Hello,
I am part of a team that is designing sunglasses. We are looking at the possibility of 3D printing them. Eventually, we hope to make it a consumer product. Is this a possibility? What limits would you all guess that we would face?
Enza3D
2
Hi Michael!
For sunglasses, you could design and 3D print the frames but the lenses would have to be manufactured using standard method. Unless the design of the frames was such that it couldn’t be manufactured using conventional methods (casting, injection molding, etc.) or were customize-able, it really wouldn’t be time or cost efficient to 3D print a consumer product (especially if it’s large voulmes of it).
3D printing is slow slow slow, when compared to other processes available for making consumer products. Printers have to run longer to get the same end result which means higher energy costs, quicker part wear, and a higher failure rate of the product itself. While the upfront cost of getting a mold made for a product can seem really high, each consecutive part that’s made from that mold costs very little and is done in seconds/minutes. Whereas with a printer, every part is slow and every part costs the same (or more if something fails). So unless you can justify out these additional costs by upping the price because it was “3D printed” or custom, it really won’t make that much sense to print vs. manufacture.
In general, 3D printers are great for small volume batches of something (which is why they’re so popular for prototyping) or for designs that would be impossible to manufacture conventionally.
