In-House 3D Printing vs Professional Services: Which is Right for Your Company?

The title question may seem quite simple to many. After all, with the current prices of 3D printers, every company can afford such a device, right? 

Well, not entirely. Indeed, FDM 3D printing technology has made great progress in the last decade and small 3D printers have actually become quite cheap. However, at that time, other technologies appeared on the market. Most importantly, in 2016 the first large HP Multi Jet Fusion printers were released, designed for use in production and industry. 

These are, of course, much more expensive and larger than desktop FDM printers. At the same time, they provide much greater efficiency, precision and part quality. So, to answer the title question, you should first consider issues such as: required quality, frequency of use, purpose of prints and type of projects that we want to implement. 

And it is worth adding that both options can support each other. You can use your own printer for some purposes, and for larger needs you can outsource.

When is it worth buying your own 3D printer?

Your own 3D printer is a good solution if you need a tool to create prototypes or individual prints with relatively low requirements. Depending on your budget and needs, you can choose a model from among many devices available on the market, offering different software, printing precision, quality of printed parts, or the range of available filaments. 

It is worth emphasizing that popular printers often attract a wide group of users who offer support in use, providing answers to key questions and service advice. 

The cost of such a printer can be recouped if we regularly carry out small projects and have time to learn how to use and maintain the equipment.

However, a problem may arise when we expect the properties of the final product from printed prototypes. FDM printers cannot provide quality and aesthetics comparable to injection molding, and problems may even arise in terms of durability. Due to the printing method, parts don’t have the same strength on each axis. When testing prototypes, you need to keep this in mind – just like, for example, lower scratch resistance. 

To sum up, your own FDM 3D printer is a good idea if:

• You need individual prototypes or parts for specific tasks.
• The quality and aesthetics of printed elements are not that important.
• The prints are intended to serve auxiliary functions, e.g. handles, covers, elements for prototyping mechanisms.
• You need relatively large elements that do not require high precision, e.g. housings, frames, brackets.
• You have people on your team who will be able to devote time to operating and maintaining the equipment. 

When is it worth using a professional 3D printing service (HP MJF technology)?

HP Multi Jet Fusion printers are definitely more technologically advanced and larger than desktop FDM printers, and therefore can have a much wider range of applications. In short, these devices provide:

• higher efficiency (printing up to 100+ parts in one process),
• higher printing precision,
• better quality of parts and the same durability on each axis,
• better repeatability,
• printing without supports,
• possibility of printing very complex geometries.

Additionally, as part of our service, we enable the use of several types of finishes, such as sandblasting, dyeing or chemical treatment.

What projects are implemented with the help of MJF technology?

Thanks to the above-mentioned advantages, MJF printers can be used in the process of short-series production of parts with high requirements in terms of quality and aesthetics. These may be housings for devices, parts used in production, and even prosthetic sockets.

Every month, parts produced in our MJF printers go to companies from the manufacturing, automotive, military, medical and many other industries. 

However, short-series production is not the only popular application. A very valuable option for companies designing new devices may also be to use this technology in the prototyping process. This option allows you to work with functional prototypes with the quality of the final product. 

This is how many of our clients start their adventure with MJF technology. The first orders concern a series of prototypes, and then, after the final version of the project is approved, we receive an order to produce a series of several dozen or even several hundred parts. 

It was similar in the case of Taxus IT, a company that specializes in creating software and devices, including: commissioned by the State Forests. Here you will read about this very interesting project. 

Importantly, using the services of an external company does not necessarily mean that the process will slow down significantly. As part of our process, we can deliver parts on a specific day according to a set schedule or even within 3 business days. If we take into account the long operating time of FDM 3D printers, the difference is very small ;)

So let’s sum up, when is it worth using the professional Cubic Inch 3D printing service?

• You need more parts.
• You have regular needs, e.g. for format, spare or production parts that need to be quickly available.
• You require high-quality prints with high precision and dimensional repeatability.
• You care about aesthetics and accurate reproduction of details.
• You need functional prototypes with the quality of the final product.
• Your demand is variable (ordering printing allows you to flexibly adjust the number of elements produced without the need to purchase equipment.)

If these needs match yours, we encourage you to contact us. We will be happy to help you implement your project :)

Below we also present a simple comparison of both solutions. 

Comparison of FDM and MJF technologies

The table below shows the key differences between the technologies described.