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upgrade to FDM 3D printing

Both. FDM printing is an essential tool to speed up the prototyping process via printing life-size, even functional models from a wide range of thermosetting polymers with controlled flexibility within hours.
If thermopolymers have a significant role in your production process however, FDM 3D printing can be the perfect choice to improve your yield or reduce the waste. Utilizing the technology, you don’t need expensive tooling and installation to make things. Due to its additive nature, it is a fast, low to medium volume manufacturing solution that does not depend on economies of scale, similar to investing in injection molding tools. This opens up new opportunities where small-scale and/or on-demand production was previously uneconomic.

It also supports distributed manufacturing, where parts can be easily printed from anywhere. For example, an airline could 3D print its own spare parts in its own maintenance facility instead of having to ship them to the manufacturer.

In terms of tooling, FDM 3D printing offers the same flexibility, as it can produce tools, fixtures, hand end tools and other manufacturing aids in a much shorter time and at a much lower cost than traditional tooling. These tools can be easily and ergonomically customized and optimized for the operator, rather than designed for production. The use of strong thermoplastics instead of metal allows them to be lighter and easier to use, increasing task efficiency and reducing cycle times.

This depends on the depth of implementation, the specific type of polymer that you would like to work with and the pre-existing FDM know-how in your workshop. Our FDM 3D printers range in cost from relatively inexpensive (~1k USD) machines suitable for small-size prototype production to large format professional-grade printers for up to 10k USD. The difference between low-end and high-end systems is often the build volume, the variety and quality of the materials the machine processes, and the accuracy, reliability and consistency of the system. Compared to conventional prototyping or traditional manufacturing methods such as CNC machining or injection molding, FDM printing is typically much faster and, for smaller volumes, much cheaper. As the benefits and applications grow, the technology can scale appropriately.

As with any new technology or change in business orthodoxy, it’s worth being deliberate and planned when introducing FDM 3D printing. You may not get the results you want without a well thought out plan, or a clear strategy for a long-term, high-value return on investment. Starting small, with one or two printers for tooling, will allow your workshop team to learn about the technology, its applications and its benefits. From there, the technology can be scaled up to achieve wider adoption (replacing CNC machining) and the right benefits.

Craftware Pro is our proprietary slicer software developed from scratch for beginners and industry experts in the field of FDM 3D printing. Download it and enjoy full slicing functionality for free of charge. Also, under various license plans, additional productivity boosting features are available that enable multi-tray slice, cut filament consumption and build time.
From the beginning, we have designed Craftware Pro’s architecture and the underpinning slicer core to be highly reusable, configurable, and extendable. This gives us a competitive edge in offering production integration services for manufacturing SMEs.

Working with the Craftbot team to produce 3D printed parts is the best  way to learn about the benefits of the technology. You’ll gain the expertise and insight of a FDM printing specialist, who may be able to guide you in optimizing the use of the technology for your specific needs. Your initial outlay is usually lower as you avoid the upfront costs of completely reconfiguring a process step or integrating a new machine. Initially, our team can run proof-of-concept projects with clear goals that we set up together. When you’re confident about the positive ROI of a printing process integration of production method replacement, Craftbot completes the implementation on all levels, including printer customization, model slicing, process control, and know-how transfer via operator training.   

How will we work together?
Consider the bottlenecks of your current production line, summarize your expectations for FDM 3D printing and get an offer. Our tech team will contact you soon to know more about your current application and goals. We understand that you may avoid disclosing any relevant information, so we are ready to implement an NDA in the very early stage of our cooperation. As we agree on the goals, we may offer a proof of concept project to demonstrate our expertise before we fully engage to implement what you need.