Compared to conventional manufacturing methods, 3D printing offers a variety of clear benefits, such as quicker production turnaround times and a distributed supply chain. It also does the job with accuracy, is on par with or better than injection molding, and utilizes more affordable and environmentally friendly materials. So even though current technology is not good enough to handle mass production at high volumes, it is fair to ask that, “will 3D printing replace injection molding?”

3D printing is described as an additive process because it simply stacks and fuses layers of material to create physical objects instead of using a block of material or a mold. Injection molding is an entirely different process compared to 3D printing. Usually, injection molding is employed as a mass-production technique to create thousands of similar goods, unlike 3D printing, which focuses on creating detailed products, a few at a time. As the latter is an example of mass production, the cost between them varies. In this piece, we’ll talk about the nuances of the two.