Parallel Design Services is a small but multi-faceted design agency with a focus on working closely with their clients to develop and tailor solutions together. Based in Perth, WA, they offer a range of services in Product Development, from Industrial Design to Product Commercialisation. They also provide R&D consultancy services on specific projects and specialise in setting up systems for business to build or advance their R&D practices.
They don’t need to look to hard to see how 3D Printing can benefit R&D; from its very earliest development, R&D was one of the most obvious applications for this technology. Low volume, unique parts offer an obvious benefit to engineers and designers who want a chance to check and test a part before investing in mass production (even if the prototype cost was high).
Advancements in technology and materials have pushed 3D printing past a prototyping tool and we can now have a legitimate conversation about production-level applications in a number of industries. However, while the potential for production capability can often grab the headlines, the capabilities for R&D and prototyping are stronger than ever too.
Accessibility
One of the biggest changes in the industry has been the availability and selection of 3D Printers. There are now a range of options for SLA, SLS, FDM/FFF and Polyjet technologies that cater for different size, scale, materials, resolution and budget needs. Whether you need high end biomedical materials, industry grade metals, flexible rubber-like polymers, composites, or production plastics, you can find and compare multiple solutions for any of these needs. It’s easier than ever to access virtually all the different technologies, but particularly with a number of very refined FDM machines and small scale SLS resin printers that are affordable options but provide high quality, reliable prints with production-spec materials and advanced carbon composites. There is an option to suit almost every need.
This means that the majority of businesses and SME’s who undertake R&D, even on a small scale, can now consider a business case to bring 3D Printing in-house and take advantage of the technology. Having the tech in-house keeps the costs comparably low and makes budgeting more reliable, but critically it gives your engineers and designers more freedom to iterate designs and make multiple refinements without blowing the project budget. Plus, having your printer in-house can provide exposure for your whole business, promoting hands-on understanding of the technology and the R&D process; when embraced, this can boost interest and involvement in innovation and creativity in R&D. It can also make for a good customer showcase and provide new marketing opportunities.
Advantages for R&D
There was a time in 3D printing when you would have to prioritise between form, fit or function and choose your printing technology accordingly. Parts required for functional tests would often require a different process than parts required for a smooth aesthetic finish, or parts required to be high accuracy to test fit with existing production parts.
The development of 3D printing has lessened the requirement to choose, and in some cases eliminated the choice altogether. Of course it depends on industry and material requirements, but relatively low cost printers can now produce parts in production grade plastics with high resolution which can satisfy form, fit and function simultaneously.
Let’s have a closer look at some of the advantages of in-house 3D Printing in R&D:
Design sketches are good, renders are better but nothing beats a physical model when it comes to comes to communicating a design concept. Ensuring all of the project stakeholders have a chance to properly touch and feel the concept can improve the buy-in, provide clear feedback and promote better decision making.
Concepts and design ideas can be explored much faster; in many cases a design can be drawn up in a day, printed overnight, tested the following morning and a new design iteration ready to print overnight again. Where an iterative process like this is suitable, development progress can be seen on a daily basis.
3D Printing provides a chance to recreate the same model in multiple materials in order to assist the selection process. This could be assessing the model characteristics of Nylon, ABS or a composite, or it could be functional testing of 17-4 Stainless Steel against Inconel 625. Often that choice impacts development, and 3D printing offers a chance to test early in the process.
Faster development leads to lower costs, and in-house printing further reduces some of the higher costs and lead times from outsourcing. Budgeting can become easier for the same reason – it’s difficult to predict how many iterations and prototypes will arise through a project, but costs are easier to plan and track when expenditure is based on material usage rather than being at the mercy of third party quotations and lead times.
A significant element of R&D tends to be the refinement of project documentation – early design briefs and product specifications can’t predict the path of the project and the results of experiments. Rapid development and testing of multiple prototypes allows the specification to be refined and confirmed as early in the project as possible.
In many development projects there is a need for formal validation testing, even if such testing is preliminary. Prototypes can be made to such tight tolerance and functional suitability that in many cases, initial validation testing can be completed on an Engineering prototype instead of waiting on early mass manufactured samples. In some cases this can cut months off the lead time for a project.
In summary, 3D printing can benefit virtually all product-based R&D and with the sheer selection of technologies and options for most budgets, virtually all businesses can afford to invest in the technology, in one form or another.
