To develop prototypes, short-run production parts, CNC & injection molding were the conventional technologies available to designers. Designers would create a geometry/drawing and send it to the fabricator to discuss the specifications, costs and delivery time. Usually, the lead times are long, and designers had to wait patiently to get their hands on the parts. With multiple iterations, it takes several months before the design gets off the design and validation table to go into serial production. In the worst-case scenario, the product may become obsolete by the time product reaches the mass production stage. P

With the advent of additive manufacturing and its mainstreaming, the development of prototypes has been accelerated from several weeks to a few days or hours. Designers can quickly iterate and mature the product before hitting the market. But that doesn’t mean conventional manufacturing processes (CNC, injection molding) have lost their relevance. CNC can create parts where close dimensional tolerances are the key to the performance of the design. Hence, it's up to the designer to select which manufacturing technology is most suitable for development.

Application

Product application is the key factor which decides the material selection and manufacturing technology. For demanding applications where a high degree of reliability is the key, the part is machined to the closer tolerances subject to process, machine, and material limitations. For application where frequent changing of parts are required, then additive manufacturing is the most suitable technology. In some applications, metal parts (for example aluminum) can be substituted by AM made composite material parts which are lighter in weight and faster to produce and costs less. Also, AM can quickly produce parts which are out of regular production saving time and money.