Additive Manufacturing has been around for 30 years – used in prototyping and now moving into production, but the biggest value of AM comes from prototyping and production of parts that are difficult to manufacture using other more traditional methods.
It is a common understanding that nothing is more difficult to produce – for prototypes or production parts – than when miniaturization is critical.
As products get smaller and smaller, the impact on product development is significant, as the challenge to efficiently and cost effectively manufacture small components increases. Current manufacturing methods such as micromachining, micro molding and lithography add multiple steps, long wait times and are very expensive. Learn how micro 3D printing is enabling miniaturization and why manufacturability is no longer the limiting factor in product design.
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Blog • June 9, 2021
Micro 3D Printing and Metal Plating for Low-Volume, High-Precision Parts
Micro 3D printing and metal plating are complementary technologies that can produce low-cost parts for applications that require metal surfaces and/or electrical conductivity. Because plastics typically cost less than metals, metal-clad plastics can reduce material expenses; however, 3D printed polymers are often a poor choice for plating because of their surface finish. Moreover, most 3D printers cannot produce intricate parts with high precision. Among the 3D printers that can, the degree of precision may be more than the application requires.
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