Core Purpose: Production and innovation, revolutionizing traditional manufacturing models.
Small-Batch and Customized Production
Limitations of Traditional Manufacturing: Processes like injection molding and die-casting require expensive molds, making them cost-effective only for mass production. For small batches, personalized customization (e.g., medical orthotics, dental implants, custom-fit earphones), or limited-edition products, traditional manufacturing is economically unviable.
Advantages of Rapid Manufacturing: Technologies like 3D printing enable “digital” production without mold costs. The unit cost of producing one piece is comparable to that of producing a thousand pieces. This makes “on-demand production” and “mass customization” feasible.
Producing Parts with Extremely Complex Geometries
From “Design for Manufacturing” to “Manufacturing for Design”: Traditional methods (e.g., machining, casting) are constrained by tool angles, demolding directions, and other limitations, making it impossible to produce many complex internal structures (e.g., lattice structures, internal channels).
Breakthrough of Rapid Manufacturing: The layer-by-layer additive nature of 3D printing allows for the creation of virtually any geometric shape. This unleashes designers’ creativity, enabling the design of lighter, stronger, and more functionally integrated parts, such as:
Lightweight brackets in the aerospace industry.
Porous implants in the medical field that promote bone integration.
Mold inserts with complex internal cooling channels.
Simplifying Supply Chains and Reducing Inventory
On-Demand Production: Companies no longer need to stockpile large quantities of spare parts or finished products in warehouses. When demand arises, digital files can be directly retrieved for localized production, significantly reducing inventory costs and storage risks.
Digital Inventory: Parts are stored as digital files rather than physical objects, drastically lowering management and transmission costs.
Production Integration and Tooling Manufacturing
Part Consolidation: Through ingenious design, components that originally required multiple assembled parts can be printed as a single integrated piece, reducing assembly steps and enhancing product reliability and structural strength.
Rapid Tooling and Fixture Manufacturing: Customized jigs, fixtures, and inspection tools can be quickly produced for traditional production lines, improving the efficiency of conventional manufacturing processes.