From a science fiction novel to the center of a factory floor, 3-D printing technology and equipment is enhancing the plastics manufacturing industry by enabling companies to create complex, intricate products at a less-expensive cost. This quarter-century old technology, sometimes referred to as additive manufacturing, has evolved to the point that giants like Printpack, GE, Boeing, Stratasys, and PolyOne have incorporated it into their daily operations.

Three-dimensional (3-D) printing is an additive manufacturing process that creates objects one layer at time, essentially “growing” parts out of hundreds or thousands of layers, depending on the object’s size. Compared to conventional subtractive manufacturing processes, 3-D printing doesn’t require tooling; this invites design complexity, can reduce lead times and costs, and changes the way inventory can be managed.¹

Additive manufacturing is “mature” for prototyping, but it’s still in the innovators’ stage for the production of parts for final products, according to Terry Wohlers, founder of Wohlers Associates Inc., a Fort Collins, Colorado, USA-based consulting firm that’s almost as old as the innovative technology.²

   Similar to others in the industry, Wohlers states that 3-D printing can produce highly complex parts and can be used where large-scale production is not necessarily needed. While 3-D printing is not likely to replace injection molding or other forms of plastics processing, it is expected to complement them, he adds. 

SPI members like Printpack Inc. have long been integrating the technology into their operations. Dan Sanders, product development manager with Printpack (Williamsburg, Virginia, USA), says 3-D printing technology shaves weeks off Printpack’s delivery time by enabling the company to produce rapid prototype samples in a week, versus the three to four weeks consumed using traditional methods. The abbreviated process saves countless hours, translating into millions of dollars, Sanders says, adding that other savings are realized by eliminating traditional tooling.

And, as proven by the work of Carbon3D (Redwood City, California), the technology continues to advance. Carbon3D developed a new process referred to as “continuous liquid interface production” (CLIP) technology, which places a pool of resin over a digital light-projection system to create an object. By controlling light and oxygen exposure in tandem, CLIP can make intricate shapes and lattices in one piece instead of the many layers of material that usually make up a 3-D printed object.³

References

1. Heller, S. “Could Boeing’s Next Big Jet Come From a 3D Printer?” Motley Fool. www.fool.com/investing/gen
eral/2015/03/22/could-boeings-next-big-jet-come-from-a-3d-printer.aspx, accessed 23 July 2015.

2. Wohlers Associates. Wohlers Report 2015. www.wohlersassociates.com/2015report.htm, accessed 20 July 2015, p. 127.

3. SPI: The Plastics Industry Trade Association, “Plastics Market Watch: Plastics in the Fast Lane.” www.plasticsindustry.org/BusinessDevelopment/content.
cfm?ItemNumber=13974&navItemNumber=13982&
utm_source=spi_internal&utm_medium=ad_digi&utm_
campaign=spi_carousel, accessed 23 July 15, pp. 26-27.