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Conventional manufacturing technology: the go-to choice for mass production

3D printing isn’t the be-all, end-all of manufacturing that some suggest—or wish it were.

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All of the “additive manufacturing comes to the rescue” stories of the past couple months have proven one thing to me: 3D printing is an excellent technology for delivering products in a hurry, but if you need to produce millions of something, traditional processes such as plastic injection molding, cold forming, machining, and sheet metal fabrication are the winners—hands down.

For example, a couple months ago I was chatting with a technical representative from a leading supplier of metal additive equipment. This guy eats metal powder for breakfast, breathes argon, and counts metal sheep at night before dreaming of laser beams and topology optimization software. His comment on the various 3D printing successes we’ve all been hearing about? “Conventional manufacturing is still bloody good.”

Later that week, I spoke to the owner of a large shop who heard and answered the call to produce emergency ventilators needed during the coronavirus crisis. He explained how he and his team had pushed all their existing work-in-progress to the side, retooled their press brakes, reprogrammed their laser cutters and welding robots, and repurposed their inventory of pumps, motors, and circuit boards to develop a prototype within two days. The shop delivered dozens of hospital-approved ventilators less than three weeks after that.

As he told the story, I scanned his website and saw that he has millions of dollars invested in 3D printing equipment. When asked what role additive played in all this, his response was surprising. “I think they’re great for modeling and product development, but I don’t have much use for them, not in this situation at least,” he said. “When you need a viable, end-use product, you need to use traditional manufacturing processes. That’s the secret sauce behind what we do here.”

Despite my enthusiasm for all things 3D printing, I have to agree. Additive manufacturing has shown itself to be an excellent bridge technology that’s able to produce practically anything in a pinch, but it’s going to be a long time before you see 3D-printed cars and refrigerators.

Granted, these and other mass-produced items are both easier and more cost-effective to develop thanks to additive, but when it comes to making things—or making the machines that make things—I’ll take a CNC lathe, machining center, or EDM any day of the week.

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About the Author

Kip Hanson

Kip Hanson is a freelance writer with more than 35 years working in and writing about manufacturing. He lives in Tucson, Ariz.