Five Things You Can Do To Save Money With 3D Printing
If 3D printing is becoming an increasingly important part of your manufacturing processes, you should be able to significantly improve your bottom line by cutting down on 3D printing costs.
The following are five great ways you can adjust your 3D printing process to cut back on costs and save money:
Determine the most affordable material that is appropriate for the task at hand
Those providing 3D printing services typically offer a variety of different materials options, and some materials are more affordable than others. Some of the possible materials available for 3D printing are plastic, metal, and ceramics.
Costs can vary enormously among these different material options. To minimize your costs, you need to find the most affordable material out there that is appropriate for the items you're having printed.
Consider producing a hollow design to save on material costs
If you can still successfully fulfill your needs with a hollow printed item, there's no sense in wasting material to fill in the model.
A lot of manufacturers overlook the possibility of hollowing out their 3D print model to save on materials costs, but doing so can save a lot of money.
Create smaller prints where possible
Another way to save on both materials and 3D printing service costs is to reduce the size of your model. The larger a 3D printed item is, the larger the 3D printer needs to be and the more expensive the equipment costs will be for the service provider.
With 3D printing, it's always a good idea to create the smallest model possible. You might find that you not only save money on material costs with a smaller design but that your 3D printing service provider is also able to fill your order at a lower service charge because the order is less laborious to handle.
Take advantage of free designs out there to cut down on design costs
The 3D printing industry has really taken off in recent years, and a lot of enthusiasts have devoted their talents to this new technology free of charge.
Rather than paying a designer or designing a model yourself, you may be able to find a model that will meet your needs on websites with free 3D printing resources.
Buy bulk orders where possible
You should always avoid repeatedly putting in small orders for 3D printed material. Where possible, order in bulk because you'll probably enjoy lower costs, and you'll have an extensive inventory to prepare you for the future.
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