Not due to poor design
Not because of an inefficient team

It is because of one commonality between all of these scenarios 👇
An incorrect assumption underlying the material selection

Most often, you would hear a statement like:
“Let’s just go with PA12”

That is not a decision – it’s a default ❗

Defaults are based on some perception of the material being used, as well as other realities that are being ignored at the time of selection.

There are also times when materials that should perform well in theory fail in practice.

I have watched parts:

• deform after assembly
• lose alignment over time
• feel “cheap” even though the material itself was appropriate

In almost all cases, the failure to meet design specifications was not due to improper design. It was due to improper material selection.

So my focus is not just on what is being designed. But on what is not being questioned.

The sooner the assumptions around material selection are challenged, the better the outcome will be 🚀

Because once you print the part – the design is done. And every assumption you made about material performance has already been validated.