An industrial 3D printer can revolutionize a business, as well as lower production costs and lead times. Here’s how to pick one that best suits your company’s needs.
Industrial 3D printing technologies have been rapidly maturing in many concrete ways, crossing critical thresholds in print quality, reliability, and cost structure. Recent advances in machinery, materials, and software have made 3D printing accessible to a wider range of businesses, enabling more and more companies to use tools previously limited to a few high-tech industries.
The 3D printing industry went through its most striking hype cycle during the early 2010s, when promoters claimed that the technology would find broad usage in consumer applications. Away from the frothy consumer 3D printing market, however, additive manufacturing technologies continued to advance rapidly.
Industrial 3D printing is available to businesses for a variety of applications, from prototypes to production parts. These technologies include fused deposition modeling (FDM), stereolithography (SLA), selective laser sintering (SLS), material jetting, and metal 3D printing.
A common theme across many of these technologies is the recent appearance of highly capable, but more compact and accessible industrial 3D printers, which helped lower the initial investment costs from $100,000 - $200,000 to often below $10,000.
FDM, also known as fused filament fabrication (FFF), is a printing method that builds parts by melting and extruding thermoplastic filament, which a printer nozzle deposits layer by layer in the build area.
FDM is the most widely used form of 3D printing at the consumer level, fueled by the emergence of hobbyist 3D printers. Industrial FDM printers are, however, also popular with professionals.
Advantages of FDM
FDM works with an array of standard thermoplastics, such as ABS, PLA, and their various blends. This results in a low price of entry and materials. FDM best suits basic proof-of-concept models and the low-cost prototyping of simpler parts.
Disadvantages of FDM
FDM has the lowest resolution and accuracy when compared to other industrial 3D printing technologies for plastics such as SLA or SLS, which means that it is not the best option for printing complex designs or parts with intricate features. Higher-quality finishes require labor-intensive and lengthy chemical and mechanical polishing processes. Some industrial FDM 3D printers use soluble supports to mitigate some of these issues and offer a wider range of engineering thermoplastics, but they also come at a steep price. With large parts, FDM printing also tends to be slower than SLA or SLS.
FDM printers (left) are ideal for simple shapes, but struggle with complex designs or parts with intricate features, compared to other processes like SLA printers (right).
SLA printers use a laser to cure liquid resin into hardened plastic in a process called photopolymerization. SLA is one of the most popular processes among professionals due to its high resolution, precision, and material versatility.
The Form 3L, a large-format SLA 3D printer from Formlabs, is capable of 3D printing large prototypes the size of a full-scale helmet.
While SLA technology used to be available only in large, complex industrial 3D printers that cost more than $200,000, the process has become much more accessible. With the Formlabs Form 3+ printer, businesses now have access to industrial-quality SLA for just $3,750. Large-format SLA with the Form 3L starts at just $11,000.
Advantages of SLA
SLA parts have the highest resolution and accuracy, the clearest details, and the smoothest surface finish of all plastic 3D printing technologies. The main benefit of SLA lies in its versatility; SLA resin formulations offer a wide range of optical, mechanical, and thermal properties to match those of standard, engineering, and industrial thermoplastics.
SLA is a great option for highly detailed prototypes requiring tight tolerances and smooth surfaces, as well as molds, tooling, patterns, medical models, and functional parts. It also offers the material with the highest heat deflection temperature of 238 degrees Celsius—which makes it an ideal choice for certain engineering and manufacturing applications—as well as the widest selection of biocompatible materials for dental and medical applications. With Draft Resin, the Formlabs SLA printers are also the fastest options for 3D printing large parts, up to 10X faster than FDM.
Disadvantages of SLA
SLA’s wide versatility comes with a slightly higher price tag than FDM, but it is still more affordable than all other industrial 3D printing processes. SLA resin parts also require post-processing after printing, which includes washing the parts and post-curing.
Some examples of large 3D printed parts manufactured on the Form 3L.
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SLS printers use a high-powered laser to fuse small particles of polymer powder. The unfused powder supports the part during printing and eliminates the need for dedicated support structures, making SLS a particularly effective choice for complex mechanical parts.
Its ability to produce parts with excellent mechanical capabilities makes SLS the most common polymer additive manufacturing technology for industrial applications.
Just like SLA, SLS used to be only available in large-format, complex 3D printing systems starting at about $200,000. With Formlabs’s Fuse 1 SLS printer, businesses can now access industrial SLS starting from $18,500 with a 30 x 16.5 x 16.5 cm build volume.
Parts printed on the Fuse 1 SLS 3D printer.
Advantages of SLS
Since SLS printing doesn’t require dedicated support structures, it’s ideal for complex geometries, including interior features, undercuts, thin walls, and negative features. Parts produced with SLS printing have excellent mechanical characteristics, with strength resembling that of injection-molded parts.
The most common material for SLS is nylon, a popular engineering thermoplastic with excellent mechanical properties. Nylon is lightweight, strong, and flexible, as well as stable against impact, chemicals, heat, UV light, water, and dirt.
The combination of low cost per part, high productivity, and established materials make SLS a popular choice among engineers for functional prototyping, and a cost-effective alternative to injection molding for limited-run or bridge manufacturing.
Disadvantages of SLS
SLS has a higher entry price than FDM or SLA technologies. While nylon is a versatile material, material selection for SLS is also more limited than for FDM and SLA. Parts come out of the printer with a slightly rough surface finish and require media blasting for a smooth finish.
Material jetting 3D printers use a print head, similar to those in traditional inkjet printers, to deposit and cure droplets of photopolymer material, which harden under ultraviolet light. Some more advanced material jetting printers can also create parts from multiple materials.
Advantages of Material Jetting
Material jetting results in a finished product that is precise and has a smooth finish. The overall accuracy, combined with the fact that it is one of the only printing processes that offers multi-material and full-color printing, makes it an ideal option for realistic prototypes, such as full-color prototypes or anatomical models.
Disadvantages of Material Jetting
Material jetting printers can only operate with materials that have a low viscosity, which limits material options. The finished products tend to be brittle, photosensitive, and sensitive to heat. Their gradual deterioration makes them less suitable as functional prototypes. For resin 3D printing, SLA offers a wider range of functional materials, including resins that contain particles like wax and glass to imbue them with certain properties.
Beyond plastics, there are multiple industrial 3D printing processes available for metal 3D printing.
Metal FDM
Metal FDM printers work similarly to traditional FDM printers, but use extrude metal rods held together by polymer binders. The finished “green” parts are then sintered in a furnace to remove the binder.
Selective Laser Melting (SLM) and Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS)
SLM and DMLS printers work similarly to SLS printers, but fuse metal powder particles together layer by layer using a laser instead of polymers. SLM and DMLS 3D printers can create strong, accurate, and complex metal products, making this process ideal for aerospace, automotive, and medical applications.
While the prices of metal 3D printers have also begun to decrease, with costs ranging from $100,000 to $1 million, these systems are still not accessible to most businesses.
Alternatively, SLA 3D printing is well-suited for casting workflows that produce metal parts at a lower cost, with greater design freedom, and in less time than traditional methods.
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FDM, SLA, SLS, material jetting, and metal 3D printing have unique advantages and disadvantages across different applications.
Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM)Stereolithography (SLA)Selective Laser Sintering (SLS)Material Jetting Metal 3D Printing (Metal FDM, DMLS, SLM)Build volumeUp to 300 x 300 x 600 mm (desktop and benchtop 3D printers)Up to 300 x 335 x 200 mm (desktop and benchtop 3D printers)Up to 165 x 165 x 300 mm (benchtop industrial 3D printers)Up to 300 x 200 x 150 mm (benchtop industrial 3D printers)Up to 300 x 200 x 200mm (metal FDM), 400 x 400 x 400 mm (large industrial DMLS/SLM)Price rangeStarting from $2,500Starting from $3,750Starting from $18,500Starting from $20,000 (multi-material starting from $100,000)Starting from $100,000MaterialsStandard thermoplastics, such as ABS, PLA, and their various blends.Varieties of resin (thermosetting plastics). Standard, engineering (ABS-like, PP-like, silicone-like, flexible, heat-resistant, rigid), castable, dental, and medical (biocompatible).Engineering thermoplastics, typically nylon and its composites (nylon 12 is biocompatible + compatible with sterilization).Varieties of resin (thermosetting plastics). Stainless steel, tool steel, titanium, cobalt chrome, and aluminum.Ideal applicationsBasic proof-of-concept models, low-cost prototyping of simple parts.Highly detailed prototypes requiring tight tolerances and smooth surfaces, molds, tooling, patterns, medical models, and functional parts.Complex geometries, functional prototypes, short-run or bridge manufacturing.Highly detailed prototypes, including multi-material and full-color realistic prototypes.Strong, durable parts with complex geometries; ideal for aerospace, automotive, and medical applications.DisadvantagesLowest resolution and accuracy; not ideal for complex designs or parts with intricate features. Some materials are sensitive to long exposure to UV light.Slightly rough surface finish, limited material options.Limited material options. Finished products tend to be brittle and photosensitive; less suitable for functional prototypes.High costs and complexity, stringent facility requirements.Interactive
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Researching the right printer for your barcode or RFID label printing can lead to more questions than answers. There are many considerations for selecting the right printer, like deciding between direct thermal or thermal transfer printing, maximum print widths, printing capacity, connectivity, and more. Fortunately, Zebra printers offer the best label printing reliability with a diverse range of models to accommodate all printing requirements. Our Zebra printer buying guide will outline some of the decisions you need to make before purchasing your next printer and which Zebra model will work best for you!
All Zebra printers deliver high-performance label printing with outstanding print quality, fast print speeds, and unparalleled reliability in all environments. However, honing in on exactly which printer you need requires a few considerations.
Purchasing a printer that can’t keep up with your expected volume will limit your current operations and future growth, requiring additional investment in services or printers – leading to a higher TCO. On the other hand, purchasing a printer that is capable of a higher print volume than you’re running will result in overspending and greater complexity for your operations.
Zebra label printers come in industrial, desktop, and mobile printing form factors. Industrial printers are very durable, have a large footprint, and can print a high volume of labels at an incredibly fast rate. Conversely, desktop and mobile printers have a smaller footprint, carry fewer labels, and are suited for less demanding label printing.
When To Use Each Type of Printer:
After determining which printing form factor your operation requires, the next step is deciding between direct thermal or thermal transfer printing. If you’re unsure whether you should be using direct thermal or thermal transfer printers, here’s a quick overview of each technology and their use cases:
Direct thermal printers apply heat directly onto specially coated labels. After heat is applied to the label, the coating darkens, creating the image. This technology is best suited for labels with short lifespans or labels that won’t be subject to harsh conditions like heat, sunlight, and other environmental factors that can cause the image to fade.
Common applications for direct thermal printing include:
Thermal transfer printers utilize a ribbon to produce images and barcodes. When heat is applied to the ribbon, ink is melted onto the surface of the label, producing the image on the label. Because the label itself is not reactive to the heat, these labels can withstand harsher conditions, sunlight, and heat.
Common applications for thermal transfer printers and labels include:
Due to their printhead size, label printers usually only support labels up to a certain maximum width. These sizes are usually 2″, 4″, 6″, or 8″. The most common print width is 4″, accommodating both product and shipping labels.
One of the most important printer specs is its DPI, or dots per inch. This metric defines how clear and sharp barcodes and label images will be. A DPI of 200 is standard for barcode printer resolution and is usually serviceable for most text and barcodes. If you are printing small barcodes or images that need fine resolutions, a 600 dpi printer is recommended. Other common resolutions include 300 and 400 dpi.
Another factor to consider when choosing a Zebra printer is connectivity. Each Zebra printer offers different connectivity options for reaching other devices or wireless networks. Common connection types for Zebra printers include wired USB, wired Ethernet connection, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi compatibility.
Other features and options may come into consideration when selecting the appropriate Zebra printer for your application. Specialized functionality like RFID encoding, label cutters, rewinders, and peelers are only available with certain models. Furthermore, each model provides a different user interface. Lower-tier Zebra printers may only have simplified keyed data entry, while top-end printers have advanced LED touchscreens and print settings.
Now that you have a better understanding of some of the factors that help determine which printer is right for you, we’ve included a handy checklist for you to utilize when selecting your next Zebra printer.
Explore the Zebra Printer Selection Tool
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