Industrial Machining And 3D Printing
The game has changed, and getting ahead of the new changes will secure your place in the market. Even if you don’t have a vested interest in the running of a manufacturing facility, there are still quite a few ways to profit. Consider, for example, 3D printing. For those unfamiliar, 3D printing is just what it sounds like: printing in the third dimension.
There are quite a variety of objects which can be made this way, and which otherwise would require more in-depth manufacturing infrastructure to produce. With 3D printing, the same kind of production can be acquired more cost-effectively. This makes 3D printing excellent for niche production of expensive machines with many specific parts requiring expert manufacture. To summarize, you get the right specs, click “print”, and wait.
Sticking To Your Guns
With that in mind, something worth considering in the 3D printing world is the design of firearms. As it turns out, 3D printing technology has already started to become a real player in the firearms world—consider this article on the subject from 3Dprint.com.
Now, granted, as yet 3D printed firearms can’t hold a candle to those produced using tried and true techniques refined over many decades—but such printed firearms increase in quality every day.
It’s foreseeable that, should the 2nd amendment be politically revoked, a large black market will arise, and be very profitable for underhanded criminal enterprises. If such a thing doesn’t happen, it’s still likely that a large market will still rise up around three-dimensional printed guns, as there are a variety of applicable uses for this technology including customization and the manufacture of otherwise unattainable weapons tech.
Expanding Operations
Larger manufacturing organizations have the potential to produce more guns more quickly through automated three-dimensional printing protocols as the technology refines. Individual firearms enthusiasts have the potential to print their own guns as they need them—something else that is likely to be an agent of change in the industry. Those who wish to print such guns will need to purchase printing machines and the materials from which the firearms are fashioned. Naturally, this will stimulate a niche market around such printing materials.
According to Forbes.com, 47% of companies actually saw increased ROI from 2016 to 2017 in terms of 3D printing. In terms of product development and customization, it’s hard to find better solutions than 3D printing. Now, granted, there are ways to augment the production of customized orders which include 3D printing and traditional manufacturing methods.
For example, you might work with groups like CNC machining services, who provide modern manufacturing services—according to the site, these include: “…milling, turning, EDM (electrical discharge machining) and wire EDM, and surface grinding.”
For certain components of certain customized client needs, a mixture of 3D printing and machining could expedite production in a cost-effective way. This kind of manufacturing has a name: hybrid printing.
The Future
So here’s what’s likely to happen: bigger organizations who will see ROI from unveiling 3D, machining, and hybrid production solutions will be upgrading their operations as fast as they cost-effectively can to remain competitive and dominate the market. Meanwhile, enthusiasts for customized devices like firearms will likewise look into 3D printing technology for their own purposes.
The key concept to take away from all this is: customization. The more customized your operations, the more likely you’ll increase clientele, as you’ll be able to get those clients what they want as they want it. With the firearms controversy, you can bet there will be a statistical jump in the purchase of 3D printing technology, as well as its utilization.
Whether or not you’re involved in said controversy, you have an opportunity to profit from this tech by getting in while the market is hot. Regardless of the political shift, there is just too much convenience in such technology for it to tread water and sink into the mire of under-utilized innovation.
In terms of customization and exactitude, hybrid manufacturing utilizing 3D printing as well as CNC machining is totally transforming the market. Whether you’re a private individual or looking to establish a new business, there are ample opportunities in this area of technology, and big signs that such changes in the industry should not be ignored.
