Advancements in additive manufacturing technology proved it enables unprecedented design freedom, reduces material waste, and allows for rapid prototyping that would be impossible with traditional manufacturing methods. From custom medical implants to complex aerospace components, 3D printing has revolutionized how we approach product development and small-batch production.

However, when it comes to high-volume manufacturing, 3D printing still faces a significant hurdle: speed. The layer-by-layer nature of additive manufacturing means that producing each part takes considerably longer than traditional methods like injection molding or casting. The time factor becomes especially critical when scaling up to mass production.

For example, while an injection molding machine can produce thousands of plastic parts per hour, a typical 3D printer might take hours to produce just one comparable item. This can be a substantial economic barrier that prevents many manufacturers from adopting 3D printing for large-scale production runs. Luckily, this concern is not going unanswered in the 3D printing industry.

Lots of additive manufacturing startups see speed as a potential point of entry into an otherwise competitive market – an invitation to create solutions that others don't have.

Here are several examples of new and exciting developments that aim to increase the competitiveness of 3D printing in high-speed production:

Corona AFX-2000 Shows Promise for Beam-Shaping Technology

nLight's Corona AFX-2000 represents over two decades of innovation in laser beam shaping technology. The Washington-based company recently introduced the two-kilowatt system among the creations of 863 other exhibitors at Formnext 2024. However, this individual system really stands out from what other companies are developing, especially when it comes to speed.

The Corona AFX-2000 3D can reportedly produce aluminum components three times faster than leading large-format 3D printers. Beam-shaping lasers take an alternative approach to traditional laser systems by manipulating the beam profile into different shapes before sintering metal powder. The process has proven effective with not only aluminum but several other traditionally challenging materials like copper alloys. To make things even more promising, it has the potential to improve 3D printing process stability by as much as 40%.

Applications for beam-shaping printers in manufacturing are wide-ranging. Plenty of sectors can benefit from combined stability and speed - most notably aerospace, automotive, and defense sectors. Industrial manufacturers have particularly noted its effectiveness in creating tooling and molds with enhanced thermal management properties.

Precise, Fast, and Possibility-Rich Production with Composite-Based Additive Manufacturing (CBAM)

U.S.-based company Impossible Objects is indeed doing something those hesitant to invest in additive manufacturing have long thought impossible - making 3D printing quick. To date, the goal has been at a rather low threshold. Companies weigh potential options based on which systems are the 'least slow' with the assumption that production will always be a lengthy process.

Impossible Objects' CBAM 25 system challenges this perception by ditching standard Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) and Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) altogether. Instead, it uses proprietary Composite-Based Additive Manufacturing (CBAM) technology to create high-performance parts up to 15 times faster. A palm-sized component that would typically take hours to produce using traditional methods can be completed in just seconds with the CBAM 25. Creation opportunities are equally versatile, with the CBAM 25 proving capable of printing sixty-micron-thick outputs with materials ranging from carbon fiber to PEEK at a rate of every four seconds.

Yet despite this speed, exceptional part quality and dimensional accuracy remain consistent throughout production runs. Companies in the electronics, healthcare, and automotive industries have already shown significant interest in the technology. The system's European launch at Formnext in Frankfurt demonstrated strong market demand, with manufacturers particularly impressed by the machine's ability to maintain structural integrity without common issues like warping or shrinkage. Impossible Objects' CBAM 25 - along with the other CBAM systems currently being developed alongside it - is a potential game-changer for mass production applications where traditional manufacturing methods have historically dominated.

Using Cold Spray Additive Manufacturing (CSAM) to Make Metal Parts In Less Time

Working with metal has historically taken time. Where it took centuries to find ways of trimming days and then hours from production processes, modern manufacturing techniques have revolutionized the industry in mere decades. Among the fastest-progressing innovations is Cold Spray Additive Manufacturing (CSAM). Companies like SPEE3D Metal Printing use it to create cast-equivalent parts on demand at rates of up to 100 grams every minute. For context, traditional casting methods might take days or weeks to produce a single part. That's in addition to several other drawbacks, including high tooling costs, extensive lead times for mold creation, material waste from excess pours, and limitations on design complexity.

CSAM eliminates those bottlenecks by using supersonic acceleration to propel metal particles at speeds of up to 1000 meters per second. When particles impact the substrate, they undergo plastic deformation and bond at a molecular level, creating solid metal parts without melting. This allows for rapid production of complex geometries while maintaining material properties comparable to wrought metal. CSAM technology is particularly valuable for producing low-volume or custom parts where casting proves especially cost-prohibitive.

Final Thoughts

With so much potential in 3D printing technology, the pressure is on to overcome any and all barriers that could get in the way of its widespread adoption. Speed has long stood as a particularly tough pain point for small and large organizations alike. In some applications, the ability to create complex geometries with machine precision, even at scale, isn't valuable if it's an hours or days-long process. Hence the need to create – and invest in – new solutions. We’ll only make Industry 4.0 a true reality by making the technologies that underpin it practical for everyone.

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