Have you ever thought about how 3D printing technology can be used in the skincare packaging industry? Or have you ever seen any 3D-printed packaging for skin care or cosmetics? Here in Uzone, when you need to create a new design product like a lotion bottle or cream jar, a 3D mold can be offered to check the dimensions and the main features of the bottle and jar, how does that work? Let’s have some basic knowledge about it.
Introduction 3D printing technology originated from the photographic sculpture and landform modeling technology studied in the United States in the 19th century, also known as ‘rapid prototyping technology’. In 1986, American scientist Charles Hull invented the world’s first 3D printer using a liquid material called photosensitive resin. Hull then founded 3D Systems, the world’s first 3D printing equipment company based on this technology, and sold the first commercial product in 1992. In the 1990s, 3D technology experienced a wave of rapid development. For example, in 1989, Carl proposed the selective laser sintering (SLS) technology at the University of Texas, and in 1990, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology applied for a patent for ’3D printing technology’. Since this century, more and more companies around the world have been involved in 3D printing manufacturing. At present, two industry giants, Stratasys and 3D Systems, have emerged in the world. According to statistics, the size of the 3D printing market in 2012 reached US$22.04, a year-on-year increase of 29%. It is expected that the 3D printing market will maintain a momentum of rapid growth in the future.
3D printing principle – layer-by-layer manufacturing, layer-by-layer stacking “3D printing” is a general term for a type of “additive manufacturing” technology that adds materials layer by layer to create three-dimensional objects. The process of integration. Different from traditional “subtractive manufacturing”, 3D printing technology integrates machinery, materials, computers, communications, control technology, biomedicine and other technologies. The future may have an important impact on manufacturing production patterns and human lifestyles. According to the forming mechanism of 3D printing, 3D printing is usually divided into two categories: deposition raw material manufacturing and bonding raw material manufacturing, covering more than ten specific 3D rapid manufacturing technologies, and there are five more mature and practical technologies: SLA – Stereolithography, FDM – Volumetric Molding, LOM – Layered Solid Manufacturing, 3DP – 3D Powder Bonding and SLS – Selective Laser Sintering.
Application scenarios
1. Product prototype
For example, in Microsoft’s 3D model printing workshop, after the product is designed, the model is printed out by the 3D printer, which enables the design and manufacturing department to better improve the product and create a better product.
2. Medical industry
3D printing has already been applied to medical fields such as the production of transplant organs and devices. Current successful cases include a titanium pelvis transplanted in a British patient, a titanium mandible transplanted in a Belgian patient and a plastic tracheal splint transplanted in an American infant. Hearing aids and dentistry are expected to be the largest areas of use for 3D printing in the future.
3. Cultural relics protection.
Many complex substitutes are often used in museums to protect original works from environmental or accidental damage, while replicas can also affect art or artifacts more and further people. Just because the original Thomas Jefferson was going to be displayed in Virginia, the Smithsonian used a giant 3D-printed replacement to put it in the place of the original sculpture.
4. Architectural design
In the construction industry, engineers and designers have embraced 3D printer-printed building models as a method that is fast, low-cost, environmentally friendly, and beautifully produced. It is completely in line with the designer’s requirements while saving a lot of material.
5. Manufacturing
Manufacturing also needs a lot of 3D printed products because 3D printing is much better than traditional manufacturing in terms of cost, speed ad accuracy. And 3D printing technology itself is very suitable for mass production, so the use of 3D technology in manufacturing can bring many benefits, and even quality control is no longer an issue.
6. Food industry
That’s right, ‘printing’ food. Researchers are already experimenting with printing chocolate. Perhaps in the near future, many foods that look the same will be “printed” with food 3D printers. Of course, by then artificially prepared foods will likely be many times more expensive.
7. Automotive Manufacturing.
It does not mean that your car is printed by a 3D printer (of course, it may be possible one day), but it means that when the automotive industry conducts safety testing and other work, some non-critical parts will be replaced by 3D printed products, in pursuit of efficiency while reducing costs.
8. Accessories
This is the broadest market. In the future, whether it is your personalized pen holding the mobile phone case with your bust embossed or the unique ring in the world owned by you and your lover, it may be printed by a 3D printer. It can be achieved without even having to wait until the future.
Compared with traditional manufacturing technology, each has its advantages Traditional mechanical manufacturing is based on the combination of basic manufacturing processes of reducing materials such as cutting, drilling, milling, grinding, casting and forging. The 3D printing technology adheres to the core principle of “layered manufacturing, layer-by-layer stacking”. It is an integrated molding technology, and a 3D printer can complete the manufacture of the entire workpiece. From the perspective of industrial applications, 3D printing is currently suitable for small batches of non-functional parts with complex shapes; most of them are used to manufacture prototypes and molds in the fields of automobiles and aerospace; while traditional machining is suitable for Large-scale, mass-produced components, and widely used in almost all fields. From the analysis of the materials used, subject to the needs of technology, the materials currently used in 3D printing technology are mostly plastics, photosensitive resins and metal powders, which are much less than almost any materials that can be used in traditional machining. However, just like its technical characteristics, 3D printing produces almost no waste, and the utilization rate of materials can exceed 95%; while traditional “subtraction” material manufacturing produces a lot of waste to varying degrees.
Skin care and cosmetic packaging industry is a very small specific branch of manufacturing, while 3D printing can really help the customer develop their ideal creation fast. With 3D printing, we can deliver your cosmetic packaging design into real world faster, corrsponding to the feed back of client, adjust the design.
We’re eager to cooperate with you and make your cosmetic or skincare brands stand out with new crafts and tech. Please feel free to contact us.
Post time: Oct-20-2022