Skip to main content
Get a Quote
Industry Insights & Expert Guides

3DPTEK Blog — Industrial 3D Printing & Casting Insights

Practical, engineer-written content to help foundries and manufacturers navigate industrial additive manufacturing, from technology selection to production optimization.

What You'll Find on This Blog

Our blog covers the full spectrum of industrial additive manufacturing and casting — from deep technical dives to practical procurement guides. Every article is written to help engineers, foundry managers, and purchasing decision-makers make informed choices.

📚

Technology Explained

Binder Jetting, SLS, SLM — how each technology works, when to use it, and what to expect.

📈

Cost & ROI Analysis

Real pricing data, total cost of ownership models, and patternless vs. traditional casting comparisons.

🔶

Practical How-To Guides

Step-by-step guides for selecting equipment, choosing service providers, and optimizing processes.

🌐

Industry Applications

How automotive, marine, aerospace, and energy sectors use 3D printed casting today.

Editor's Picks

Our most popular and most-referenced articles. Start here if you are new to industrial 3D printing or looking for foundational knowledge.

Casting & Foundry, Sand 3D Printing

Patternless Sand Casting: Process, Cost & Lead Time Without Tooling

How patternless sand casting works in 2026: 3D printed sand molds from CAD, no tooling, 15-45 day lead times, and ±0.3 mm accuracy — with real production cost data.

Cost & ROI, Sand 3D Printing

3D Sand Printing Cost in 2026: What Foundries Actually Pay

3D sand printing cost in 2026, broken down: machine price, sand and binder, labor, and per-part math — with real numbers versus traditional pattern tooling.

Guides & How-To, Sand 3D Printing

How Sand 3D Printing Works: From CAD File to Casting in 7 Steps

How sand 3D printing works in 7 steps: from CAD file preparation to recoating, binder jetting, depowdering, and pouring — a complete guide for foundry teams.

Cost & ROI, Sand 3D Printing

Sand 3D Printer Buyer’s Guide 2026: How to Choose the Right Model

Choosing a sand 3D printer in 2026? Compare build volume, print speed, binder systems, and TCO across 3DPTEK’s lineup — then pick the right fit for your foundry.

Latest Articles

Stay current with our newest content. Articles covering technology updates, application breakthroughs, and practical advice — published regularly.

Open vs. Closed Material Systems in Binder Jetting

Open vs closed material systems in binder jetting: how binder compatibility, consumable pricing, and print quality shape your long-term operating cost.

Read Article →

Sand Binder Jetting vs. Traditional Tooling: The Cost & Lead Time Math

Sand binder jetting vs traditional pattern tooling: the full cost and lead-time math, with a worked example and payback analysis for a real casting job.

Read Article →

Metal Binder Jetting vs. SLM: Cost, Speed & Quality Compared

Metal binder jetting vs SLM: compare cost per part, density, surface finish, and throughput — and find the right process for your production volume.

Read Article →

Binder Jetting 3D Printer Price in 2026: Machines, Materials and Costs

Binder jetting 3D printing explained: how the process works, which materials it handles, and where it beats SLM and casting on speed, cost, and scale.

Read Article →

Sand 3D Printer Comparison 2026: 3DPTEK vs ExOne vs voxeljet

test excerpt 2

Read Article →

CAD to Casting: Digital Molds Cut Development Cycles by Weeks

CAD to casting with digital molds: cut development cycles by weeks for automotive, pumps, and aerospace parts — with real before/after timelines.

Read Article →

Integrating a Sand 3D Printer into Your Foundry: A Practical Blueprint

Integrating a sand 3D printer into your foundry: a practical blueprint covering workflow, materials handling, staffing, automation, and common pitfalls.

Read Article →

Sand 3D Printer Break-Even: An ROI Spreadsheet That Works

Sand 3D printer break-even, calculated: a spreadsheet-style ROI model using tooling savings, utilization, and material cost to find your payback point.

Read Article →
« Previous
Next »

Browse by Category

Find articles organized by topic. Each category contains focused content for your specific area of interest.

🏟

Sand 3D Printing

 🔬

Binder Jetting

 🔥

Casting & Foundry

 📉

Industry Case Studies

 📈

Cost & ROI

 📚

Guides & How-To

Popular Topics

Jump directly to content tagged with the topics that matter most to you.

Sand 3D Printer Wax 3D Printer SLS 3D Printer Metal 3D Printer 3DPTEK-J4000 3DPTEK-J2500 3DPTEK-J1800 Patternless Casting Investment Casting Rapid Prototyping Aluminum Casting Steel & Iron Casting Titanium & Superalloy Aerospace Automotive Industrial Machinery Marine & Pump Valve ROI & Break-Even Buyer's Guide Workflow Integration

Have a Topic You Would Like Us to Cover?

We write about what matters to foundry professionals and manufacturing engineers. Suggest a topic or ask a technical question - our engineers respond personally.

Suggest a Topic Get a Quote