CNC Machining vs. 3D Printing

While CNC machining (a subtractive process) and 3D printing (an additive process) are both manufacturing methods for plastic parts, there are pros and cons for each, and the right choice depends on your needs for your parts.

Some of the advantages of CNC machining are:

Materials: Since different plastic materials are available for CNC machining than for 3D printing, you can CNC machine prototypes out of the same base materials you’re going to use for your injection-molded production parts. This allows you to test functioning prototypes for properties such as heat and impact resistance.

Speed: CNC machines that mill away material from a solid block are typically faster than 3D printers that have to build objects layer by layer.

Strength: CNC milling is the better solution when manufacturing parts that need to be extremely robust and/or heat-resistant. 3D printed parts tend to be much more fragile.

To learn more about the comparison of CNC machining to 3D printing, please visit this page of our website.