RE: [rp-ml] Slow growth

Hi Ayyaz.

The root cause I believe is the cost/benefit of buying and running RP
machines, relative to the alternative approaches to making an item in these
countries.

One major competitor to additive RP is milling. (simple 3 axis milling, 3
axis with digital readouts, 3 axis cnc , 4 axis...etc.)

In Europe or the USA the cost of a skilled machinist is high, so if you can
simply print a part on a 3d printer, you have a big cost saving.

Now if you move to a country where skilled labour costs are a factor of ten
lower than here, then this alone will throw everything in the favour of the
more labour intensive milling.

It also all depends on what you want to make with your RP machine. If you
have very low labour costs, its often very viable to make an item by hand.
For example I know that its less expensive to have a piece of jewellery hand
carved in wax in Thailand than it is to have it grown on a RP machine here.

And what can be done?... I don't know! RP (additive) machines are
expensive, Milling machines can be cheaper, and are generally easier to
repair, and they tend to last forever! I'm sure there is someone on this
list with a milling machine close on 100 years old!
Perhaps either a ten-fold increase on labour costs in developing countries,
or, a ten-fold decrease in the running costs of RP machines would make a
difference!!!...
Bernard Bryce

  Dear All
  Despite of all the fantastic features and benefits of Rapid Prototyping ,
the idea could not get acceleration especialy at small to medium enterprises
level largely in developing countries? What you people think the root cause
of this? and what you will suggest to do in this regard?
  Regards
  Ayyaz
  Researcher

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