IoT, or Internet of Things, is a fascinating Technology and its use has been booming during the past few years. We’re connecting more and more objects to create smarter devices that add value to our lives, or to the industries which use them. But to use disruptive technologies in the best way, it can be smart to combine them with some other ones.A few weeks ago, we saw howblockchain and 3D printingcould be combined in a smart way. Today, discover the great potential that combining IoT and 3D printing has to build better products and improve manufacturing processes.
The Internet of Things is the concept to connect objects between themselves to share data. The shared information can come from human behavior or external factors. This is made possible by connecting our objects using electronic parts, sensors, software, and Internet, or specific networks created for IoT. Thus, data can be exchanged between objects, without human action.
A typical example of IoT is a connected fridge, with captors that detect that you finished some of your basic aliments (eggs, milk, etc.) and automatically order them for you right away. This technology is used by a wide range of professional sectors, from consumer goods to defense.
This technology attracted a lot of attention over the past few years, and its use is clearly booming. In 5 years from now, the IoT is expected to count 26 billion devices.
Disruptive technologies can be even more useful when they’re combined together. Indeed, that’s what the history clearly showed. For instance, when the PC was created, it was disruptive, but it became a true revolution when it got combined with other technologies such as the Internet.
When it comes to IoT, how can it be combined with 3D printing to create the best use cases? Here are 4 ways to use these two technologies together in a smart way.
First, let’s start with the most obvious use you can make of 3D printing for IoT projects: using additive manufacturing for enclosures. Indeed, IoT objects are electronic devices, thus, they need an enclosure. Good news: 3D printing is a great technology for this use. It allows the creation of enclosures that perfectly fit the product. Additive manufacturing is particularly useful during the prototyping process of electronic devices. Since the components might change regularly during this step, it will impact the shape and size of the enclosure. If you’re working with injection molding, you can’t adapt easily to these modifications. But thanks to 3D printing, you can do it in a heartbeat, with no additional costs.
Another major benefit of 3D printing for enclosures is that you can insert specific design features such as snap fits inside your 3D models that will reduce drastically assembly time during your production process. To learn more about it, you can read our blog post about3D printed joints and snap fits.
Do you want to give it a try? Discover our design tips to create the best3D printed enclosures.
To build a factory that is truly part of the Industry 4.0 trend, it is essential to combine several disruptive technologies. That’s how you can create a truly agile factory, with optimized performance.
That’s precisely what Audi, the automotive company, is doing with its smart factory, for instance.
