3D Printing Technology

Presenting a whole new world of possibilities across industries.

12:33 19 August 2021

3D printing technology has really come a long way from its humble beginnings, helping companies across a wide range of industries redefine the product development process.

 

A few years ago, British Petroleum (BP) started using 3D printing to make bespoke pipes and special parts constituting the internals of the chambers of their catalytic reactors. They liked how they were able to produce components quickly in situ, as and when needed, thereby significantly cutting down on the waiting time for the replacement part to be shipped out from the supplier. The oil major was one of the early adopters of 3D printing in the UK, although the technology was not quite there at its fully ripe state (back then) to produce a range of bespoke parts.

 

Making pipes and additional components right where you need them is truly indispensable for a company like BP which normally operates several offshore refineries in multiple locations. And they were hoping that the technology would improve further to a point where there would be more sophisticated printers with industry-specific capabilities to help in manufacturing complex components locally (on offshore platforms) at a faster rate.

 

Fast forward to now, 3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing, has grown leaps and bounds to become the go-to choice of several industry leaders. And, as expected, it has turned out to be a truly transformative technology in this digitization era with wide-ranging and far-reaching applications across the board spanning different industries, from oil and gas to medical and from consumer electronics to education and countless others. 

 

Perhaps the ultimate success of 3D printing is that bespoke, customised designs are easy, fast and don’t cost much, with the right machine. For example, a bunker-inspired house in Europe created a lot of buzz in the construction space mainly for the ease with which such a complex design was brought to life using advanced 3D printing technology. This modern house was built by a Dutch construction firm using the latest 3D printing where the specially formulated cement of the load-bearing walls have been spat out by the nozzle of a giant robotic arm, layer after layer. Printed in just 120 hours, the house did raise eyebrows on several aspects right from design to materials, with people chiefly expressing concerns over whether the house could hold or be habitable at all. Quashing any apprehensions over its quality or habitableness, the construction firm has obtained proper permission from the local authorities and been sending out invitations calling people to apply to rent the property. With four more 3D printed houses lined up, the firm has surely set the tone for the future and shown what’s possible in the world of construction with the latest 3D printing technology. The company is trying to send a clear message out there that this cutting-edge technology has now made it very much possible to build a quality house with environmental-friendly materials in less than a week’s time while exercising complete control over design and cost. With more companies following suit, we can hope to see more and more 3D printed homes with unique shapes and flexible designs, developed with modern materials at just a fraction of the cost it takes to build it otherwise i.e. the traditional way. That’s the point, right? Make your house just the way you want it, at a reduced cost and at a record low time.

 

If the cases discussed above are any indication, 3D printing technology has really come of age. And the future is looking bright, too. With more and more companies and industries starting to embrace and invest in it, it is hoped that it will have a significant global impact in the near future. And some of the technologies and applications of 3D printing that are coming out right now could actually live up to the early hype. With the technology becoming better and better, companies that invest in it now can enjoy a host of benefits: they can fiddle around with their product development process, achieve unprecedented levels of efficiency, enhance productivity, and sort out supply chain issues by integrating 3D printing in their manufacturing framework. And there are many more benefits too. But the trick to achieving 3D printing success is in solving the puzzle: how to combine these processes with innovative product design to get desired business outcomes.

 

If you are considering adding 3D printing to your arsenal, you need to talk to someone that has a deeper understanding of this technology and how you can benefit from it. With a comprehensive knowledge of 3D printing and its applications, the team at Complete Scanning are working with a growing number of businesses to help them stay in the cutting edge of 3D production development. They work with a wide range of customers across industries and provide professional 3D scanning and 3D printing services. Visit their website today to find out how they can be of help on your transformative journey into the world of 3D printing.