3D Printing for Industrial Design

It’s starting to look like Tools-R-Us in my office with all these 3D-printed tools laying around. From left to right: Modular head with the hookup Square shank head ER collet with matching nut And on the far right, one of ARCH’s full-radius facemills These aren’t just desk ornaments. We use these continuously in ARCH University to train our employees on insert nomenclature, insert orientation, and proper seating techniques, without risking real tooling, inserts, or machines. Beyond training, 3D printing has become a serious asset in the machining industry: Rapid prototyping of tool concepts before committing to steel Visual aids for sales, engineering reviews, and customer education Safer, lower-cost hands-on training for new hires Faster iteration on tool geometry and insert pocket design Better communication between engineering, manufacturing, and customers. It’s a simple technology, but when used intentionally, it removes barriers to learning and speeds up understanding across the board. Curious to hear from others in manufacturing, how are you using 3D printing in your shop or organization?

The Death of Expensive Prototyping: How 3D Printing Changed Manufacturing Forever Let me take you back to 2017 when I was trying to launch my first product. £8,000 and three months later, I had ONE prototype. And guess what? It wasn't even right. Fast forward to last week - I printed 12 versions of a new product, tested them all, and nailed the design. Total cost? £200. That's what 3D printing has done to manufacturing. Why does this matter? Because the old way of prototyping was brutal. Factory minimums that made your eyes water, sample fees that felt like daylight robbery, and months of WeChat back-and-forth. Want to change your design? "Sorry sir, new mold needed" - and there goes another few grand. But now? It's actually mental how simple it's become. You start with your idea - could be a rough sketch, basic CAD file, or just a concept. Within hours, you're holding your first prototype. Don't like something? Print a new version. Customer feedback suggests a different grip? Done by morning. Handle too thick? Fixed in an hour. Let's talk real numbers: 2017: First prototype cost me over £5,000. Each design change? Another grand. Timeline? Two to three months of back and forth, minimum. 2024: First prototype runs £50-100. Design changes cost £20-30 each. Timeline? 24 hours from idea to holding it in your hand. Real talk: If you've got a product idea but you're waiting for "the right time" or "more money" - stop. The barriers are gone. The excuses are dead. What you actually need is simple: a product idea (obviously), a basic design file (plenty of freelancers can help), and access to a printer or printing service. That's it. Here are your next steps: Get your idea out of your head, find a decent CAD designer, print your first prototype, and start testing with real people. This isn't just about saving money. It's about getting your product right before you bet big on manufacturing. Comment PRINTER if you want my list of trusted designers and printers I use for all my products. P.S. Currently testing a new product that would've cost £20k to prototype the old way. Total spend so far? £600. Times have changed.

How a 130-year-old company reduced expenses by 75% and increased their annual production by over 50% with large-format additive manufacturing One of the oldest foundry techniques in heavy machinery manufacturing just got a serious upgrade. At JC Steele, a global leader in stiff extrusion machinery for industries from ferro alloys to wallboard, traditional foundry sand casting is meeting large-format Additive Manufacturing. Using the BigRep ONE, JC Steele now prints the patterns for their sand casting molds - faster, smarter, cleaner. The results speak for themselves: 75% cost reduction, 50% faster production cycles. Introducing AM into our production has greatly improved our operations,” says Chris Watts, Pattern Shop Supervisor. “We’ve eliminated the longest, most error-prone steps: manual pattern design, interpreting drawings, and managing waste in the foundry. The takeaway? Marrying a century-old foundry process with cutting-edge 3D printing doesn’t just modernize - it transforms. Design iterations are faster, workflows leaner, and the path from idea to finished mold is smoother than ever. For manufacturers still on the fence: the future of heavy industrial tooling isn’t just digital. It’s digitally empowered foundry work. #3Dprinting #foundry

Stop printing parts designed for CNC machines. You're wasting 50% of what 3D printing can do. Most companies use 3D printing to replicate parts they used to mill or injection mold. This is the biggest missed opportunity in additive manufacturing. The real value comes from Design for Additive Manufacturing, or DfAM. Here's what that looks like in practice: Take this rocket engine model by Prusa Research . Most designers create without considering the manufacturing technology. But this model was expertly designed to require zero supports. The results are: → 30%+ reduction in print time → Zero post-processing → All intricate details preserved This is DFAM in action. With FFF 3D printing especially, understanding the technology's constraints lets you design around them. The result isn't just a different manufacturing method, it's a complete rethinking of what's possible. You get: • Lower costs • Faster production • Higher quality output • Designs that weren't possible before DfAM isn't just about making parts differently. It's about thinking about products differently.

INDUSTRIAL DESIGNERS: 3D printing is no longer the future ——— Additive has been used in production before, but never at this scale with this level of finish. Apple is now 3D printing the titanium cases for all Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Series 11 using recycled aerospace-grade powder, meeting structural, cosmetic, and sustainability requirements at once. That’s millions of units. The shift from subtractive to additive changes what’s possible: built-in textures, near-final geometry, half the raw material, no tooling limitations. This isn’t a prototype pipeline. It’s mass production with fewer constraints and better outcomes, for the company and the planet. 3D printing is no longer the future. It’s the present. Are you ready to change your concept of manufacturing? ——— Craftedby.agency

🚀 Industrial Design Meets Technology & Healthcare 🚀 ✅✅ Function is essential but comfort makes all the difference. Traditional orthoses often prioritize stability over wearability, causing discomfort and limiting patient adherence. That’s why we explored an alternative design focused on both support and comfort: 🛠️ Our Comfort-Driven Approach: 🔹 3D Scanning: Using the SnugFit app, we captured precise anatomical data to ensure a perfect fit. 🔹 Digital Design: Spentys software allowed us to model and simulate the orthosis, optimizing both function and flexibility. 🔹 Advanced Printing: Leveraging Formlabs SLA and SLS technologies, we produced prototypes with high precision, durability, and lightweight comfort. 💡 Why It Matters: Patients benefit from devices that not only support movement but also feel natural to wear. Combining industrial design, digital technology, and healthcare expertise allows us to create orthoses that improve quality of life, encourage consistent use, and enhance rehabilitation outcomes. 🔬 Innovation in healthcare isn’t just about creating a device it’s about improving everyday lives through thoughtful design. 💭 Would you consider a digitally customized orthosis over traditional options for long term comfort and support? —————————————— 🧠❗ 𝗙𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 👉Muhammet Furkan Bolakar and 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗹 🔔 for more updates on how #robotics, #automation and #science are shaping the future. ♻️Robot Technology: RoboSapienss ♻️Science Biology: Mr.Biyolog 📊Digital Marketing: Bignite Digital —————————————— DM me for a specific attribution or removal There is no economic benefit in this post. Florian Palatini Onur Sezgin CTO Robotics Miloš Kučera Christine Raibaldi Ahmet Ömer YILMAZ #HealthTech #MedicalDesign #3DPrinting #OrthosisInnovation #PatientComfort #IndustrialDesign

Ongoing R&D project continuing to build out a variety of tools and workflows for the purpose of Computational Design for Additive Manufacturing using SideFX Software Houdini. This project explores utilizing volumetric fields to store data in order to drive pattern density for additive infill patterns. The density gradients are driven by the location of parts in order to provide a more materially optimized infill pattern. This provides a number of benefits including the ability to tune patterns for weight reduction, flexibility or stress resistance, reduction of material use, variable porosity for airflow or thermal transfer, and others. This procedural system can take in a variety of part shapes and design parameters in order to generate automated and optimized infill patterns across multiple typologies. The parts have been rendered to mimic the appearance of a translucent bio-based resin, such as PEGDA. https://lnkd.in/gGSBPYjn More to come. #computationaldesign #houdini #dfam #cdfam #parametricdesign #additivemanufacturing #3dprinting #industrialdesign