Upgrade the Way of Making 3D Channel Letters

3D printing changed what a channel letter costs to make, how many people it takes and how many hours a day a workshop can produce. Here is what actually changes on the shop floor.

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Industry Article

Automatic Manufacturing

Printing produces channel letters company logos and indoor or outdoor signage one after another without manual operation. The operator sets the job and the machine runs it, which is why the same person can supervise several machines at once instead of standing at one.

Lower Labour Cost

The traditional signage route needs more people because it has more production steps: CAD designing, board cutting, metal bending, welding, engraving. Additive production needs fewer, and on average one worker can manage around 10 sign printers.

Longer Working Capacity

Printers can run 24 hours a day. Against an eight hour day in a traditional sign shop, that is a different amount of capacity from the same floor area and the same headcount.

Upgrade the Way of Making 3D Channel Letters illustration 1 — Longer Working Capacity

Lower Material Cost

A letter A of 272 x 300 x 30 mm, including sides and face, uses 37 meters of filament, which equals 111 grams. That is the whole material content of the letter, against an acrylic panel plus a metal return.

Additive Instead of Subtractive

Traditional signage cuts material away and throws the remainder out. Printing adds material layer by layer, so there is no cutting and no waste to dispose of.

Design Flexibility

Eliminating the limits of CNC engraving, injection moulding, laser cutting and metal bending removes the constraints those machines impose on artwork. Curves, thin strokes, mesh faces and multi colour output stop being exceptions that need a special quotation.