Plastics Engineering's New Frontier: Embracing the Brave New World of 3D Printing

The Toly Group is a small manufacturer on the island of Malta that creates packaging for the cosmetics industry: lipstick holders, compacts, cream jars and bottles, and the like. Thanks to three-dimensional (3D) printing (also known as additive manufacturing), the company is able to rapidly prototype design variants to determine shape and use with its customers—and showcase proposed designs before a purchase and production decision is made. The flexibility and low cost of 3D printing makes a fast turnaround possible. © 2018 The Society of Plastics Engineers, Inc.