Slant 3D Production 3D Printing Service
  • Production 3D Printing Quote
  • Products and Services
    • Production 3D Printing >
      • How to Use Production 3D Printing
      • 3D Printed Part Properties
      • Technology
      • 3D Design and Engineering
      • Product Fulfillment
    • Angled.io
    • Slant Promotions
    • Slant 3D Printing API
  • About
    • Past Clients
    • Contact
  • Blog

Slant 3D Blog

Create Custom Electronics Enclosures with Production 3D Printing

9/18/2020

2 Comments

 
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.
Picture
3D Printed Electronics Enclosures

Creating New Enclosures

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 And the enclosure is obsolete as soon as the PCB is. 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.
Picture
Production Run of 3D Printed Electrical Enslosures.

Recreating Old Products

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.
Picture
Large Enclosure to Replace Out-of-Production Enclosure for Dental XRay

Unlimited Materials

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.
Picture
Durable Low Resolution Enclosure
Picture
3D Printed Carrying Case for Electrical Testing Equiptment
Picture
Consumer Product 3D Printed Enclosure
Picture
High Resolution 3D Printed Electrical Enclosure

Conclusion

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.
Get a Production 3D Printing Quote for your Enclosure
2 Comments
vidmate link
12/18/2021 02:57:37 am

wavdavdavs for sharing the article, and more importantly, your personal exper svcdie sdv. svd mindfully using our emotions as data about our inner state and knowing when it’s better to de-escalate by takings a time out are great tools. Appreciate you reading and sharing your story svdds svdvsince I can certainly relate and I think others can tosv

Reply
Spark International link
4/5/2022 11:12:34 pm


Great blog post.Helpful and informative tips. I like it thanks for sharing this information with us

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Featured Posts
    • Cost of Production 3D Printing
    • Design for 3D Printing
    • Benefits of 3D Printing
    • Print Farm Beta Update
    Subscribe

    Categories

    All
    3D Printers
    Applications
    Benefits
    Client Spotlight
    Design For 3D Printing
    Digital Inventory
    Industrial
    Mason
    News
    Online Buisness
    Services
    Toys
    Video

    Archives

    January 2023
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    October 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    February 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017

    RSS Feed

Services

Production 3D Printing
Fulfillment
CAD Design

Company

About
The Company
Technology
Past Clients
​

Support

Contact
Get a Quote
​


© COPYRIGHT 2021. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
  • Production 3D Printing Quote
  • Products and Services
    • Production 3D Printing >
      • How to Use Production 3D Printing
      • 3D Printed Part Properties
      • Technology
      • 3D Design and Engineering
      • Product Fulfillment
    • Angled.io
    • Slant Promotions
    • Slant 3D Printing API
  • About
    • Past Clients
    • Contact
  • Blog