It is hard to sell houses. It is a not a decision made quickly. When the customer leaves all they have is a flat floorplan to mull over. And you can't keep a version of every house available for walkthroughs. Combine that with the fact that some people just are not able to visualize 3D spaces very well, and you realize the need for a 3D model of what you are selling.

OK, so the value is pretty clear. 3D Printed Architectural Models improve communication and connection with the buyer. But how are they made?

We first off Slant 3D would need a 3D Model. Ideally your builder or architect can provide 3D models of a building in .STL, .OBJ, or .STEP. Not all architects or architecture software can provide the files for 3D Printing. That is why Slant 3D has an inhouse design team that can take your floorplans and drawings and convert them to a perfectly printable 3D Model.

If your inhouse folks have the ability they can see this article on creating Architectural 3D models for some tips. But do also contact your Slant 3D engineer for more specific information.

Once Slant 3D receives the 3D model then we will prepare it for printing. Our 3D Printing machine are limited in size. So for larger models the building will need to be broken into several pieces, that are printed individually and then slotted together later.

We may also edit some features so that they are manufacturable. This can include tweaking windows and the thickness of the walls.

Lastly if necessary we will work with you to create an removable roof so the inside can be viewed. Though it is perfectly alright to create an exterior-only architectural model. We can 3D Print either one.

That's all there is too it. Send us a 3D model and we can start printing.

Once the model is sent over and finalized we will quote production for you. Whether it be a single large model or thousands of showroom giveaways. Both are equally feasible.

​Hopefully this has cleared up some of the challenges with 3D Printed architectural models. Let us know if you have any questions.

One of the huge advantages of high volume 3D Printing is its ability to produce custom parts at scale without the cost of molds. This freedom allows for products to evolve during production, and reduces inventory holding requirements since parts can be made on demand.

This is especially true for parts in industrial settings. These types of parts include custom hardware like gears, rollers and handles. But here we are going to focus on custom electrical enclosures. Large Scale 3D Printing is able to produce custom electrical enclosures reliably and quickly using all types of materials.

Electronics enclosures cannot accommodate the millions of PCB designs that are created every year. Often certain custom boards are just placed into a generic box enclosure. While this can be affordable. It can compromise the longevity of the part, and diminishes the brand of the board inside. If possible every company would prefer to use custom enclosures. This way the enclosure can complement the board inside. Both on engineering specs and company identity.

But custom enclosures require custom molds. This leads to minimum volumes to amortize the cost of the mold. And the enclosure is obsolete as soon as the PCB is. 

3D Printing, on the other hand, allows just the right number of parts to be produced for what is sold. They can be made on demand as the parts are sold, so there is no inventory carrying cost. And as the PCB changes or diversifies the case can immediately be updated.

And of course with 3D Printing there is no molding cost. So for most simple enclosures 3D Printing is generally less expensive or at least matches the cost of molding.

The benefits if 3D Printed enclosures does not only extend to the new. Old systems can be revitalized. If an enclosure has gone out or production, or out of style, it can be quickly and efficiently recreated. Then it can be put back into to production without the startup and carrying costs that molding requires.

The process of injection molding is quite limited. Or at least with special materials, quite expensive. At Slant 3D we have worked with clients searching for ESD safe or even Carbon Fiber enclosures to be manufactured. Few molding systems can support the abrasive characteristics of these types of materials.

Molders very often specialize in only one material. Whereas 3D Printing is much more flexible. Literally we can print in rubbery materials, hardhat TPU, carbon fiber, and biodegradable, to name just a few. This allows clients to iterate and diversify while only have to establish and maintain one relationship rather than one for each SKU.

And then, within material, there is always color. Again with molding minimums play a roll. The distributed nature of 3D Printing allows clients to order 1000 parts, but make 250 of red, blue, yellow, and green.

All told 3D Printing is a way to improve efficiency with products that require a large number of SKU's. But it can scale to large volume. But really if you are making more than 100,000 pieces at a go then go get a mold.

But 3D Printing is able to produce many variants quickly and easily. Changing material, color, and very importantly geometry. And it is able to easily adjust to supply and demand. 3D Printing does not require an order of 100,000 pieces. 100,000 pieces that must then be shipped and stored. Instead, parts can be produced at a rate that meets demand. Less cash is tied up in inventory, and there is less risk for new products.

3D Printing is simply a more efficient process.

We are happy to announce Twist 3D Printing. A Fast and simple 3D Printing service for creating prototypes quickly and painlessly.

Twist is a project that we have been testing for a while now. There is no simple way to just order a 3D Printed part anymore. No place to just upload a model, pay, and get the model. Today you have to sign up, then create a profile, then pick through 50 settings, and then tweak things. We thought people should just be able to print something again.

Twist is a flat rate 3D Printing service. You can print any part, that fits in a 8x8x8 inch volume, for $29 with free shipping ($34 with expedited 2 day shipping).

And we have simplified it as far as we can. The only material option is Black PETG printed at a 0.2mm layer resolution.

PETG is a good plastic that can be used for functional applications, as well as cosmetic needs. The layer resolution is twice the thickness of a human hair. There is no reason to have a "draft quality" 3D print, we are just going to make a good 3D Print.

Any part order is 3D printed and shipped within 2 days. Making it a excellent fast solution for prototypes.

As time goes by we may add more colors and potentially other materials. But for now "You can have any color you want, as long as it is black." This allows us to create great quality 3D Prints on Demand for the same flat rate.

So Get a Part 3D Printed Today.

if you need more than one part prototyped or need high volume production of your prototype please visit our 3D Printing Quoting page.

Basic rules and tips to get started designing a product for high volume 3D Printing.

This is a problem that plagues the industry. Designers conditioned to use molding do not adjust for the new process. 3D Printing is not injection molding. It is a different process. Just as you use difference rules when using wood rather than plastic, so to should you use different rules when considering 3D Printing or Injection Molding. If cost is the driving factor lead how 3D Printing compares to Injection Molding on Pricing.

Here is the fundamental rule for designing a product for optimum production with FDM 3D Printing. If nothing else remember this when designing for FDM 3D Printing.

Work to minimize Surface Area and do not worry about Volume

This leads to several key design traits that should be paid special attention to.

1. Abandon Ribs and Hollowing. These features add surface area and better structures can be created by the 3D Printing process itself with much less material. So fill every cavity and merge features into walls.
2. Fillet and Round every edge. Sharp corners not only increase print time but can make a part more difficult to print. It is better to round ever edge as far as possible.

FDM 3D Printing works by laying down one layer after another using a nozzle depositing melted plastic that hardens. This process must begin on the bed of the printer. Often glass. So every 3D Printed part should be designed to allow for this single flat side to be present. Do note that this side will likely have a difference texture from the rest of your part.

Design for Additive Manufacturing (DFAM) is a an entire discipline that could fill textbooks. But here are the remaining design tips that you might need in one single chart. Though let us highlight a couple.

1. No feature smaller than 1mm. This applies to walls and surfaces. It can be embellished a bit, but this the optimum for low cost production and good quality parts.
2. No overhang Steeper than 30 degrees from horizontal. Again this is not universal and some parts will need a gentler overhang than that )i.e. 45 degrees). But this is certainly the max in most cases.

Teddy robotics is a robotics startup that began as a senior Project in 2017. After several years and several robots later, they have launched Piel, a STEM robot for learning programming. While Piel is very unique for its plush exterior. Underneath it is a sofisticated robot that is composed of 3D Printed Components. 

Piel is currently on Kickstarter if you would like to support the project.

Teddy Robotics will be working with Slant 3D to manufacture the Piel using high volume 3D Printing.

​Composed of several complex 3D Plastic pieces, injection molding would have been far to expensive for the young startup. The combination of crowdfunding and 3D Printing allows them to quickly and efficiently launch an entirely new product. 

Piel is a perfect example of a product that might not have been created if production 3D printing did not exist. The team at Teddy robotics have been able to prototype the design, and when complete the prototype can go directly into production. There are fewer intermediary steps between the idea and an actual product for consumers.

If you are in need of high volume 3D Printing reach out to Slant 3D for a quote on your project.

Republsihed from 3D Printing Industry

Founded in 2015, Voodoo had built up a manufacturing system of over 200 3D printers capable of producing thousands of parts a week. Since its co-founders, including CEO Max Friefeld, were all former MakerBot employees, the company already had a sizeable portfolio of FDM systems when it spun off. In 2017, Voodoo received its final seed investment of $1.5M, bringing its total valuation to an impressive $10M. Its mission was to provide affordable manufacturing to anyone that needed it, allowing SMEs and large businesses alike to launch test products without the financial strain.

As soon as the U.S. cases started on their now rapid rise, Voodoo repurposed two of its manufacturing facilities to produce PPE for medical professionals. Through donations and individual purchases, the company managed to 3D print and distribute more than 15,000 face shields across the country using its army of MakerBot FDM printers. This undoubtedly alleviated some of the resource pressure felt by healthcare institutions.

Unfortunately, the pivot couldn’t last as Voodoo’s operational costs were simply too high, leading the company to shut its doors permanently. The fact that Voodoo was mainly operating in Brooklyn, which is notorious for its high property prices, certainly didn’t help its profits. Its heavy investment in professional-grade desktop systems was somewhat a pioneering move. However, increasingly manufacturing companies are seeing the benefits of including desktop systems in their manufacturing toolkit. For example, Jabil, Volkswagen, and others have brought desktop systems in-house, and alongside industrial equipment. 

While it is apparent that desktop 3D printers have a role to play in manufacturing, focusing only on such systems does restrict the type of jobs a company is able to take on.

Quarter two of 2020 brought with it a near-universal decline in revenue at many companies, and the 3D printing industry was no exception. 3D Systems recently posted its financial results, with a 28% decrease in total revenue compared to the same period in 2019. For the 3D printer manufacturer, this equates to a $45M drop. With it, the company announced a strategic refocus involving a 20% workforce cut in a bit to reduce operational costs by up to $100M.
​
Earlier this month, 3D printing software and service provider Materialise also posted its Q2 financial results. The Belgian firm reported a 21.8% decline in its total revenue, down from €48.4M to €38.1M. This is in spite of the company’s growth in its software sales, as its manufacturing segment, much like Voodoo, took the brunt of the hit with a 31.8% decrease. 
A better indicator would be to look at companies using 3D printing for manufacturing. Looking at Protolabs’ Q2 financial results, its 3D printing revenue saw a decline of only 7.2% from $15.2M to $14.2M. However, unlike Voodoo, Protolabs offers a much more diverse technology and materials range.

If you are in need of high volume 3D Printing services please reach out to us for a quote. Slant 3D is focused on providing highly-affordable FDM 3D printing at large scales.

It was recently announced that Production 3D Printing service Voodoo Manufacturing was shutting down permanently due to challenges during the covid-19 pandemic. This is a blow to many small businesses and startups that relied on Voodoo to manufacture their products on demand. These companies now need to find alternatives in order to meet the demand that has been created for e-retail.

Slant 3D is happy to announce that not only are we healthy. We are expanding as fast as possible. We are currently still building out our Flagship Factory Print Farm Beta which will have over 800 3D Printers. We are also working to expand to a new location in Austin Texas which will be online in a few months.

We are currently producing 10,000's of parts for clients such as Amazon, Plexus, Natureworks, and small businesses and startups all over the world. And we are working to make perfectly on demand production possible with Angled.io

Slant 3D has been operating for over 3 years and was born out of the need to have affordable and scalable manufacturing of a product. To do that we have built custom machines just for production. We have less expensive than injection molding between 50-100,000 parts in most cases. And we are passionate about helping new businesses get started and grow

3D Printing has long been discussed as a potential alternative to injection molding. And there are many advantages to the technology that make that the case from a design perspective.

But injection molding is generally considered to be a less expensive option at scale. That is because when hundreds of thousands of parts are being produced the cost of the parts is so low and the cost of the mold is easily amortized across all of those parts. So if you can take the upfront cost, injection molding can be cheaper than 3D Printing. 

But that is only at the manufacturing stage. There are so many other factors in the supply chain that contribute to the cost of a product. And really 3D Printing is arguably less expansive than injection molding when you take all of those other factors into account. There is the upstream design and iteration that is quicker and cheaper. And there is the downstream assembly and warehousing that can be substantially reduced.

Injection molding is only ideal if you are making millions of parts and can afford to build and maintain that inventory. In all other instances 3D Printing should be an option when choosing manufacturing methods.

So let's go through all the reasons 3D Printing is a cheaper alternative than injection molding.

As soon as you have created a product you are competing. Speed can make the difference between a successful launch or having to wait a full year until the next Christmas Season. 

With traditional manufacturing designers have to develop prototypes with a number of methods. They may go from cardboard, to 3d prints, to machined plastic, to aluminum molds all trying to get closer to the final product. There can be weeks between iterations. But that refinement is necessary and expensive. Salaries have to be paid while waiting and the various steps are not cheap.

With 3D printing the prototype is the production version. Iterations can happen in days, if not hours. Which means that new products can go from concept to creation much more quickly.

It is not unreasonable for 3D printed products go from a napkin sketch to a finished product for less than 1/10th the cost of traditional methods. With 3D Printing Physical product design is able to adapt a lean mentality similar to software design.

In the past, if you created a product, you would purchase a mold and the first few thousand units of your product. If that product was unsuccessful you can go through all of that expense again, to modify your molds, or you would go out of business. Because you can't sell what you have.

3D Printing eliminates this risk. There is no longer the requirement of only home run or striking out. 3D Printing can create products on demand. Which mean that inventors can literally just make the design then print and sell a few (or none) and then iterate and scale up. The product is able to evolve with the market, rather than being "make or break."

While it is true that print-on-demand is more expensive per part than injection molding, the risk is so much less. It is the difference between successfully starting with a small profit or risking everything for a larger profit.

This has already been discussed tangentially. But it is important to bring up.

Very few products are produced by the millions.  More and more niche products are being created, which require molds. that will only sell several thousand. Without millions of parts to amortize the molding costs this up front expenditure can be significant. It is one of the main contributing factors in the high cost of medical equipment.

This is also especially true for multi-part product. A robot toy or a building kit could require several molds. Each mold requiring between $1000-$10000 up front before the first product is made. This is a large risk for a new company. (Especially when molds sometimes can't be moved from their company/country of manufacture as needs change)

Since 3D Printing does not use molds of any type that entire up front cost is avoided. 

Additionally, at very high volumes production 3D Printing can meet the same per-part cost as injection molding, just without the up front mold cost. This is achieved with good design and actual large volumes. 3D Printing is not limited to your first 1000 pieces. Not even close.

Whenever you manufacture a product you have to store it. You might have containers crossing the ocean. Then you have warehouses and distribution centers. All charging fee for the square footage occupied by your product. 

Depending on how long you are storing your product warehousing can account for anywhere from 5-20% of the total cost of the product.

3D Printing reduces the volumes that need to be stored. You don't have to store millions for years, you can just store the few thousand for that month. Then the product can be replenished on demand. This is exceptionally valuable in the area of spare parts. Automotive companies will store thousands of parts for the useful life of a car model (usually about 15-20 years). 3D Printing could eliminate those decades of waste and simply produce the parts as needed. (And in perpetuity) 

For some products it is possible to eliminate the warehouse all together and just produce the customer's order when it is made. This is what we achieving with Angled.io. A Print on demand service for physical products. This lets designers simply upload a 3D model and then they never have to deal with warehousing, or any other part of the manufacturing process.

In 2019 it was reported that an amazon fulfillment center sent several hundred thousand unsold items to a landfill. Each year millions of unsold toys are scrapped after Christmas. Companies must overproduce cheap plastic items to ensure that demand does not outstrip supply when a the new Star Wars movie hits.

But all of that waste adds to the cost of the product. In our experience, about 3-5% of inventory is unsold and must be thrown out in order to make room for new versions.

Again, since 3D printing is able to perfectly match demand. There is no waste. A product does not have to be made until it is sold. 3D Printing can eliminate the tons of plastic waste and the cost associated with it, because it does not overproduce.

There is also the secondary benefit of 3D Printing being an additive process, so there is less waste when a part is created. But that is entirely dependent upon the part in questions.

If you are manufacturing a relatively complex design, to mold it it will have to be broken into several pieces. And therefore several molds. Once those pieces leave the molder they will have to go to assembly when additional screws and labor will be added to the parts to put them back into the final shape the design calls for. Why not just make the fully assembled plastic part in one go? Injection molding can't do that. It has to be broken up. That is not the case with 3D Printing

There is nearly complete freedom of geometry with 3D Printed plastic parts. Which means that you can design very complex pieces. Pieces that can't be molded. This means that you can combine sections of an assembly into a single part. This eliminated later assembly and also reduced the chances of failure in the part from incorrect assembly.

In short the product is cheaper to make because several molds have been reduced to none. And the cost of assembly is less since there is less-none needed.

3D Printing reduces a great deal of the cost down-stream from the production process.

It is often considered that 3D Printing is an expensive process. This is because historically 3D Printing was limited to prototyping. That low rate of production requires high costs.

 But 3D Printing is not expensive.  At Slant 3D we regularly produce parts with a per-piece cost of far less than $1. And logically this makes sense. 3D Printing just requires electricity and plastic to work. Those raw materials are not expensive. Therefore there is no reason that it can't operate at the same price tier as injection molding.

Organizations with the efficiency to implement 3D Printing at scale are rarer. That is why it is not common for manufacturing industry professionals to consider it as a viable alternative to injection molding. But on a cost basis it is. Even without all the other advantages of 3D Printing. Today additive can produce products at the same per-part cost as injection molding. 

3D Printing is not an expensive alternative to injection molding. It is simply an alternative, and in fact often a cheaper one. An alternative that is often overlooked because it is new not well understood. Hopefully it is clearer now that the value in a manufacturing process is not just when the plastic part comes off the machine. But in all the ways a new process can reduce costs in the rest of the supply chain that part travels along. 3D Printing provides tremendous value all the way along. And it is not expensive when the part comes off the machine either.

"Making Products" has released its first episodes. Hosted by our Founder Gabe Bentz "Making Products" covers the ins and outs of designing, manufacturing, and selling a new product. Episodes are posted weekly on Wednesdays.

In this first episode "Working with Manufacturers,"  Gabe discusses how to find, and interact with manufacturers. Covering everything from NDA's to payment methods.

If there is one key takeaway from the episode it is 'Respect the Manufacturer." They have been doing their work for a long time and will do their best to help you with your product. If you are successful they are successful. But all too often inventors are difficult to work with, needing extra interaction and not knowing what they actually want.

Inventors need to understand their product and their goals before reaching out to manufacturers. Once that is clear it is easier to communicate it and contract out the production of your product.

Check Spotify and all other podcasting platforms for new episdoes of "Making Products" each week.

Slant 3D was a company that was started to make manufacturing more accessible. By using fleets of 3D Printers rather than monolithic injection molding machines we have been able to eliminate the startup cost for new products, and the traditional minimum volumes needed to reduce production cost.

A disposable item no longer needs to sell millions in order to be sold as a disposable item. 3D Printing is able to mass produce disposable products economically. A great example of a product taking advantage of this new paradigm is the Blue Boa suction tube.

The Blue Boa is a product created by Dental Rat, which is a local company in Slant 3D's home town of Boise, Idaho.

Slant 3D was originally approached by Becky Logue of Dental Rat in 2019 for creation of prototypes and design work on the Blue Boa. Our engineers created the ergonomic design by working with Logue and sourcing her experience in the dental field.

When it came time for production, the cost of injection molding such a complex ergonomic design was prohibitive for the brand new product. But when quoted the cost for producing several thousand of the units with 3D Printing, the business case became apparent.

While the unit cost was slightly higher than molding, the overall capital outlay was far less, since there was no mold. That allowed the parts to pay for themselves almost immediately just from cash-flow. And the resulting parts were still very cost effective.

The Blue Boa is a great example of a product that was able to go from concept to full scale production very quickly and affordably. If large scale 3D printing was not available it is possible that the product would have been put on hold for some time. The flexibility of 3D Printing allows the design to continue to evolve. And supply can perfectly match demand. There is no excess inventory and it is all made in the USA so that the supply chain is reliable, even with a pandemic on.