complained in the past about unfair comparison but this one is very fair. It'd be nice to see a chart from 1 to 100,000 parts of cost per part. Then add in warehousing etc. Then profit/lead time etc. I know this isn't a simple thing and I don't expect y'all to do that, but it'd be nice.

[@JeronimoStilton14]

@@sierraecho884 You retune the product to hit the tolerances. As for quality control assuming consistent filament brand and type you can do batch testing, just like any other material, and you can inspect your tolerances just like any other part.

[@JeronimoStilton14]

@@sierraecho884 I mean just saying “but what about the tolerances” doesn’t actually indicate the controlling tolerances. If you want to hit the thickness or parallelism perpendicularity you tune your software and hardware to get into said tolerance range. If the band is higher you probably stick with stock speeds and feeds (though obviously there are no feeds here lol)

[@JeronimoStilton14]

@@sierraecho884 sigh, tell that to the entire concept of GD&T. Yes you’re right if they want sub micron accuracy they may need a wire EDM but not every dimension is critical and not everything needs tenths accuracy so yes you would tune to a slightly more consistent print quality if that was necessary, the fact of the matter is it’s possible to use it as a manufacturing step and I have no idea why you think it would replace injection molding, to then assume I must believe so lol

[@JeronimoStilton14]

You’re arguing the semantics of the word tune, when I’m referring to manufacture engineering as a concept and saying you can’t do it. You and I agree I just think you’re discounting that the tolerances achievable on a 3d printed are sufficient for more than you do, doubly so if you include resin, although resins strength is not fantastic

[@tiptopmuffin]

Excellent video, thank you for taking the time to share !

[@honestnewsnet]

Great info but it would be nice to see the actual product side by side comparison.

[@blissmadmenful]

Injection molding cycle times is faster than 3d printing. U can easily churn out hundreds of thousands to millions from a single mold and machine in a single day depending on material type and size of product. For large scale production it is ideal. And China is not the only country to do injection molding. There’s American based ones too. Used to work in injection molding company in Singapore, Southeast Asia.

[@Joshplv]

I'm guessing its the energy costs and labor that makes the 3D printed part at 500 units cost what it is?

[@marsgizmo]

great video! love seeing the comparison 👏

[@slant3d]

Glad you enjoyed!

[@FriendshipLights]

Excellent job on this video! You did great research and gave true value.

[@slant3d]

Thank you. Glad you enjoyed it.

[@sonicfreak04]

is resin printing just as good as injection molding?

[@josevcp1]

Liked the comparison, but I'm not sure a cube was the best object for the comparison. In fact, the solution was already proposed (a cube) rather than a problem proposed. Would be interesting to have a "client" come up with a request to design a bracket for say, a screen (select a TV or pc screen for example and you want a bracket to fix it to a structure, say, the back of a Tesla). Now you have an actual problem and have to design a bracket to solve it. Say the "client" wants to know costs for 100, 1000, 10000, 100000 and 1000000 parts. If designed to be manufactured using plastic moulding, what would be the costs? If design to be manufactured using mass production 3D printing, what would be the costs? A cube, a solid cube, is something that solves hardly any problem and lends itself to be manufactured better if done with 3D printing, so it's not a fair comparison (yes, moulding won in this video but it wasn't really a cube right? The initial request was for a solid cube). Im a big fan of 3D printing, but one has to know it's a tool for solving a problem and not an end by itself. Benefits of it would be more evident if using it to solve an actual problem were directly compared to using moulding to solve the same problem. Still liked the video and learnt a lot from it. Keep it up!

[@lennynnnnnn]

Better comparison: 4 injection molded parts, plus hardware, plus assembly vs 1 3D printed part. 3D printing really shines with the design freedom it offers. You can combined many parts together. Less design time. Lower BOM cost. Lower assembly cost. I routinely get parts for 3k tooling in NAK steel, first article inspections, 3 week turn, tight dimensions, good surface finishes, for 40 cents at 10k quantities. If comparing a single part, injection molding wins, (though revisions are an excellent point). People pointed out cast urethane, which also wins vs 3D printing.

[@MrKaloszer]

6:20 - missing information in description - no links to quotes

[@slant3d]

Sorry about that. The link is in the description

[@MrKaloszer]

@@slant3d Thanks! 0.3 Default profile, that's nice! What speed do you print at if you don't mind me asking?

[@declanarmstrong4472]

Thank you this is great!

[@slant3d]

You're very welcome!

[@TroyeStonich]

Dude you are an ambassador for the method. You can quote it :) Thanks for putting these together... really informative.

[@slant3d]

Thanks. Glad you like them.

[@Yoggoth]

I find interesting that going from 10k to 500 parts with 3d printing increases the price 3+ times. The process and expenses are the same per part.

[@Gdawg815]

Well that’s cool, I live an 18 minute drive away from your sales office. Also 3D printing for the win!

[@vacationvoyagers6598]

I 3d printed a product that I would like to try to mass produce , but the print time on this product was about 2 hours.i think I can thin out the product to get the print time down by half, but still I don't think my printer could handle 100s of these being made. What do 3d print companies usually charge for that. I basically would like to try to make a hundred of them to start to see how well they did before investing more money to make more of them...I hope this question made sense....

[@louiec1848]

Almost exactly the situation I’m in. Basically means injection molding is totally off the table though

[@tactiti0n]

You guys are the best at highlighting your company's capabilities, and benefits to a prospective customer, while also presenting interesting, and useful information. I'd be really interested in seeing your take on consumer 3D Printers being used for print farms, and the problems people run headfirst into. I realise that you did a bit of this in your prior video on your in-house 3dp's, but it's still interesting enough to warrant an entire video, I think : )

[@slant3d]

Thanks

[@kritikhabib4887]

Finally Thank you for the video

[@janlassen6101]

He is moving his head so much all the time and so fast that i get motion sickness. (no joke) Its painful.

[@IlanPerez]

Love this.

[@slant3d]

Thanks

[@SaltNBattery]

Just buy a 3d Printer and learn how to use it. These guys are scammers. Lol... $5 a piece? What a scam. Entire rolls of quality filament costs about $24 retail, they pay that or 5kg rolls, or probably less.

[@jackcoats4146]

I did a mold design years ago. I just wish 3d printing had been an option back in 1972....

[@jtproduction_]

Im working with thermoplastics and molds There is a Lot going on From maintance the mold , isues , mods to create real product and there is often a problem with optimalisation of process especialy when lots of materials are different You Can produce Lots of waste and damage the mold too (What needs a man to repair What leads to spend more money) Not talking about electricity consumpt , watter cooling and maintance of te machine itself

[@skaltura]

as part complexity increases i bet 3d printing gets more efficient, until complexity is something only 3d printing can do.

[@vipulchari3578]

also the fact that you can setup 3d printing farm easily in your own place while starting with one printer