I know a few members use 3d printing at work and in hobbies, but can anyone point me to a company or individuals making BIG 3d prints on-demand? My application would be custom items around 15" x 20" x 24" with low production volume. Since it's 2023, is that size not a big deal any more?
You should look into companies that let you upload a file and then farm it out to a company of your choice, they could narrow the options down by the print volume required, I know Treatstock is one of them and I think PCBway offers a similar service now?
There are a few people on here who do 3D prints but that's still an unusually large print volume.
Had semi-extensive experience with Protolabs and Shapeways, but not in several years. Solid services, but maybe a bit pricey.
Unless you are very very rural, I would be very surprised if there weren't local companies that could do the work, for example for me the one I have dealt with locally is https://www.ems-usa.com/
I think we used Craftcloud for some of our recent stuff. I'd approach them.
I know Creality has a home printer that can print a 17x9 wheel :)
In reply to Keith Tanner :
As someone who has owned a creality large format printer, good luck with that.
I really doubt something that size is viable for 3d printing. I've used a company in china that was able to cast and machine parts with impressive results. If you're looking for more than one, I could see that working better.
which makes me think of this email I got from their sales guy.
The shop I manage has machines that could do that... but 9/10 times we would choose an alternative manufacturing method. What are you trying to do with it?
that volume is still fairly large by todays standards
That's pretty big. Is it something that must absolutely be printed in one piece?
You can easily take a big 3D model, cut it up into smaller pieces, then print the individual pieces. If you have 3D modeling software of pretty much any kind, this is probably a 10 minute job.
You can add some pegs and holes for peg-in-hole alignment, if need be. Print, assemble everything with epoxy or plastic glue, sand and paint (if so desired) or use it as a mould for vacuum forming or fiberglass. You can use body filler for the mating faces and/or to get rid of the layer lines. Really depends on how smooth you need the surface to be.
^I've messed with this, but precision is often lost, and that process works much better on some print methods (FDM) than others. So it depends what you need to make.
Most of the time anything I need to make that large is a CNC operation.
Xometry can do large part like requested. We have used them for batches of large stuff that needed to be done right now, but we paid a lot for them.
In addition to the other questions:
What material?
There's CNC machines with additive heads that could print that out of various metals.
Thanks all for the response. I'll check into all the suggested sites. The product is an outdoor durable sign component. The shape has to be recognizable from a moving car but within 10 feet it can look pretty pixillated. Weight on this component would need to be relatively light for field handling of the signs so I can't go with steel.
Two piece is certainly an option. I'm just not familiar with the current working size of commercial 3D printers.
If I can sell this novel product idea (I'm not a salesman) I would need to print 5-50 per week and many would need to be custom. The information you've all given so far is exactly the reason I ask these silly questions here. Thank you so much.
Objects of that scale do not print quickly. Even 5 a week would be a stretch.
Is each part the same, or is each unique? If its the same, there is likely a way to tool it which will allow it to be produced faster and wayyyyyyy cheaper.
It sounds like this is going to be some sort of sign/symbol? Can it be simplified? 2D parts that are glued together? Are there any complex curves or anything?
My Delta printer will do an object 14" x 14" and is fairly fast. Even then, print time on something half the print volume at the coarsest setting would be close to 21 hours with any amount of interior structure for durability. Turn up the quality and it could take days to print. 50 a week would take several printers running pretty hard to keep up.
For outdoor use on a sign, PLA probably isn't going to hold up long-term. That means printing in ABS which is a more difficult material to work with and requires enclosed printers.
I would be interested in hearing what you find out from the other companies.
Ooo. If you're looking to produce something like this commercially, do not rely on 3D printing. 5-50 per week is a job for a printer farm. Based on the scale you've described and the potential for multiple pieces, if would have to be a very big one. Never mind fit and finish (resolution wouldn't be a problem but making it look like a finished product would). I doubt it would in any way be economical.
Have you thought about printing a prototype and using that as a mold?
If it's basically a 2D shape (most things designed to be seen from a moving car are), I'd be looking at laser cutting sheets of aluminum or plastic. Far, far quicker to produce.
Keith Tanner said:If it's basically a 2D shape (most things designed to be seen from a moving car are), I'd be looking at laser cutting sheets of aluminum or plastic. Far, far quicker to produce.
Agreed, but 15" x 20" x 24" certainly does not imply 2D
In reply to ProDarwin :
Excellent point :)
How about vacuum forming ?
or look up "Pan sign" which is a type of vacuum formed plastic sign you see on old shops which can be lighted from the back side ,
also Roto molding which uses a 2 piece mold that you put plastic pellets in , heat up the mold and spin it so the plastic does to the inner surface of the mold to make your part.
These are all pretty cheap and quick to make a batch of parts.
Good luck
Good ideas. Regarding pan signs and roto molding; don't these also require a big initial investment in the molds? I can see going this route if I'm profitable in my initial run.
All this free consulting is very educational and appreciated.
ProDarwin said:Keith Tanner said:If it's basically a 2D shape (most things designed to be seen from a moving car are), I'd be looking at laser cutting sheets of aluminum or plastic. Far, far quicker to produce.
Agreed, but 15" x 20" x 24" certainly does not imply 2D
Again, depends on how complex the shape is.
In that volume you could have a large birdhouse or some such shape that can be broken down to a few 2D shapes. You can even break down an upright into mostly flat shapes Link
Agreed. We break stuff down into 2d work all the time.
Crxpilot said:Good ideas. Regarding pan signs and roto molding; don't these also require a big initial investment in the molds? I can see going this route if I'm profitable in my initial run.
All this free consulting is very educational and appreciated.
If you have a G-code file to 3D print the part,you can use the same basic file to CNC a vacuum form mold out of wood etc.
A rotoform mold would probably need to be cast , but you could use the same G-code file to make the sandcast pattern.
I just do not see how 3D printing can make you enough parts that big at a price you can sell them for.
I've seen vacuum forming done over wooden bucks for student projects back in the 80s. You don't need CNC to form wood :)
You could also think topographical manufacturing.
Cut out the rough shapes, glue together flat as needed. Below is a... horrible example. But should work to show you what I mean.
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