Got a question. If you could print one item to showcase the value of

3D Printing
,
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Got a question. If you could print one item to showcase the value of 3d printing to a company, what would you print?

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What kind of company?

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Manufacturing meters and pumps

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I thought maybe a planetary gear? Just something to give them the idea of using 3d printing for prototyping

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One of those high end camera bodies that require tons of milling steps to create. If you could print one out of similar material strength in much less time and with much less waste it would show cost benefits for materials and time.

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Do you have one in mind

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It depends on their frame of reference. My current favourite is the nasa torque wrench. It a part that will make it onto history books for its significance. But strangely what seems popular is the spinner toy of rotating rings. (Go figure) people like that its printed as one part and its visually more impressive than a bearing. The gt2.5 8T pully gets even slightly technical people worked up cos you wrap a belt round it, it grips and works and then I show then I have one working on my own printer. (Posted on thingyverse as redsalamander if you want it) if you can get that bloody shifting wrench to print and work it would also be a nice show peice. artists dont get gears and wrenches they like the vases and flowers and the eifel tower.

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Something that they currently buy I’m that they could make for themselves cheaper. Aim for wallet benefit, it is a company.

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Buy in*

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Ask then for one of their current parts as stl print it and let them test fit it in a meter.

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I find that as a quick fabrication device the 3D printer excels at jig making for other tools. I’ve been prototyping electronics on bread boards and various holders and such are trivial to make. This would save them setup time and increase production line utilization so they could quickly calculate the cost savings in real dollars if they were a manufacturer.

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Thanks for all the advice everyone. @Chuck_McManis ​ what one would you recommend. This company works with alot of small electronics

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@nick_durrett Well if you have some ‘prop’ small electronics like the ones they work with, especially if they test or repair them, consider surface that has supports to hold the props. You can make a simple friction snap with a will that has a lip on it. I’m sure you’ve seen my graphics setup : https://plus.google.com/108703267897818623506/posts/KsYTX4FmNDc it uses 4-40 hardware to bolt down the boards but they could be 2mm posts which would keep the board in place and easy to swap in and out. A custom jig with a holder in the middle for the device under test and the various probes, where you just put the test device in, run your tests, pop it out to do the next one. Normally a manufacturer would spend a lot of time making that jig (part of the ‘hard tooling’ cost) but with a 3D printer it is feasible for small runs.

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If I may suggest that you avoid printing trinkets and geometry porn.
Those devices amaze but they don’t close a sale because they force the customer to imagine what they can do.

Go with what @Michael_Scholtz ​suggests: get a piece they currently have or a similar piece from elsewhere.

I’d add that you could print three or four different iterations. Show them that agile development can apply to products too, not just software.

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Yes, if possible show up with several versions of the same thing in order to stress the prototyping advantage. Why test one version at a time? Why not run an entire DOE in days instead of weeks or months? Why guess at what parameters are important when the cost advantage allows you test far more?

Depending on the nature of the product and the level of financing the company can bring to bear 3D printing can even give the end user some control over certain variables. The easy one would be color.

Then there is the POSSIBILITY that your inventory could wait in raw storage until an order is placed. If they overestimate interest in a product then its no big deal. The item is crafted on demand so they will not have wasted material making things they cannot sell. Again, given the current state of affairs, this point may be more of an option for the well financed only. However, the operational capacities of 3D printing keep growing by leaps and bounds. One day soon 3D printing will simply be the way stuff gets done. Ask them when they would like to start preparing for that?