Industrial Design Possibilities HP 3D Plastic Printing.
Replace Injection Mould Parts with 3D Printed Parts!
The biggest benefit I see is there is no requirement for expensive plastic moulds. Tooling is expensive and time consuming to have the tools manufactured. Adds many months to the Time to Market to make the injection moulds and then prove tooling for production.
Because requirement for No Plastic Moulds. If the 1st prototype is good, can go straight production. Get the product out in the market place and learn more quickly what improvements are required for the real world.
With additive 3D printing Changes to the Design can be made without the time and expense of changing the moulds.
For the Product Designer there is more freedom and with less manufacturing considerations. For example, no extra cost for holes on any surface at any angle. No draft angles required on surfaces for release from moulds.
Single Part can replace multiple Parts. Or parts made together at same time to have a complete assembly. With the Powder Technology there is no need for support material as in other process. Can make parts inside other parts. Or Connected like chain links.
Able to print under cuts for snap fits. Hollowed out parts. Or for extreme weight reduction use lattices.
HP claim good structural properties for their materials. PA12 is a Nylon like material and comes in different grades. Can create living hinges, clip fits. Material is much stronger, and more durable than SLA resins.
HP claim up 10X faster than current FDM type printers. By using special binders and multi laser printing heads.
I leave you with HP with suggesting with this technology you can have multiple materials in the one part in the future. To give different strengths. Ridged and flexible zones in a single part. Opaque and translucent areas in a single 3D Printed Part.
See EMS Prototyping video of some possibilities and comparisons to other 3D Printing Processes.
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