this post was submitted on 18 Feb 2024
36 points (92.9% liked)

3DPrinting

15534 readers
157 users here now

3DPrinting is a place where makers of all skill levels and walks of life can learn about and discuss 3D printing and development of 3D printed parts and devices.

The r/functionalprint community is now located at: !functionalprint@kbin.social or !functionalprint@fedia.io

There are CAD communities available at: !cad@lemmy.world or !freecad@lemmy.ml

Rules

If you need an easy way to host pictures, https://catbox.moe may be an option. Be ethical about what you post and donate if you are able or use this a lot. It is just an individual hosting content, not a company. The image embedding syntax for Lemmy is ![](URL)

Moderation policy: Light, mostly invisible

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
 

I found this interesting. It's a different view point than "buy the latest and greatest".

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] JustEnoughDucks@feddit.nl 3 points 8 months ago

It is a HUGE business in mechanical design spaces.

Low-quantity prototyping is prime realestate since injection molds cost 1500€ and rapid prototyping is not a thing without a bunch of money behind you.

My company does mostly medical devices and some consumer design doesn't have the equipment for high-quality 3D prints. We use a company called materialize that does extremely high quality sand-blasted or waterproof impregnated 3d prints as an example for low quantities. They made one prototype for us that literally sounded and felt like ceramic while being waterproof plastic.

It's good business. A run of 10 prints or so is also like 800€ or something, so they make decent money from it if they can automate the process as much as possible.