“I’ve got the best product therefore I will automatically sell more!” this is the philosophy of many companies, Italian and not, which expect customers to buy just because they have the best product.
Is it really the final product which makes the difference between a successful business and a bankrupt one?
Since I am not a marketing guru, even if every now and then I dabble in studies, as all entrepreneurs should do, I will give you an answer regarding the mechanical sector and additive systems; an answer which comes from personal experience, years of making mistakes and lessons learnt in this sector.
If you are still not acquainted with my story, which is useful to stop you opening the wrong doors, as I did, then read here.
Some companies, newly arrived in the forest of 3D, think they have reinvented the wheel, and say that what you must take into consideration when buying a 3D printer is that it is a machine which gives you the best product possible, that is solid components, non-porous and light enough to be used with kinematic machinery.
Nothing more true, even if every manufacturer of 3D printers aims at designing a printer which produces the best possible mechanical components, so in fact “the best product” is not a true requisite which helps you in choosing a printer which is suitable for you.
Before
Discovering which is the fundamental requisite which should help you choose a 3D printer
Let’s take a bird’s-eye view of the forest of additive manufacturing and see which are the other requisites which, more than the final quality of the components printed in 3D, you should consider
1) Safety
Nothing in the world is more important than life, above all when you own a company and the responsibility of other people’s lives is on your shoulder.
Safety regulations in the workplace are ruled by the Sole Text, that is the Legislative Decree n. 81/2008, a text which you should keep in a showcase in your company.
Just in Italy, deaths in the workplace have increased by 9,4%: from October to January 2018, Inail, which is the Italian Health and Safety Executive received 534,605 reports of workplace accidents and 924 reports of workplace deaths.
If you don’t want your company to contribute in increasing these figures, when you approach a 3D printer you must do so on tiptoe with regards to safety.
“Are you telling me that 3D printers are dangerous?”
Yes and no: it depends on many factors and on how many precautions you take.
In this case I am referring only to 3D metal printers because it is in fact the metals which,at high temperatures and in contact with oxygen,by far could explode.
To avoid dangerous explosions, 3D metal printers exploit the deterrent power of some gasses, the most well-known are:
1.Argon (by far the most common)
2.Hydrogen
3.Nitrogen
- Helium
The problem is that some of these gasses produce more deaths than an explosion: Argon for example is a skillful killer, silent and deadly.
Argon takes oxygen away from the lungs and leaves victims breathless and without a means of escape, and this can happen more easily in an enclosed area, like the printing room where your operators work.
In cases of a small leak of Argon, rescue must be more than timely because Argon acts quickly and undisturbed since it is colourless, odourless and tasteless. It may look as if everything is running smoothly in your printing department and then after a few moments all your operators are dead.
You must know that each breath contains 21% oxygen. If this percentage drops to 16%-12% the heart begins to beat faster, you easily become breathless and your muscular coordination is damaged.
At 14%-10% you begin to feel exhausted for no reason.
Nausea, vomiting and collapse hits you when your oxygen level drops to 6%.
Under 6% you begin to move convulsively and you black-out; finally you die.
To avoid the untimely death of your operators, and having nightmares for days to come just because you installed a 3D printer using Argon, remember to always ask the manufacturer of 3D printers, from whom you intend buying, which gas the printer uses.
If it is Argon, then you know what kind of hell awaits you: read this article which will unveil the only possible solution to help you prevent a catastrophe.
Luckily for you not all gasses are dangerous. Certainly you cannot use nitrogen for oral inhalations in case of flu, but compared to Argon, this gas does not substitute oxygen and does not kill, since it is present in the air at the rate of 78% and therefore it is also free.
Be careful however! Not all 3D printers using nitrogen, guarantee free gas; this is therefore another question to ask your manufacturer of 3D printers.
2)Is it an Open Powder printer?
To print your components in 3D you will have to use metal powders, but where can you buy them?
If you think you can freely use any powder you want, I must disillusion you, because in order to continue earning even after you have bought from them, manufacturers of 3D printers make sure that you can use their printer only with the metal powders on their catalogue list, with such high prices to make you hair stand on end.
While 1 kg of steel powder, bought directly from producers of powders costs 50 euro, 1 kg of the same powder, in the catalogues of your manufacturer of standard 3D printers, will cost you 160 euro.
If you need 100 kg of steel powder for your components, each printing cycle will cost you 16,000 euro.
Always check with your manufacturer of 3D printers if you want to use all the powders you want and buy them directly from the suppliers which produce them.
Don’t be robbed of money which you could save!
3)Customization
If companies of other sectors like Nike, Ford or Nasa are investing in 3D and are achieving an enviable success, it does not automatically follow that their 3D printers will produce the same benefits for your production.
Each production should have its own customized 3D printer in order to enjoy maximum benefits and maximum performance from this technology.
the 3D printer that’s right for you, must be made specifically for your production
More technically speaking, you must know that the print parameters and how each component is positioned on the printing bed, are fundamental data which make all the difference between a super fast production and a slow one.
Each component is different and needs its own print parameters to be produced quickly with the maximum performance and with low costs.
Moreover, also quality is tied to print parameters and unfortunately this is not data you can foresee, but which you must deduce from tests carried out on your components.
But how can you customize a 3D printer after having bought it? What happens if you discover that the machinery in which you have invested your capital, turns out to be unsuitable for the components you need?
Here is the most important requisite that your future 3D printer should have:
Do not buy any 3D printer before having tried it on your type of production and on your components.
We are not talking about a simple free print trial, because it isn’t enough to see and handle your components printed in 3D, to thoroughly understand if a 3D printer is worth your while.
What is important for you is to understand if this technology will allow you to produce at a lower cost compared to the production methods you are currently using, that is the chip removal method.
It is important for you that your investment has an economic return and, to have this certainty you must base yourself on concrete results obtained and preliminary tests on your components which anticipate the purchase of a printer.
Would you ever substitute your car with another car you know nothing about not even how much it will cost you in fuel, insurance and how much it will yield in the long run?
Other important questions:
- Which gas does your 3D printer use? What degree of safety and what are the costs for prevention of various accidents?
- How much will the gas cost?
- Is the 3D printer Open Powder? Can I buy the powder directly from the manufacturers of powders?
- Can I try out the 3D printer before buying it and have access to economic data and times of production?
Do not stop at the free trial of printed samples of your components, which Service offers because you are buying a 3D printer,you are not ordering printed components from a third party; it is a very different situation.
Since, unfortunately, no manufacturer of 3D printers will give you the chance to have, in hand, the data you need to evaluate whether you are making a good investment by choosing additive systems, I amd my team have created 3D4YOU, a customized course which allows you to:
- Know how much it will cost on an economic and financial level to print your components in 3D;
- Have the certainty of how much faster you can produce with a 3D printer compared to subtractive methods which you are currently using; you will have a document complete with all the data and, just this document would be worth more than the whole printer, considering that it is the only chance to have this data and this opportunity;
- The printing parameters to produce your components more quickly, efficiently and as economically as possible;
- A customized assistance for your production needs which will take up only an hour of your time; you will enter the forest of additive systems with a guide who will help you, step by step, to get to know this technology of the fourth industrial revolution;
- A free course worth 840 euro to become a professional of 3D and help your technicians to enter the future of the new mechanic sector, which has appeared on the horizon; just this course and the precious information you will discover, will put you light years ahead of your competitors, who are too afraid to to take the step to become big and successful;
- But there is more… and you will be surprised
With the Zero Risk Guarantee, you can withdraw from 3D4YOU at any time and have all your money back
You will have all your money back!
All
All
All
And you will still possess a complete document which will tell you the truth about the future of 3D printing in your company and if, today or in a remote tomorrow, it could be worth your while on an economic level and in terms of production times, to invest in this technology.
Beware! Not everyone can have access to 3D4YOU, by clicking here or on the red button you can see a video to know more about the course and below the video there is a timer.
Since the course is customized and made to measure for your company, my team of assistants cannot follow more than 4 companies a month.
Your place could already have been taken: click here for information without committment.
P.S. you won’t be forced to buy a 3D printer to receive the precious document, and you won’t have to spend a capital sum of money.
P.P.S. thanks to the zero risk Guarantee, you can withdraw at any time for any reason.
P.P.P.S. Before you ask: the 3D printer for steel only, which you will try, does not use Argon but nitrogen, which you can have completely free thanks to a system which takes the gas from the oxygen already in the air.
Moreover the 3D printer is Open Powder and you can buy the powder from the supplier you wish.
Finally: it is a 3D printer made to measure for your company.
But, remember you are not clicking here to buy it but to find an answer to the question:
How much faster and at what cost can I produce with a 3D printer compared to what I am already doing.
Click here for the answer!