Rapid Prototyping in Spearfishing

Today, thanks to the growing accessibility of additive technologies, it is increasingly common to come across products and components for marine applications made via 3D printing.

But how reliable is this approach really?

As is often the case, there's no single answer. 3D printing thrives in rapid prototyping, but its limitations are more obvious in large-scale production.

Why this distinction?

To understand this, it's useful to compare 3D printing with other more traditional manufacturing processes, such as injection molding. Using the same material, the latter allows for mechanically stronger components. The reason is inherent in the process itself: the molten material is injected into a mold, ensuring a homogeneous and compact filling. This translates into greater reliability and improved mechanical performance.

However, even injection-molded components are not free from defects.
Breakages can arise from both design errors and manufacturing process imperfections, such as cracks or air inclusions, often linked to suboptimal mold design. Despite this, extensive industrial experience in this field has allowed us to refine techniques, drastically reducing the presence of defects in the parts produced.

So, can 3D printing be considered a valid alternative?

Yes, as long as you understand and respect its characteristics. The additive process involves the deposition of material layer upon layer, generating a structure that, by its nature, can be more fragile when subjected to stress along certain axes. But this doesn't mean that 3D-printed components are inadequate. On the contrary, with careful design, 3D printing can offer excellent results, especially for prototyping or small production runs. The choice of material plays a key role: if you maintain the same geometries as a component designed for printing, you will need to opt for technical materials capable of offering high mechanical performance. These materials are now widely available on the market, although they are more expensive than standard filaments.
Another crucial aspect is the orientation of the part on the print bed: incorrect positioning can compromise the component's strength, as seen in the example of cutting parallel to the layers. Knowing in advance the stresses that will act on the part allows you to orient it correctly to optimize its strength.

Why we continue to use 3D printing

After years of experience in mechanical design applied to spearfishing, we are able to develop and manufacture functional, durable, and well-calibrated components for their intended use. 3D printing, when used with technical and design awareness, has proven to be an invaluable resource for testing new ideas, reducing development times, and, in many cases, producing fully reliable solutions.

Ultimately, it's not a matter of deciding whether 3D printing "works" or not, but of understanding when and how it can be used effectively. And it's precisely on this technical awareness that our daily work is based.