10 Reasons to Invest in 3D Printing and Scanning

3D printing and scanning technologies have advanced rapidly over time, becoming increasingly used in cultural heritage research and preservation efforts.

As one example, 3D printing makes for convenient drilling dust collection; saving users the trouble of emptying and cleaning out their bucket after every drilling session. This application of 3D printers proves their value and proves their investment worth it.

1. Save Time and Money

Producing one-off products can be both expensive and time consuming. 3D printing offers a quick solution that reduces costs and time required to design and produce prototypes for these unique projects.

3D scanners offer businesses an efficient method for measuring objects without resorting to contact-based tools or manually modeling it in software. As such, these scanners can save them significant costs over time.

3D scanning can save time when shipping or handling parts or objects, for instance allowing a company that manufactures construction machinery to quickly create replacement parts with their 3D printer instead of having to wait months for them from overseas suppliers.

Museums can use 3D scanning technology to digitally transport cultural artifacts around the globe without incurring costly shipping or import/export taxes.

2. Increase Product Design Efficiency

3D printing and scanning offer time and cost-saving benefits during the design process, as well as producing prototypes or replacement parts quickly for machines or devices which have broken or become outdated.

3D printing offers an effective solution for creating one-of-a-kind items, such as custom sculptural models or toys, or producing replacement parts for existing products such as dental crowns or eyeglass frames. It can even create personalized dental crowns.

Product safety is of utmost importance for manufacturers, and 3D printing offers manufacturers an efficient method of testing designs faster and more accurately. Furthermore, this process allows manufacturers to make improvised design changes and enhance durability and strength – providing significant advantages over traditional CAD software.

3. Customize Your Products

There You Have It 3D Printing and Scanning provides customers with a way to customize products in multiple ways, from eyeglass and sunglasses frames to creating one-of-a-kind jewelry items – revolutionizing our lives along the way!

3D scanning enables designers to construct models that accurately depict the physical design of products, speeding and streamlining manufacturing processes.

3D printers can be used to print an assortment of materials ranging from plastics and metals to concrete and rubber, in an endless number of colors and geometries. One particularly exciting application of 3D printing is food recycling: Milanese startup Krill Design has utilized this technique to produce interior furniture using orange peels and coffee grounds – producing Rekrill.

4. Save Energy and Money

3D scanning can help reduce waste and energy use by creating digital models of physical objects, and also allows on-demand production, saving both money and time.

Also, this can help to minimize handling and exposure of fragile artifacts, helping preserve them for future generations while making them more accessible to people around the globe.

3D scanning technology is widely utilized within the entertainment industry to generate digital 3D models of real world objects for use in movies and video games, or to create virtual and augmented reality experiences. 3D scanners can also be utilized by product designers as quality control measures to inspect parts for quality control inspection, which reduces time, costs, as well as global shipping expenses. Many vendors provide plug-ins for popular CAD programs (e.g. Geomagic or Imageware) which allow you to manipulate the resultant model directly within them.

5. Reduce Waste

Rapid product creation through 3D printing reduces manufacturing waste significantly. Furthermore, the additive process requires significantly less material than traditional subtractive processes such as milling or laser cutting.

Cultural heritage institutions increasingly turn to 3D scanning and printing technology as a means of protecting artifacts while making them more easily accessible for study. For instance, the British Museum used 3D printing technology to produce a replica of the Rosetta Stone that allows visitors to experience its significance without touching its fragile original.

Three dimensional printing has many exciting applications in medicine and surgery, including producing prosthetics and surgical models. This enables prostheses and models to be produced without costly and time-consuming shipping that could damage them while saving on import/export tariffs; additionally, 3D printing reduces carbon footprint by eliminating transportation requirements.

6. Increase Product Innovation

3D printing provides engineers with unparalleled engineering optimization potential. Parts can be expanded or made thinner for increased durability and lightness, or they can include internal structures with increased tensile strength, impact resistance or heat tolerance.

Scanning existing manufactured parts allows designers to create CAD models which more seamlessly connect them, which reduces maintenance and enhances performance. 3D printing enables customized products ranging from shoes that perfectly fit an individual to prosthetic limbs tailored specifically to them.

The COVID-19 pandemic has proven how 3D scanning and printing can serve as vital tools in addressing supply-demand imbalances caused by socio-economic trends and manufacturing or transportation disruptions. 3D printing’s digital versatility and quick prototyping capability allows the immediate mobilization of key components needed in crisis responses ranging from personal protective equipment, medical devices and isolation dwellings.

7. Increase Product Design Efficiency

3D printing and scanning enable faster design iterations cycles, speeding up product development teams’ time-to-market.

3D scanners provide accurate physical measurements of objects for various uses. For instance, when redesigning an aircraft or ship requires reverse engineering to ensure compatibility between existing parts and their new designs, 3D scanning provides quick production of required data quickly.

Technology can also be invaluable for conserving and studying cultural heritage sites, like creating an accurate replica of the 15th-century Saint George and Dragon sculpture from Church of Saint George in Bruges – this digital representation can then be used for research, conservation, education purposes as well as making culture more accessible and understandable to a broader audience.

8. Improve Product Quality

3D scanning enables rapid design iterations, helping industrial designers and engineers improve product quality more rapidly. By comparing printed parts to their digital models, they can easily identify areas for improvement before printing new versions more rapidly – leading to faster product development cycles, higher performing products with reduced defects and faster development times.

3D printing and scanning technologies offer great promise for the preservation, study, and accessibility of historical artifacts around the world. For example, an entire statue can be scanned before being 3D printed out so researchers can study it without risk of damage or loss.

3D scanning technology also can create highly detailed replicas of historic sites and artifacts, enabling visitors from around the world to visit them virtually – thus making history more accessible while increasing global understanding of past events.

9. Increase Product Innovation

3D printing has created new manufacturing techniques. Manufacturers can utilize 3D printing to develop internal structures which increase product performance, helping them meet goals such as fuel efficiency and tensile strength increases.

Companies using 3D printing technology to design tools and molds are finding that printing tools and molds quickly leads to faster production of end products – and could result in significant cost savings.

Some companies are already starting to use 3D printers for full production of end products, and this trend looks set to continue as whole commercial ecosystems emerge around this emerging technology. These ecosystems will allow designers, makers and consumers to work together effectively as they provide platforms for fast downloads and quality control – ultimately streamlining manufacturing process more efficiently and effectively.

10. Customize Your Products

Customizable products enable customers to receive exactly what they require, whether that means 3D printed orthotics made to fit perfectly onto someone’s foot or something more specific such as clothing. Custom orthotics ensure maximum comfort and effectiveness – ultimately increasing patient quality of life.

3D printing can also be used to fabricate custom parts for existing products, e.g. a hobbyist was able to design a mountable holster for their medication scanner at work using 3D printing technology – saving both money and shipping fees by doing it themselves!

Are you curious to see how 3D scanning and printing could benefit your business? Reach out to us and we’d be more than happy to show you how it works!