An Overview of Additive Manufacturing Considerations

Speed equates to cost, so faster prototyping and production mean lower costs and faster time to market. Although this statement seems to be fairly easy, there are some considerations to make when thinking of additive manufacturing, also called 3D printing, where a three-dimensional object is created by laying down successive layers of materials from a digital model. Rapid prototyping has become an all-encompassing term for the use of a class of technologies to construct physical models using computer-aided design (CAD) data. This is exactly why medical device companies are exploring the use of a variety of types of additive manufacturing to help cut prototyping and production costs. Here’s a look at some of the different additive processes available, their materials, applications, and some design rules to keep in mind when designing for manufacturability.