Have you ever drawn up blueprints for the perfect home or sketched a design for an innovative new tool and wished you could bring your art to life?
The print industry was built on innovation, and it is continuing to innovate. One of the hottest trends in the industry today can help you make your art and design projects a reality: 3D printing.
3D printing allows you to literally construct a physical model based on a digital 3D design. It requires specialized machines that can handle three dimensional scanning and heavy printing materials. A 3D printer uses these special tools to create a perfect model or physical prototype of a design.
From art pieces to medical appliances, 3D printing is changing the world.
But with innovation sometimes comes setbacks. New technology can be confusing and difficult to use, and the costs of investing in new tech can be high.
Luckily, our printing experts at STPT have the expertise to break down some of these problems for you. In this article, we will tell you about the four most common problems users with 3D printers face and how to solve them.
What are the Top 4 problems with 3D Printers?
1. 3D Printers are Expensive to Buy and Maintain
According to research, 45% of 3D printer users say the costs were high and hard to manage, making this the top concern with owning and investing in a 3D printer.
While the initial investment in a 3D printer costs money, so does managing the printer post-purchase, which is often overlooked and unexpected.
While laser printers use toner or ink to print, 3D printers use a material called filament to create three-dimensional objects.
Every brand's price point is slightly different, but each spool of 3D printing filament costs around $30. If you’re printing frequently or printing large projects, the costs can quickly add up.
2. Underutilizing Your 3D Printer Is a Waste of Money and Resources
Has your company ever adopted a new piece of equipment and committed to this new process or product 100%,only to forget about it a few weeks later? Or have you ever decided to take up a new hobby? A lot of people tend to buy all of the gear and equipment to support their hobby, but they lose interest a few months later.
New equipment is exciting but can be forgotten as interest fades, resulting in underutilized equipment.
3D printing is a very costly hobby to forget about. If you don't use your 3D printer often enough to offset purchase and maintenance costs, then you're probably making a mistake.
3. Users Don't Know How to Effectively Use the New Technology
Research tells us, “35% of people don't understand how to effectively utilize new 3D printing technology.
Learning and implementing a new device will take training and time. If you purchase a stand-alone 3D printer, it’s up to you to learn how, when, and why to use the machine. It takes a lot of time and research to figure out how to use new technology effectively.
With all the other tasks that people must complete in a day, it’s understandable that planning and incorporating a foreign device into your work plan can be challenging.
4. Unclear User Expectations for Machine Management
According to Y Soft, “IT manages the 3D printer fleet in 50% of surveyed schools. While IT manages 2D print fleets nearly 100% of the time, there is no clear mandate on who manages 3D printers.”
Because the technology is so new, many companies and offices don't know who to turn to for machine management, and a lack of legal and commercial regulations for the devices makes investing in a 3D printer feel like a hassle.
However, there is a solution to this and the other three problems discussed above.
What’s the solution to these problems?
Investing in a 3D printer with print management, like Y Soft, will resolve these issues.
Y Soft’s 3D printer with print management and their Learning Academy will help you control costs, maximize your product, and manage the device.
1. Control Costs with Print Management Software for 3D Printing
Y Soft’s enclosed 3D printer with print management allows you to track how much 3D printer filament is left, how much is being used, and who is using it. This way, you can make necessary adjustments if some individuals are overusing the device.
The ability to track, analyze, and take action to control costs will save you more money in the long run than buying a stand-alone printer with no ability to see how each 3D printer is utilized.
Additionally, Y Soft’s print management software gives administrators complete control over who can access the device. Due to the enclosed design, only those with the proper credentials can use the machine, eliminating unwanted users, and providing maximum safety.
The print roaming feature allows those with proper credentials to submit the object for printing at any available printer. The printer will be securely locked until the users can retrieve the object.
Check out Y Soft’s be3D eDee printer below:
2. Maximizing Your 3D Printer
Y Soft’s print management software will track which machines are underutilized.
Via print usage reports, you’ll be able to see which machines are underutilized. From here, you can take action to decrease the number of printers in your fleet or enhance lesson plans to better utilize the technology.
3. Learning How to Use Your New 3D Printer
Y Soft offers a BE3D Academy with preplanned lessons to help education professionals, students, and others incorporate the 3D printer into their lives.
The Learning Academy takes away the stress of creating plans around a device you may not be familiar with by providing you with worksheets, 3D printing models, presentations, and STEM videos. Remote lesson plans are also available for people who need more information.
4. Simultaneous Management of 2D and 3D Printer Fleets
Y Soft offers print management for 3D and 2D printer fleets, allowing your IT department to simultaneously manage both kinds of printers at once. This removes the stress and confusion of managing printer fleets separately.
Through the touch screen interface, the printer can be monitored and controlled by the IT department or administrator of choice.
The administrator can control basic settings and maintenance from the device.
Adding Print Management Software to Your 3D Printer
Without a print management software like Y Soft, there is no way to track and analyze costs. Users could be using 3D printer filament on unnecessary prints, and without an enclosed 3D printer, anyone in a school or office could walk up and use the machine.
Stand-alone printers take time to integrate into your workspace. Without a preplanned lesson, teachers must figure out how to incorporate this new device into lessons themselves. Companies face the same problem: how do you implement a technology that you don't understand how to use effectively?
Without print management software, these problems will likely make your investment more challenging than it’s worth.
If you’re looking for more information about Y Soft and or their 3D printer options, check out:
- What is Y Soft’s 3D Printer and Learning Academy?
- Y Soft Print Management for Your Copier/Printer Fleet
Our STPT print experts want to answer your questions! If you need more specific information, reach out to us today to talk to one of our experts about 3D printing or how to choose the right print management software for your school or office.
