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Quality of 3D printing versus injection molding (lemmy.ml)

submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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Are consumer level 3D printers able to print plastic objects of similar quality to ones produced using injection molding? Or is 3D printing useful mostly for the prototyping stage before a design is finalized and a steel mold is produced for injection molding?

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[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 year ago (9 children)

It depends on how you define quality.

If you define it by general shape and tolerances, 3d printing can(!) achieve a comparable quality.
if you define it by it's surface finish, SLA prints can but it's nearly impossible with FDM (at least currently).
and if you define it, by its tensile strength or mechanical properties injection molded pieces wil probably always have an edge over 3d prints because of their anisotropic behaviour (meaning the piece can endure forces differently depending on the direction)

And of course as already mentioned injection molding is a much better fit for mass production.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

This is very good information.

To add another point, a few other differences: -Additive manufacturing (3d printing) can produce some shapes which are not possible using injection molding -Injection molding currently has access to a wider variety of materials due to its maturity (pelletized raw material)

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Additive manufacturing (3d printing) can produce some shapes which are not possible using injection molding

Agree. I was just thinking about this last night. The model I'm currently making would have to be multiple sub-components without 3D printing. Having everything as one piece, but still with a lot of air gaps, makes the finished product stronger.

Injection molding currently has access to a wider variety of materials due to its maturity (pelletized raw material)

There are pellet extruders, but generally agree that there's a wider material selection available for injection molding.

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