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Should you 3D print critical life or death parts? Of course you should. It is often in critical components that additive manufacturing is the most useful. Gravity Industries is a good example. They’ve developed working jetpacks where some of the most critical components are 3D printed. The handheld thrusters, for instance, are produced in titanium using additive manufacturing. Not just prototypes, but final parts. The overall design combines printed polymer, aluminum, and titanium components. Different materials, different processes, each chosen for a specific purpose. This is where additive manufacturing makes sense. When performance matters. When weight matters. When pushing boundaries matters. It’s not about printing everything. It’s about printing parts that add value because they are optimized and designed for the application, without being limited by traditional manufacturing processes. Impressive work by Richard Browning and the team. #AdditiveManufacturing #3DPrinting #Engineering #Aerospace #DesignOptimization

Just because you can 3D print a part doesn’t mean you should! A lot of designs still fall into the same pattern: “We’ll just print it.” or “This only works with 3D printing.” Both are the wrong way to think about it. Additive manufacturing isn’t a catch-all solution, it’s just another manufacturing method with its own strengths, limits, and design rules, no different in principle than milling or injection molding. The part below is a simple roof drain grate that was designed with 3D printing in mind from the start. It may not look like it at first glance, but getting it to print reliably and function properly came down to a few key decisions during the design stage: Print orientation that allows it to adapt to different drain sizes Consistent layer area to keep extrusion stable Self-supporting geometry to avoid support material Avoiding large flat layers with sharp transitions Without that level of consideration, this part either prints inconsistently or doesn’t have the strength needed in use. In most cases, it’s not the technology that fails, it’s the design. If additive manufacturing is treated like any other process, something you design for rather than default to, the results are simply better. 3D printing technologies are powerful. But it’s not a free pass. How do you optimize your designs for printing? #AdditiveManufacturing #3DPrinting #DesignForAM #Engineering #Manufacturing

Is 3D printing ready for mass-market consumer products? The short answer is we are getting there. A good example is the Xiaomi Watch 5 titanium strap. It is produced using SLM technology and designed for real, large-scale use, not just small batches. By printing the strap in titanium, the design achieves around 50% weight reduction while maintaining strength and durability. At the same time, part consolidation reduces assembly and simplifies production. The printed plate structure also allows the strap to remain flexible, something that would be difficult to achieve with traditional methods without adding complexity. At around $115 (799 yuan), this is a commercially viable product, not a concept. Additive manufacturing is starting to prove its place in consumer products when applied in the right way. AMSupplyCheck helps connect engineers with suppliers who can produce these parts where and when they are needed. Learn more at https://lnkd.in/eEKy-Tgf #AdditiveManufacturing #3DPrinting #SLM #Manufacturing #Engineering #ConsumerProducts

Additive manufacturing allows you to add details without extra cost! Unlike traditional manufacturing, adding details does not make production more complicated. This makes it possible to include useful information directly on the part, such as part numbers, revision versions, or other key details. Doing this helps track production and reduces mistakes during assembly. Designers can also use this freedom to improve the function of a part by adding textured surfaces or increasing grip where it is needed. In this case, it is a pen body printed in titanium on an SLM printer. The design uses texture on the surface to improve control while writing, along with a small label on the pocket clip with the product name. Credit for the pen design Rasmus Høtbjerg Henriksen #AdditiveManufacturing #3DPrinting #SLM #Engineering #Manufacturing #ProductDesign #DesignFreedom

Are consumer 3D printers just plastic waste generators? More and more everyday people are getting into 3D printing, but what are they actually using the printers for? When looking at hobby sites like Thingiverse or MakerWorld, it seems like trinkets and toys are by far the most popular things to print. Based on the number of downloads these models receive, this likely adds up to tons upon tons of plastic filament every month. From experience, many of these small trinkets end up in the trash not long after they are printed. Of course, there can be value in printing these types of objects. But it raises a question. Does it really make sense for the average person to spend 500 USD on a printer mainly to produce toys and small trinkets that many people would not even buy in a store? 3D printing has real potential when it comes to repair parts, customization, and producing useful objects on demand. If most hobby printing ends up focused on disposable items, it risks pushing the technology in the wrong direction. As an industry it is worth thinking about how we move forward in a more sustainable direction. How do you view the current hobby uses for FDM 3D printing, and is this the right direction? #3DPrinting #AdditiveManufacturing #FDM #Sustainability #Manufacturing #Makers #Engineering

Flexible SLS printing in TPU⤵️

Many people still believe 3D printing is only useful for prototypes. That assumption is quickly becoming outdated. One common myth in 3D printing is that it does not work for actual production and that it is only good for prototyping and very low production runs. There is some truth to the myth, but many underestimate the number of parts it takes before the production cost flips from 3D printing to other traditional manufacturing methods. As material costs and machine reliability have improved over the years, the equilibrium point between traditional manufacturing and 3D printing has shifted. Now we are seeing cases where even for 10,000 and sometimes 100,000+ parts it is still cheaper to print them rather than use injection molding. When lower production cost can be combined with advanced materials, it leads to consumer ready products like the new CLIMACOOL LACED shoes from adidas Read more about the shoes here: https://lnkd.in/eVDRUb9J #AdditiveManufacturing #3DPrinting #AM #Manufacturing #Engineering #SupplyChain #DesignFreedom

Multijet for high detail casting!⤵️

Does digital inventory and print on demand actually work? Print on demand and digital inventory are often highlighted as major advantages of additive manufacturing, but when does it actually make sense to use them? Print on demand works when: • Demand is unpredictable • Lead time with traditional production methods is unacceptable • Startup or tooling costs are too high • The part is already optimized for additive manufacturing Print on demand does not work when: • Demand is stable and predictable • Unit price is more important than flexibility • The part is not suitable for additive manufacturing Having a digital inventory is not about eliminating physical stock but about limiting production and supply chain risks. Find a supplier that can produce your parts on demand around the world for free here: https://amsupplycheck.com/ #AdditiveManufacturing #3DPrinting #DigitalInventory #PrintOnDemand #SupplyChain #Manufacturing #Engineering

Large format FDM