Tangible Creative is passionate about finding manufacturing solutions that use the cleanest technology possible to create products. In order to do this we find it necessary to separate fact from fiction with regards to the benefits and challenges surrounding additive manufacturing.
Benefits: Benefits of additive manufacturing include using the minimum amount of materials necessary to create a product as opposed to subtractive manufacturing which cuts away material (think of a circle being cut out of a square) leaving the waste material unusable. Tangible tries to create each print as efficiently as possible while minimizing support structure and recycling 100% of our supports. Additional benefits of 3D printing include the ability to create the exact number of products needed including single models such as a specific part or object. This is in contrast to mass manufacturing which discards what is not needed or sold.
Single Use Plastic: Tangible Creative prohibits the production of any single use plastic products within out facility.
Bioplastics: Benefits of bioplastics are that they are sourced from plant based materials such as corn. This makes undoubtedly superior that petroleum based products. Challenges include the difficulty of properly composting materials. Under proper conditions PLA will biodegrade within 3-6 months. Traditional recycling programs often don’t know what to do with PLA.