3D printing is not just for hospitals…
This not so new invention is finding a home in different segments of the industrial and manufacturing communities that provide spark for the economy. While 3D printing’s greatest niche may be in the medical field, it is still able to make contributions throughout the industrial world.
Different companies are seeing the value of these printers and are making full use of them. The addition of 3D printing helps open up new employment opportunities as well as saving the different companies time and money.
To learn more about the different companies that use 3D printing just continue to read our article. It has the names of those companies and how they use this invention to make their products better.
The different companies that use 3D printing
Of course, it is impossible to list all the companies that use this new technology in some part of their operation. 10 will have to do to give you an idea that 3D printing is the next best invention to sliced bread.
| Company | 3D printing purpose |
|---|---|
| General Electric | Using many printers to produce over 85,000 nozzles for its new LEAP airplane engine |
| Boeing | Makes over 10,000 different parts for commercial and military aircraft through 3D printing |
| Ford | Has made around 500,000 parts for its cars through 3D printing. The cost and time savings is enormous as the print takes 4 days and $3,000 while traditional methods take 4 months and $500,000 |
| Nike | Prints football cleats, and did so for the 2014 Super Bowl |
| American Pearl | Prints customized jewelry to fit and bride’s dream but be forewarned, this company is not producing cheap rings |
| DIY Rockets | Using 3D printing to lower the cost of space exploration |
| Hasbro | Uses this invention to produce many of its popular toy lines |
| Hershey’s | If you want to have your chocolate obsession printed instead of made the traditional way |
| MakieLab | Makes customized 10 inch dolls and lets the customer pick many of the doll’s features |
| Mattel | Restricts its use of 3D printing to creating prototypes and spare parts for its toys |
Manufacturing companies that use 3D printing
The above list is filled with those companies whose names are household words. The following list is filled with companies that you may or may not have heard about. They use 3D printing in their manufacturing arms to make their products cheaper as well as get them quicker to the store shelves.
- Velo3D- avoids using plastic in its printed objects. Instead, it opts to use metal filaments to make sure their products last.
- Luxexcel- this company manufactures eyeglass lenses. They now use 3D printing as a way to make their lenses fit your eyes and purpose better.
- Stratasys- has already registered over 1,200 patents for the different products it makes. It likes to push the envelope when it comes to 3D printing.
- 3D Hubs- produces different parts for you and your company and promises a 48 hour turn around window.
- Fictiv- just like 3D Hubs except that it offers a 24 hour turn around from upload, manufacturing selection and payment to finished product back to you.
- BigRepmakes large sized printers that can 3D print up to a cubic meter in size.Its products are for those people who want and need to print big.
- Voodoo Manufacturing- manufacturers your product in small test batches first. Then if everything is okay, can print orders up to 20,000 units at a time.
- New Matter- produces home, classroom and small business 3D printers to help manufacturing in general. The more people that understand 3D printing the better manufacturing will become.
- Rize- produces smaller 3D printers that print out industrial quality parts. There is no need to invest in a large machine to achieve that level of quality.
Companies that print houses
Nothing is left out of the reach of 3D printing. Even low cost housing can be created by using the right 3D printer and filament. Here are some of those companies exploiting this field of 3D technology:
#1. Apis Cor- a Russian company that can build a home in all seasons in 24 hours. It uses concrete and can be set up in 30 minutes on site.
#2. Bati Print- out of the University of Nantes, their machine builds low cost housing and uses a 3D printer that can build 7 foot walls
#3. Be More 3D- this is a Spanish company that has jumped on the 3D housing market. Right now they are building 32 square meter homes in Africa
#4. WASP- from Italy, their 40 foot tall 3D printer uses concrete but it hopes to make a filament out of straw and dirt to take advantage of the large amount of those raw materials. They too build homes in developing countries
#5. ICON- works out of the United States and was the first 3D printing construction company to get a building permit. They build affordable housing
#6. WinSun- out of China and it has made headlines throughout the world with its construction achievements.
#7. Construction 3D- From France and has a Belgium designer. Their goal is to build affordable housing through using recyclable materials or from those materials from the home’s building neighborhood.
#8. COBOD- this Danish company has a 3D printer that can produce a 3 storey building measuring 300 square meters. Its machines are popular around the world and Saudi Arabia has bought at least one.
#9.Contour Crafting- out of the University of South Carolina this company’s machine uses concrete and wood pallets to create its homes. It can print 610 square meter homes in 24 hours.
Some final words
These are just some of the companies taking advantage of 3D printing and lowering their production costs as well as your costs. 3D printing is finding its way and making the best positive contributions it can no matter the industry.
It is a useful and practical invention that helps bring better products to people around the world.
