3D printing technologies are becoming more prevalent in several different sectors, including varying applications within consumer goods. The customization capabilities in particular lend themselves to the production of several different consumer goods, from figurine replicas based off 3D scans to personalized medical devices.
Beyond these applications, 3D printers are also capable of creating new designs for consumer goods products. These innovative designs can help improve the product and make the experience better for consumers.
Though manufacturers still face scalability issues when adopting 3D printing into production processes, this technology has come a long way from being used solely for rapid prototyping. Learn how 3D printing is driving transformation in consumer goods.
3D Printed Consumer Goods Products
“Consumer goods is still a tough market for 3D printing,” explains Neil Glazebrook, vice president of 3D solutions at ABCorp. “But what is gaining traction is consumer goods products that are highly bespoke, customized, or have a small production volume.”
People don’t realize that several consumer goods products are either entirely 3D printed or have 3D-printed components. Sports gear, for example, is a large consumer goods sector that is slowly adopting 3D printing. Glazebrook sees 3D printing as particularly beneficial to the protective equipment segment of sports gear, specifically helping to improve safety by making impacts in contact sports less harmful to the individual.
“3D printing is shaking up the design for sports helmets,” says Glazebrook, adding, “Manufacturers are using a lattice design as part of the cushioning for helmets. This design helps to disperse the effects of an impact when the helmet is hit. Using 3D printing for these helmets helps create a lightweight product that is still impact resistant. The resistance is even better compared to using traditional manufacturing methods.”
Aside from sports gear, 3D printing is also used to create highly customized consumer goods. This is made possible with 3D-scanning technologies, which can now scan people to create anything from custom figurines to personalized insoles. Several of these product designs can only be created through additive manufacturing.
Though 3D printing is currently only used for some smaller production runs of consumer goods, adoption is growing among manufacturers of these products. As this technology becomes more scalable, 3D printing is set to be a game changer for consumer goods manufacturing.
Scaling and Production of Consumer Goods With 3D Printing
3D printing is great for producing customized consumer goods because customization isn’t a hindrance to the additive manufacturing process. Unlike CNC machines, 3D printers don’t need to switch to specific tooling to complete a production process for different products.
“Take the insoles as an example. They’ve traditionally been CNC milled with polypropylene. 3D printing can use the same material, produce a more cost-effective design, and customize it. And these 3D-printed insoles actually help customers heal better,” says Glazebrook.
Despite these benefits, 3D printing hasn’t been adopted more widely because of scalability issues in production. Additive manufacturing especially struggles with scalability at speed. Though it can match a CNC machine, it falls short of injection molding production speeds.
However, what is now driving growth in additive manufacturing is the use of continuous 3D printing. With this model, manufacturers can better scale additive manufacturing for larger production runs, allowing for more consumer goods applications.
“Continuous 3D printing offers a lot of benefit to manufacturers. In a continuous model, a machine operator isn’t needed, so labor costs plummet, more funds can be diverted to capital and materials, and the cost and time savings are significant,” Glazebrook says. “Manufacturers have to move to continuous 3D printing to effectively scale the technology.”
Scaling 3D printing is important for the future of manufacturing. Consumers are demanding more customized and localized products, and the economy is shifting to meet this demand. 3D printing will help manufacturers remain competitive in this economy, all while creating a better product when compared to traditional manufacturing methods.
The Future State of 3D Printing
Shifting to continuous 3D printing will help manufacturers realize all the benefits of this technology. As more companies adopt industrial 3D printing, these machines could one day handle production runs in the millions. That is a significant leap from the thousands of 3D-printed commercial products ABCorp is currently printing on a daily basis.
“3D printing is shifting its way up. Adoption has become much more aggressive than even what we were seeing a few years ago,” says Glazebrook. “Medical devices, drones, robotics — these are all the ‘meat and potatoes’ use cases of 3D printing. But it’s becoming more prevalent in consumer goods due to the focus on supply chain localization and product customization.”
Consumers want better products, they want safer products, and they want personalization — all of which is possible with 3D printing technologies, which is why usage will continue to grow across several sectors. Designing for 3D printing will help manufacturers unlock the full potential of this technology.
“When designing consumer goods for 3D printing production, manufacturers should think outside the box to figure out what will make the consumer’s life better. 3D printing gets a lot of wins when making consumer products in verticals like health, safety, and, of course, customization” explains Glazebrook. “One day a consumer will be able to walk into a shop, get a 3D scan, and have a customized product 3D printed for them in a matter of days — maybe even quicker. We’re not there yet, but that’s where 3D printing is heading.”
If you’re a manufacturer looking to get into 3D printing, explore ABCorp’s 3D offerings. And if you want to learn even more about 3D printing and the technology’s capabilities, find out more by attending RAPID + TCT.
Bio:
Neil Glazebrook, VP of 3D Solutions at ABCorp
ABCorp is a secure on-demand manufacturer of 3D printing parts from low to high-volume production using the HP MJF solutions and automated robotics and inspection technology. With over 26 years in manufacturing, Neil has previously worked as a director of Sales and Operations, Mold & Coating Manager, Capital Additive Sales, HP Product Manager, and CNC Programmer in the job shops and injection molding industry. Neil holds a BS in Business and Law from Curry College of Milton, MA, and he currently resides in central Massachusetts. His goal is to bring manufacturing closer to ABCorp’s customers with enterprise-scale manufacturing on-demand using the latest technology in 3D printing, robotics, and inspection.