Manufacturing
Compare tooling costs, design flexibility, materials, and production quantities when choosing between 3D printing and injection molding.
The quick take
3D printing and injection molding both produce plastic parts. Production quantities, tooling costs, materials, and the likelihood of design changes help determine which process makes sense.
Build a part layer by layer without a custom mold.
Useful for testing a design, making changes, and producing small quantities.
Print ten enclosures, discover a connector needs to move, and print a revised version without paying to change tooling.
Depending on the application, it can also be practical for manufacturing finished products in smaller quantities.
Inject molten plastic into a mold made for the part.
The mold can cost thousands or tens of thousands of dollars, depending on its complexity.
Once tooling is ready, the cost per part can drop significantly at larger production quantities.
Offers consistent results, good surface finishes, and a wide range of production thermoplastics.
Molded parts require design considerations that include:
The AVA Labs approach
At AVA Labs, we frequently use 3D printing during development. As the design matures, we evaluate:
The goal is to choose the process that makes sense for the current stage of development before committing to expensive production tooling.
3D printing and injection molding can both produce plastic parts, but they serve different purposes.
3D printing builds a part layer by layer without requiring a custom mold. That makes it useful when you’re testing a design, making changes, or producing a small number of parts.
Imagine developing a handheld electronic device. You might 3D print ten enclosures, assemble them, and discover that a connector needs to move.
You can revise the design and print another version without paying to change any tooling.
Injection molding works differently.
Molten plastic is injected into a mold made specifically for your part. That mold can cost thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars, depending on its complexity.
Once the tooling is ready, however, the cost per part can drop significantly at larger production quantities.
Injection molding also offers consistent results, good surface finishes, and access to a wide range of production thermoplastics.
But a successful 3D printed part isn’t automatically ready for injection molding.
Molded parts require design considerations like draft angles, appropriate wall thicknesses, and a way to remove the part from the mold.
It’s also important to understand that 3D printing isn’t limited to prototyping. Depending on the application, it can be a practical method for manufacturing finished products in smaller quantities.
At AVA Labs, we frequently use 3D printing during development because it allows us to test, learn, and make changes without investing in expensive tooling too early.
As the design matures, we evaluate production quantities, tooling costs, material requirements, and the likelihood of future design changes.
The goal is to choose the manufacturing process that makes sense for the product’s current stage of development, rather than committing to expensive production tooling before the design is ready.