New year, new you. The new year is a great time to reflect on your upcoming goals for the new year. Innovations within the additive manufacturing market will continue to move us into industry 4.0. What’s your game plan for the next 12 months? Our 3rd Annual Post-Printing Survey Report may help shed some light on a few goals for the upcoming year. If you need some ideas for your own additive manufacturing workflow, here are five things to add to your to-do list for post-processing in 2022.
1. Consider EH&S Concerns When You Select a Post-Processing Method
Environmental, health, and safety concerns are more and more critical in the workplace. Many manufacturers are more aware of the impact of their work environment on their employees. In fact, 60% of respondents are looking to improve their post-processing operations’ health, safety, and sustainability. It’s essential to keep your employees safe during the printing and post-printing process.
Traditional post-processing can create hazardous environments. For example, some methods use IPA to help clean the part, which can be a severe environmental hazard with its low flashpoint. To create a safer environment, a 2022 goal may be to reduce, if not eliminate, your usage of IPA in post-printing and PostProcess can help. Our solutions process parts with a higher flash point, reducing the risk to both your lab and everyone working in it.
2. Reduce Your Post-Printing Costs
Did you know: some additive manufacturers are spending as much as 30% of their total part cost on post-processing alone? Or that 20% of manufacturers are unaware of the cost of their post-processing? But it doesn’t need to be this way.
2022 offers an opportunity to evaluate all your post-processing options find a better alternative to your current methods. Chances are there are better alternatives that can help save you money and increase your throughput. Automation is one way to revolutionize your post-processing. Don’t believe us? Check out our case study on Enhancing Resin Removal for SLA Additive Manufactured Parts.
3. Plan to Finish Your Parts Faster
Post-processing in additive manufacturing can be labor-intensive and take a significant amount of time. Our survey found that the #1 pain point three years running across all print technologies is the time to complete parts. This can include anything from manual support removal with tools to hand-sanding surface finishing.
When evaluating your post-printing solution, assess how much time employees spend when they manually finish parts. Ask yourself questions like: Is there a better way to complete the task? Are there alternative ways to process the part? Can we increase throughput and decrease the time spent finishing each part?
In case you didn’t guess, there is a better way to complete post-printing solutions that takes into consideration software, hardware, and chemistry. Read testimonials from customers for real-life examples of how PostProcess decreased their overall post-processing time.
4. Integrate Automation Into Your Post-Processing
2022 could be the year to evaluate your post-processing. Traditionally, manufacturers had to have technicians take hours to finish parts via hand sanding and manual support removal to create the end-user part. This is time-consuming, costly, and can lead to broken or inconsistent parts.
However, your post-printing time and labor could be reduced significantly by automating the process. Check out some of our case studies to discover how customers are taking advantage of automated post-processing solutions.
5. Plan for Post-Prrocessing in Your Design Phase for FDM
Our survey revealed the most popular type of 3D printing is still material extrusion (73.2%). Specifically, with FDM, many manufacturers struggle with consistency and the time it takes to finish parts. But did you know you can help alleviate some of these concerns before your print process even begins?
Our white paper discusses further the value of a DfAM centered approach technique for FDM 3D printed parts like material selection, part orientation, self-supporting angles, and contour toolpaths. Taking these techniques into consideration can reduce time, cost, and even material savings to revolutionize your post-printing workflows.
If you’re ready to evaluate your post-printing process in 2022, be sure to reach out to us here at PostProcess. Our intelligent post-printing solutions offer a comprehensive, data-driven system that delivers transformative benefits for additive manufacturing post-printing – patent-pending Hardware, proprietary Software, and additive formulated Chemistry. We have a range of automated and intelligent solutions that will provide unparalleled support removal and surface finishing to your 3D printed material.
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