3D Printing Master Guide 2024

 

3D Printing

3D printing Also known as additive manufacturing is method that uses an digital file is utilized to produce 3D solid object. 3D printing procedure layers are laid out through 3D printer until creation of an object is complete.

3D printed items are made by an additive procedure in which printer applies layer after layer of materials until it is finally printed'. Each layer is finely sliced portion of item being printed. Through 3D printing it is possible to make complex designs without having to consume the same amount of material that traditional manufacturing techniques call for.

The method of operation used in 3D printing is in same vein of "subtractive manufacturing" in which materials are removed or hollowed together tools like milling machine. In contrast additive manufacturing doesn't require molds or any other material block in order to produce tangible objects. Instead it layers of materials before fusing layers.

3D printing allows for quick manufacturing low cost on initial stationary infrastructure as well as capability to design complex geometries together different types of materials that traditional manufacturing systems could not do with same efficiency.

The timeline for 3D printing

Most often related to typically associated with Do It Yourself (DIY) style of hobbyists and amateurs 3D printing has grown to encompass industrial and commercial applications. Engineers today frequently utilize 3D printers to prototype and making lightweight geometric designs.

The genesis of 3D printing originate in "rapid prototyping'. technology that was basis for it was developed in early 1980s this word was coined to describe it since at moment 3D printing was only appropriate to create prototypes & not production components. Actually initial motive behind its development was to speed up development of innovative items through rapid prototyping.

It's interesting that technique didn't attract much interest at time it was introduced. In 1981 Japanese inventor Hideo Kodama filed his first patent to patent machine that utilized UV light to cure photopolymers. few years later French innovators Olivier de Witte Jean Claude Andre as well as Alain Le Mehaute jointly filed patent to similar technology. Both patents were rejected and General Electric saying 'latter patent was not good business idea'.

In 1984 American inventor Charles Hull filed patent on an 'Apparatus to Produce of 3D Objects using Stereolithography'. Hull invented STL file and created 3D Systems 3D Systems three years after in 1987.

In same time important strides were made within advancements in US 3D printing area and patents were filed for selective laser Sintering (SLS) and fused deposition modeling (FDM). Desktop Manufacturing (DTM) Corp. and Stratasys were among pioneering firms in 3D printing industry established at same time.

The industry was transformed when rapid commercialization began to dominate it. initial 3D printers were expensive and large and their manufacturers competed to get deals for industrial prototyping massive consumer goods automobiles as well as health and aerospace makers.

In 1987 3D Systems had introduced first commercial grade SLA printer. In 1992 Stratasys as well as DTM introduced very first commercial FDM along with SLS printers and SLS printers respectively. First metal 3D printer was launched during 1994 by Electro Optical Systems (EOS) an German business.

At beginning of millennium's new century firms that were in 3D printing market were competing with each other for profit. Advances in field of materials science and expiration of number of patents boosted cost of 3D printing.

In near future due to advances made within 3D printing area manufacturing techniques were no longer solely owned by companies that were backed by massive equipment and capital. Nowadays 3D printing has transformed into an innovative method of manufacturing wide variety of components for production.

How Does 3D Printing Work?

The ISO/ASTM52900 which relates to fundamental concepts and terminology in additive manufacturing classifies 3D printing techniques into seven distinct categories. Every type of 3D printing operates bit in different way.

The length of time it takes to print an 3D object is contingent on kind of printing and size of print and kind of material used quality desired and setup settings. 3D printing could take anything between couple of minutes up to several days.

The various kinds of 3D printing include:

1. Fusion of powder bed

In process of powder bed fusion (PBF) it is use of thermal energy that is in form of an electron beam or laser is used to selectively fuse specific regions of bed with powder in order to make layers. layers are layered on each other until piece is formed.

PBF can include sintering and melting procedures however principle operation process is identical. recoating blade or roller places an extremely fine layer of powder over platform for building. Then top of bed of powder is then scanned together an energy source. heat source can be used to boost particle's temperatures to bond specific regions.

When heat source has scanned cross section of layer or section and platform is lowered so that process can continue for following layer. end result is an area with melted pieces while surrounding powder unaffected. platform will then rise so that it can be retrieved from final product. Powder bed fusion is comprised of several traditional printing methods like selective laser intersintering (SLS) as well as direct laser Sintering (DMLS).

SLS is frequently used in making polymer components for functional and prototype components. SLS printing is carried out using bed of powder as primary support structure. Because there are no extra support structures allow for development of intricate geometric shapes. But parts that are produced typically contain inner porosity as well as an uneven surface & usually need processing afterward.

SLS is akin in many ways to selective laser melting (SLM) as well as electron beam powder bed fusion (EBPBF) along with direct metal laser Sintering (DMLS). These processes however can be used to create parts made of metal and depend on lasers for fusion of powder particles layer at each time.

DMLS enhances temperature of particles but only to point of fusion which is when they join at molecular degree. In contrast SLM completely melts metal particles. Both techniques require enough heat and need support structures. After process is completed and support structure is taken away with CNC machines or by hand. parts are then treated with thermal to reduce residual stress during post processing.

The metal 3D printing methods create parts that have high quality physical properties. at times even more durable than metal base that is used. Surface finish can be very good as well. Concerning material they can be used to treat ceramics and superalloys made of metal that are difficult to utilize for other procedures. Both DMLS as well as SLM require significant amount of money as well as volume of system limits its production size.

2. Photopolymerization of VAT

Photopolymerization of VAT can be separated in two ways: digital light processing (DLP) and stereolithography (SLA). Both of these techniques create parts each layer using with an illumination source that can precisely cure liquid materials (usually resin) that is stored inside an ingot.

DLP is method of flashing images of every layer on surface of liquid within vat. In contrast SLA relies on single point UV source or laser for curing liquid. Any excess resin needs to be removed from product after printing is finished after when product has to be exposed to UV light to rise strength of item. support structure if present are required to be removed after process & you can then process parts to make better quality finishes.

The methods work best for production that demands high dimension accuracy as they are capable of producing exquisitely detailed products that have high quality finishing. DLP and SLA also ideal for creating prototypes.

The problem is that these techniques' result is usually brittle which makes them unsuitable for prototypes that can be functional. color of these parts as well as their mechanical properties are likely to be damaged by UV light of sun which makes them incompatible for use outdoors. Additionally support structure is often needed and may leave marks that can be removed by post processing process.

3. Binder jetting

Binder jetting is process of putting powdered substance for example ceramic polymer sand or even metal on building platform. Following this print head deposits drops of adhesive in order to bond powdered particles. This is why part is created layer by layer.

Metal components must be sintered or infiltrated using metal with melting point that is low for example bronze. Parts that are made from ceramic or full color polymer may be coated with cyanoacrylate glue. post processing process is typically necessary to finalize result.

Binder jetting is used for myriad of purposes for large scale ceramic moulds prototyping in full color as well as 3D metallic printing.

4. Material jetting

Material jetting has conceptual resemblance concept of inkjet printing. Instead of putting ink onto paper it utilizes print head or printer to spread several layers of liquid. Each layer gets cured prior to next one is created. Material jetting is dependent on supporting structures it are able to be made together water soluble material that can be washed after construction is complete.

The process which is extremely precise allows for creation of high quality full color components together various types of materials. It is however costly as product tends to be fragile and degradable.

5. Modeling of deposition together fusion

In fused deposition modelling (FDM) it is use of heated nozzle is utilized to connect filament spool into extrusion head. extrusion head boosts temperatures of product which softens it before placing it in designated areas for cooling. When layer of material has been made platform lowers to prepare layer that is to be positioned.

The process which is also referred to as material extrusion comes with very short lead times and costs less. However dimensional precision is not high and smooth finishing typically necessitates post processing. Also output isn't ideal for use in critical situations because it's generally anisotropic. i.e. less robust in direction of one.

6. Sheet lamination

Sheet lamination is divided into two types of technology that include ultrasonic additive manufacturing (UAM) as well as laminated object manufacturing (LOM). UAM features lower demand on energy and temperatures and involves connecting thin sheets of metal with ultrasonic method of welding. It is able to work with variety of metals like titanium stainless steel and aluminum. However LOM places layers of materials and adhesives in order for creation of final result.

7. Direct energy deposition

The method uses laser or electric arc electron beam or other method of focused energy to melt steel or wire feedstocks in order it is put. process occurs on horizontal plane to make layers and then they are stacked horizontally to form parts. It can be used for variety of kinds of material like polymers ceramics as well as metals.

Top 7 3D Printing Software

The 3D printing market is quite dependent on software. There are programs necessary to design output & then converting it into G codes to control your 3D printer. Check out top 3D printing software for all various programs.

1. MatterControl 2.0

The solution offered by MatterHackers is complete print host and slicer and CAD software that is designed specifically for desktops. It allows users to create models within CAD section & then slice models. After model is set for printing MatterControl 2.0 can be utilized to observe and control printing using USB connection or Wi Fi modules.

The application has an easy to use interface allowing users to discover range of geometric primitives they are able to import into printing. These geometric primitives can be moved onto normal triangle (STL) file which is then printed. They can be identified as structural support.

MatterControl provides users with access to more advanced printing settings which makes it perfect to support end to end design and preparation slicing as well as control. Customers with an enterprise license are able to move to MatterControl Pro with additional features that are more beneficial.

2. Tinkercad

The browser based free solution lets users create printable 3D models. It also provides opportunity to begin practicing real world modeling. block building tool is easy to use and allows users to build models together most basic geometric shapes.

Tinkercad includes wealth of tutorials and tutorials that benefit users develop best design & then be exportable or distributed easily. library provides users with ability to access millions of file that allow them to locate and alter desired shape. It also allows for ability to directly integrate with third party printing services.

3. Blender

The free and open source software is appropriate for beginners as well as advanced users. It has enough features and can be utilized to do 3D modelling and sculpting and also for rendering animation and simulation editing video as well as motion tracking. But it comes with an arduous learning curve.

4. UVTools

The open source software is one of most comprehensive resin printing suite that is great file viewer and is specifically designed for repair of layers and manipulating for Masked SLA. It's integrated with PrusaSlicer and gives users access to variety of other third party MSLA printing profiles.

Twin stage Motor Control (TSMC) is vital feature in UVTools. It allows tied print speeds that are different for motion parts in every layer. This speeds up printing and increases probability of printing on successful basis.

In addition UVTools allows users to make custom resin layer curing time calibration print to use for testing of new resins as well as making right configuration for various layer levels.

5. WebPrinter

The browser based application allows users to view G code without need to open file with full capacity slicer. user simply needs to upload their G code files to WebPrinter & WebPrinter will provide route that file will be able to send into 3D printer. It's an easy and straightforward method to see an eventual 3D printout.

6. Ultimaker Cura

This slicer that is open source can be used with all contemporary 3D printers. Cura is great choice for novices because it's easy to operate quick and easy to use. However advanced users can use ability to use 200 different settings to refine prints.

7. Simplify3D

Simplify3D is fast and efficient slicer tool to improve 3D printing quality. It cuts CAD into layers fixes model problems as well as provides glimpse of printout. Its top features make it ideal for large scale heavy use 3D printers.

3D Printing Applications

While 3D printing isn't an invention that was invented in past however it has gained huge recognition in recent years throughout industries owing to its simplicity efficacy as well as its cost effectiveness.

The most popular applications for 3D printing include:

1. Construction

Construction is among major applications of 3D printing. Concrete 3D printing was studied since 90s when researchers looked for quicker and less expensive method of building structures. Particular applications of 3D printing in construction industry include adding welding bonding with powder (reactive bond polymer bond and Sintering) and extrusion (foam concrete wax and polymers).

Nowadays large scale 3D printers that print concrete are employed to make foundations and build site walls. They can also be used for printing concrete segments that are modular for assembly on site.

This allows for greater precision greater complicated constructions speedier constructions and better functionality while decreasing expenses for labor and minimising wasted materials.

In year 2016 first bridge for pedestrians (12 meters long and 1.75 metres wide) has been 3D manufactured in Spain with reinforced concrete micro porous. following year first 3 D printed home was constructed in Russia. 600 wall panels were 3D printed before being assembled. Following that interiors and roof were constructed for an space of 300 sq meters.

3D printing is also useful to create architectural scale models that are architectural scale. technology is being studied as method of building extraterrestrial environments in Mars or Moon or Mars in case there ever be need.

2. Prototyping and production

If you are using conventional injection molded prototyping techniques it takes weeks to make one mold which could be priced at several hundred thousand dollars. In earlier article primary goal to use 3D printing was to speed up and efficient prototyping.

3D printing technology reduces production times which allows prototypes to be finished in just only couple of hours & for only tiny fraction of typical cost. This is especially beneficial in projects that require user to modify design on each iteration.

3D printing is appropriate to manufacture products that do not require to be manufactured in mass quantities or are typically modified. SLS and DMLS can be used to produce rapid production of products that are simply prototypes.

3. Healthcare

For healthcare professionals 3D printing creates prototypes for development of new products within dental and medical sectors. For dental 3D printing is also beneficial in design of creating dental crowns from metal as well as manufacturing tools to create dental aligners.

It is also useful in direct manufacturing of hip and knee implants as well as other items that are in stock and for creating products that are specific to patient like personalized hearing aids prosthetics as well as orthotic insoles. It is possible to print 3D surgical guides to aid in specific surgeries as well as 3D printed skin bone tissues organs and pharmaceuticals are being investigated.

4. Aerospace

In field of aerospace 3D printing is used to develop prototypes and designs. It is beneficial in development of aircraft since it assists researchers maintain rigorous needs of R&D without losing top industry standards.

Certain older or non critical parts of aircraft are printed 3D to fly!

5. Automotive

Automobile manufacturers specifically those that focus on racing cars like those featured in F1 make use of 3D printing to prototype as well as manufacturing certain components.

Companies in this field are also looking into possibilities to together 3D printing for purpose of helping satisfy market demand aftermarket by manufacturing spare components as needed by customers instead of stocking them.