While the automation revolution has transformed traditional manufacturing, many 3D print farms still rely heavily on manual operations - and pay a premium for doing so. The value of automation lies in its ability to increase efficiency while decreasing operating costs. 3D print farm automation is no different; by utilizing workflow and printer automation, 3D print farms can reduce their labour, maintenance, and capital costs while increasing printer longevity and throughput.

Labour

With full automation, printers auto eject parts by themselves and start subsequent prints immediately, so your print farm runs autonomously 24/7. AutoFarm^3D™ uses smart algorithms to route prints effectively and efficiently, load balancing across the entire farm. Additional integrated tools like AI failure detection and real-time failure response and job reallocation further enhance your farm’s ability to run efficiently without manual intervention.

All this means there is no longer any need for additional operators to assist with starting/removing prints, overnight/weekend shifts, or detailed print schedule creation. Instead, these tasks are taken care of by your print farm itself. Extensive and often complicated tracking also gets eliminated, as operators can easily and quickly see the status of each print job, order, and printer.

Significantly less labour is now required to run your 3D print farm, with the only tasks requiring human intervention left over being: collecting prints to pack/ship, changing filament spools, and maintenance as needed.

Maintenance

You may be surprised to learn that farm automation can also decrease cost of maintenance!

First, printers take longer to wear down. With print jobs load-balanced, each printer receives a relatively even stream of prints, so none get neglected or overworked. This results in fewer failures, makes printers last longer, and provides much needed predictability for maintenance.

Second, preventative maintenance becomes easier to schedule and perform, making it more likely to actually happen. Regular preventative maintenance decreases the risk of errors during printing, so printer damage is less likely to occur. It also extends machine life, in much the same way as  regular oil changes can extend a vehicle’s life.

Preventatively maintaining printers is also less expensive than repairs, in terms of time, filament waste, and part cost. Repairing a machine can take hours, compared to maintenance which typically ranges from 5 minutes (for lube and quick visual check) to 10 minutes (to run calibration and tighten loose belts or screws).

Lastly, the actual cost of performing maintenance is lower. With a manual operation, pulling one printer offline messes up the entire schedule and risks putting production behind. It requires a lot of planning to keep it from impacting production schedules. Real-time re-routing means that taking printers offline for scheduled maintenance takes zero operator time and minimally impacts production. Prints are simply reallocated to another printer, and are re-routed back when the original printer comes back online.

This eliminates the costs associated with planning maintenance (which gets more complex as you grow) and opens the door to more efficient maintenance routines that work around your availability. For example, with automation, you can see which printers are in the cool down cycle and stop them from taking the next print. Then, you can simply go to each printer when it is idle, quickly perform whatever maintenance is required and put it back online where it immediately starts working on the next print.

Capital

24/7 operations and non-stop printing gives you more prints with the same number of printers. This reduces upfront capital costs while increasing output. Higher productivity makes you more competitive by reducing your equipment cost per print (your $500 printer now spits out 3x as many prints per week) and saves you money on electricity, shelving and floorspace. 

Scaling production without adding printers allows you to wait longer before having to move to a larger physical location, and with fewer operator tasks required, you can optimize the layout by using wasted vertical space (printers don’t have to be as accessible). 

The majority of idle hours on any print farm occurs during off-peak hours - middle of the night, early morning, and weekends. Continuous printing allows you to print more during off-peak hours, overnight and on weekends. During your quiet season, you can even schedule the majority of your prints to complete during these times. Even if you don’t print more parts and your  energy usage stays the same, your energy costs can drop dramatically.

Cost Breakdown

All this being said, how do those savings compare to the cost of automation?

The auto ejection kit hardware is a one-time purchase and the VAAPR print surface comes with a lifetime warranty. At $179 to get 2x or 3x production out of your  printer, it provides significant savings when compared to the cost of a new machine.

As for software, AutoFarm^3D comes out to $1 per printer per day. Let’s break that down in practice.

Say you have 50 printers running three prints per printer per day, totaling 150 prints daily. With just part removal taking 2 minutes per print, that's 5 hours per day dedicated to removing parts alone. Factor in the logistics of scheduling, checking orders, setting up jobs, figuring out filament needs, monitoring printer status, and checking print completion times - these tasks require another 4-6 hours split between morning and end-of-day setup sessions.

During their workday, your assistant, paid $15/hour, spends about 4 hours changing filament and repairing printers. Meanwhile, your skilled operator, making $40/hour, dedicates roughly 6 hours to scheduling, queuing orders, and managing failed print situations - tasks that AutoFarm^3D can handle. This amounts to $300 per day in labor costs ($60 for the assistant and $240 for the operator) versus AutoFarm^3D's $50 daily cost.

AutoFarm^3D would handle the automated aspects for $50 per day, monitoring, removing, and starting prints around the clock. While it doesn't eliminate the need for filament changes and maintenance, it dramatically reduces the manual labor required.

Why Automation?

Automation is the future of manufacturing, and forward-thinking, innovative corporations have long-since opened their eyes to its benefits. But 3D printing has lagged behind due to its uniquely manual process. With a combination of 3D printer and print farm automation, 3D printing has the potential to disrupt manufacturing and enable more efficient and productive operations than ever before.

Are you ready to make your operation more cost-effective, productive, and efficient? Book a call with us today to discuss how AutoFarm^3D can work with your specific operation.