Silkscreen🔍💰 “Don’t waste your budget! One table will help you understand “3D printing vs CNC: Which one is more cost-effective at which stage?”
“When developing hardware products, should you choose 3D printing or CNC?
The answer depends on three key factors: development stage, product complexity and batch size.
Parts with a size of less than 120mm×120mm×10mm and only two processing surfaces, such as the parts shown in the picture without oxidization. But these data are for reference only, the specific situation still depends on the product itself.
Three golden decision-making rules
✔.”Use 3D printing for the first three iterations” (for small-volume, low-precision parts)
Quickly verify the structure to avoid paying high CNC tooling fees for early errors.
✔. “More than 100 parts? CNC+3D printing hybrid mode”
Use CNC to ensure strength for complex parts, and use 3D printing to reduce costs for simple parts.
✔. “Carefully choose 3D printing for metal parts”
The unit price of metal 3D printing is ≈ 3 times that of CNC, unless the requirements are extremely complex (such as topology optimization hollowing)
3DPrinting #CNCMachining #HardwareStartups #CostSaving#DFM #Prototype#Manufacturing #Engineering #SupplyChain
