Fig. 9 shows a 3D printer being used to produce a prototype of a mobile phone case. The product is manufactured in large quantities using industrial process...
Question 1 Report
Fig. 9 shows a 3D printer being used to produce a prototype of a mobile phone case. The product is manufactured in large quantities using industrial processes. The choice of material is important for the function and appearance of the product. The designer has considered the target market and the product's intended use.
It is made to last. The grip stops it from slipping.
(a) Name the scale of production used when 3D printing a single prototype. [1]
(b) Give two advantages of using 3D printing to produce a prototype rather than making it by hand. [2]
(c) Explain why 3D printing would not be suitable for producing 100 000 identical phone cases. [2]
Answer Details
(a) The scale of production used when 3D printing a single prototype is one-off production (also called jobbing or bespoke production). [1]
One-off production means manufacturing a single, unique item. It typically involves higher unit costs and longer production times than batch or mass production, but it allows a completely custom design to be realised without the expense of tooling such as moulds or dies.
(b) Two advantages of using 3D printing to produce a prototype: [2]
- Complex shapes can be produced that would be very difficult or impossible to make by hand, including internal cavities, thin walls, and organic curves. 3D printing builds the shape layer by layer, so geometry that would require extensive hand shaping or multiple machining operations is created in a single automated process. [1]
- Direct from CAD: The prototype can be made directly from a CAD file with high dimensional accuracy and no need for additional tooling. If the design needs to be changed, the designer modifies the CAD model and prints a new prototype quickly, enabling rapid design iteration. [1]
(c) Why 3D printing is unsuitable for producing 100 000 identical phone cases: [2]
3D printing is significantly slower than mass-production processes such as injection moulding. Each phone case must be built layer by layer, taking minutes to hours per unit, whereas injection moulding can produce a case in seconds once the mould is made. Producing 100 000 units by 3D printing would take an impractically long time. [1]
The unit cost of 3D printing remains essentially constant regardless of quantity (material + machine time per part), whereas injection moulding has a high initial tooling cost (the steel mould) but a very low unit cost once that investment is made. At a volume of 100 000 units, the mould cost is spread thinly across every unit, making the per-unit cost far lower than 3D printing. [1]
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