3d printing

3D printing had a pretty quick rise, with units starting out in the thousands of dollars. Now you can get one on Amazon or at The Home Depot for just a few hundred dollars. At first, they were the talk of many industries, with people claiming that would severely disrupt, replace or even put an end to manufacturing.

Now some are saying that the devices will soon fade into obscurity.

It’s been a back and forth debate between experts, and now no one really knows what their future in manufacturing will be.

When it comes to spring manufacturing, we believe that there could be a place in the industry.

Does This Mean I Can Print My Own Springs?

We wouldn’t count on OEM’s being able to print their own precision springs anytime soon, if ever at all. There are still far too many variables that go into creating a quality spring, and the materials that a 3D printer can print with are not quite up to par. Plus, there are variety of other factors that must be considered.

Long story short, there’s a lot more that goes into designing and manufacturing a spring, but this is where we think 3D printing can help the industry.

3D Printing in Spring Manufacturing

Our design and engineering teams work closely with our clients to get every facet about their spring order just right. A lot of time goes into designing and testing springs to make sure that each custom order is a perfect fit for our customer’s products and applications.

This can often result in test springs being made, which cost money. This is where 3D printing comes into play. Spring manufacturers can use 3D printers to fabricate test springs to make sure that the dimensions are a perfect fit, without having to spend the resources on creating actual springs. The spring designs can be changed on the plans that are fed into 3D printers and multiple copies can be printed to ensure that they are perfect before sending them into full-scale production.

Looking to the Future

We have no idea where 3D printing technology will go, but we believe there are uses for the devices within our industry. We are always looking for better ways to serve our customers. To find out how we can help you get the perfect spring for your application, contact our team today.