3D PRINTING OR CNC MACHINING: WHICH ONE SHOULD YOU CHOOSE? This is one of the most trending questions of the recent times, with people still as confused presently, as they were a few years ago.
3D Printing vs. CNC Milling: How they work? Before we compare them, we need to understand the operational procedure of both these technologies:
3D Printing: Better known as additive manufacturing technology, 3D printing uses a digital image of an object and subsequently the equipment (3D Printers) which print 3D objects in subsequent layers, till a fully developed object is ready to use.
CNC Milling: This is just the opposite of 3D printing and is also known as subtractive manufacturing technology. In this, a block of solid materials, such as metal or wood is taken and further objects are prepared with the help of cutters or rotating mills.
3D Printing vs. CNC Milling: A Comparison Let us take a few basic points of consideration and compare these technologies to discover the best one:
Variety of Materials: Let us first take CNC milling. Here you could choose from a number of materials to work on, such as metals (aluminum, brass, copper), metal alloys (bronze and steel etc.) wood (softwood and hardwood), foams, machining wax and thermoplastics etc.
Working Precision: If you were to compare the accuracy in working, here is what you could conclude.CNC milling offers highly accurate jobs. Some of them such as the Nomad 883 and Pocket NC offer an immense accuracy of 0.001 inches and tolerance ranging to 0.005 inches.But here too, if the cutting tools are dull or damaged, mills are worn, or the CAM software delivers inadequate data, you might see more than a few inaccuracies that spoil the play.Coming to 3D printing, expect very high precision from some of the best 3D printers such as Prusa 3D Printer, Zortrax M200 and CEL Robox etc. The precision in 3D printing could also be affected by the print technology used.However, not all 3D printers offer immaculate results and there are a wide number of reasons, such as blocked nozzle and inadequate temperature etc, where 3D printed results could turn to be faulty.
Rapidity in Working: When comparing speed, you need to assess both the processes on different grounds. For instance, CNC milling works faster when chipping materials from a solid block of the object. But then, the complex machining jobs could still take hours.In 3D printing, the speed is generally slower than its comparative partner. However, expect to get the most intricate and complex 3D objects printed with utter ease and without any hassles.
Vibrations and Noise: In any case, CNC milling process could be quite a noisy one. When the cutting tools collide with the metals and woods, the noise could be extremely eardeafening. Also, a CNC mill would experience heavy vibrations when working on these materials.Almost wholly against this, 3D printing involves negligible noise and vibrations. You could use a personal 3D printer to print objects at home and this never turns to inform others with its sounds.
3D Printing vs. CNC Milling: On The Bottomline: Viewing all the above aspects, it could well be concluded that 3D printing technology is a grade better and more costeffective than the CNC milling technology.Though the latter offers immense competition to its partner in some aspects, considering the newest trends of printing food items and bioprinting, 3D printing is what gains the edge.So if you’re thinking of getting a professional 3D printer for your needs, you are probably heading in the correct direction. Buy the best 3D printers and these could be a promise to earn what you desire.