What to Look For When Purchasing an Industrial 3D Printer?

More and more companies are deciding to bet on additive manufacturing technologies, as it has been clear for some years now that it is the future of manufacturing. When we talk about 3D technologies, we are not only referring to prototypes, but also to high-quality end-use parts. With its adoption, it allows evolution in production and savings in costs and manufacturing times. Despite this, when choosing a machine, there are still doubts about parameters should be considered when getting an industrial 3D printer. Notably, users need to ask questions such as: What should be taken into account? Are the materials important? Today we will give an answer to some of these.

There are multiple 3D printing technologies currently available, so to narrow the scope, we will focus on fused material deposition technology. This technology has been mistakenly seen as linked to small machines for everyday use. However, thanks to the evolution of this technology and materials, we already think of it as an interesting technology for industry. But it is necessary to know how to differentiate between an industrial machine and a machine with a large printing volume.

What To Do Before Buying an Industrial 3D Printer?

Before making the decision to purchase an industrial 3D printer, it is important to create a list of what applications are being targeted for the machine and in which part of the production chain it makes the most sense to implement it. Once this is done, you can directly contact the manufacturer of the brand you are interested in. The important thing to take into account is to know the materials with which the machine should be working, if it is able to create quality end-use parts, and how big the printing volume is. Once we are clear about the quality/price relation of the machine, it is always possible to ask for a sample piece. This allows users to get a closer look at the printing quality of the machine.