What is 3D Printing?
Category: Idea | Posted date: 2022-07-28 23:24:39 | Posted by: Admin
What is 3D printing?
Using a computer-generated design, 3D printing, also referred to as additive manufacturing, is a technique for building three-dimensional objects layer by layer.
A 3D part is produced through the additive process of 3D printing, which involves building up layers of material. A final design is cut from a larger block of material in subtractive manufacturing processes, which is the opposite of this. The result is less material waste due to 3D printing.
Rapid prototyping is made possible by 3D printing because it is so well suited to the creation of intricate, custom items.
Which Materials Are Acceptable for 3D Printing?
Thermoplastics like acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), metals (including powders), resins, and ceramics are just a few of the materials that can be used in 3D printing.
Who Made 3D Printing Possible?
Hideo Kodama of the Nagoya Municipal Industrial Research Institute created the first 3D printing manufacturing machinery when he created two additive techniques for creating 3D models.
What year did 3D printing first appear?
Hideo Kodama's pioneering work in laser-cured resin rapid prototyping was finished in 1981, building on Ralf Baker's 1920s work for creating decorative articles (patent US423647A). With the introduction of stereolithography in 1984, his invention was improved over the course of the following three decades. In 1987, Chuck Hull of 3D Systems created the first 3D printer using the stereolithography technique. Following this, innovations included selective laser melting and sintering, among others. Other pricey 3D printing systems were created in the 1990s and 2000s, but their prices drastically decreased after their patents expired in 2009, making the technology accessible to more people.
Three general categories of 3D printing technology exist.
Sintering is a technique for producing high-resolution objects by heating the material, but not to the point of melting. While thermoplastic powders are used for selective laser sintering, metal powder is used for direct metal laser sintering.
Powder bed fusion, electron beam melting, and direct energy deposition are three 3D printing processes that use high-temperature melting to create objects by melting the materials together.
Stereolithography utilises photopolymerization to create parts. Using the appropriate light source, this method selectively interacts with the material to cure and solidify a cross section of the product in small layers.
3D printing types
Binder Jetting
Binder jetting involves the application of a thin layer of powered material, such as metal, polymer sand, or ceramic, onto the build platform. Next, print heads apply drops of adhesive to bind the material's particles together. Layer by layer, the part is constructed using this method, and afterward, post-processing may be required to complete the build. Metal parts can be thermally sintered or infiltrated with a metal that has a low melting point, like bronze, as examples of post processing, and ceramic or full-color polymer parts can be saturated with cyanoacrylate adhesive.
Direct Energy Deposition
In direct energy deposition, wire or powder feedstock is fused as it is deposited using focused thermal energy such as an electric arc, laser, or electron beam. To build a layer, the process is traversed horizontally, and to build a part, layers are stacked vertically.
Material Extrusion
A spool of filament is fed into an extrusion head with a heated nozzle in the process of material extrusion, also known as fused deposition modeling (FDM). The build platform then lowers in preparation for the subsequent layer after the extrusion head heats, softens, and deposits the heated material at predetermined locations.
Material Jetting
Comparable to inkjet printing, material jetting involves depositing layers of liquid material from one or more print heads rather than ink on a page. The layers are then allowed to cure before the procedure is repeated for the following layer. Although support structures are needed for material jetting, they can be made of a water-soluble material that can be removed once the build is finished.
Powder Bed Fusion
In the process known as powder bed fusion (PBF), thermal energy (such as a laser or electron beam) selectively melts portions of a powder bed to form layers, which are then built upon one another to form a part. PBF includes both sintering and melting processes, it should be noted. All powder bed systems operate in essentially the same way: a recoating blade or roller applies a thin layer of powder to the build platform; next, a heat source scans the powder bed surface, selectively heating the particles to cause them to bind. The platform lowers to allow the process to resume after the heat source has scanned a layer or cross-section.
Sheet Lamination
Laminated object manufacturing (LOM) and ultrasonic additive manufacturing are two distinct techniques for sheet lamination (UAM). UAM joins thin sheets of metal using ultrasonic welding, whereas LOM uses alternate layers of material and adhesive to create objects with a pleasing appearance. Aluminum, stainless steel, and titanium can all be processed using UAM, which uses low temperatures and little energy.
VAT Polymerization
The two methods of VAT photopolymerization are stereolithography (SLA) and digital light processing (DLP). Both of these procedures use a light to selectively cure liquid resin in a vat, building parts one at a time. While DLP flashes a single image of each full layer onto the surface of the vat, SLA uses a single point laser or UV source for the curing process. To increase the strength of the pieces, parts must first be cleaned of extra resin after printing and then exposed to a light source. Additionally, any support structures must be taken out. To produce a finish of higher quality, more post-processing can be applied.
How Much Time Does 3D Printing Need?
The size of the part and the printing settings are just two of the variables that affect printing time. When estimating printing time, the finished part's quality is also crucial because more time is required to produce higher-quality items. Time required for 3D printing can range from a few minutes to several hours or even days; key considerations include speed, resolution, and material volume.
What are the Advantages and Disadvantages of 3D Printing?
Advantages:
- Bespoke, cost-effective creation of complex geometries. With the help of this technology, it is simple to create custom geometric parts with increased complexity at no additional cost. Since no additional material is required, 3D printing can occasionally be less expensive than subtractive production techniques.
- Affordable start-up costs.The expenses related to this manufacturing process are relatively low because no castings are needed. The cost of a part is directly correlated with the quantity of materials used, the time required to construct the part, and any necessary post-processing.
- Completely customisable. Any product changes can be easily made because the process is based on computer-aided designs (CAD), which don't affect the cost of manufacturing.
- Ideal for rapid prototyping. This process is perfect for prototyping because the technology permits small batches and in-house production. As a result, products can be made faster than with more conventional manufacturing techniques and without relying on external supply chains.
- Allows for the creation of parts with specific properties. Although metals and plastics are the most typical materials used in 3D printing, there is still room to produce parts from custom-made materials that have specific desired properties. Therefore, parts can be made for particular applications with higher strengths, water resistance, or heat resistance, for example.
Disadvantages
A lower strength than with conventional manufacture is possible. While many 3D printed parts are more brittle than those produced using conventional manufacturing methods, some, like those made of metal, have excellent mechanical properties. This is due to the fact that the parts are constructed layer by layer, which lowers the strength by 10% to 50%.
Increased cost at high volume. Large production runs cost more when using 3D printing because economies of scale do not apply as they would to other conventional techniques. According to estimates, 3D printing is less economical than CNC machining or injection molding when producing more than 100 units of identical parts, provided that the parts can be produced conventionally.
Limitations in accuracy. The kind of machine and/or process used affects how accurate a printed part is. Because some desktop printers have tighter tolerances than others, the finished parts might slightly deviate from the designs. It must be remembered that 3D printed parts might not always be accurate, even though this can be fixed with post-processing.
Post-processing requirements. Most 3D printed parts need to be post-processed in some way. This could involve final machining, heat treatment to achieve certain material properties, removal of support struts so that the materials can be built up into the desired shape, or sanding or smoothing to achieve the desired finish.
3D Printing Sectors
Aerospace
Due to its ability to produce lightweight yet geometrically complex parts, like blisks, 3D printing is widely used in the aerospace (and astrospace) industry. Due to the ability to create an item as one complete component using 3D printing, lead times and material waste are reduced when compared to traditional manufacturing methods.
Automotive
Due to the inherent weight and cost savings, the automotive industry has embraced 3D printing. Additionally, it enables the quick prototyping of novel or customized components for testing or small-scale production. As a result, if a specific part is no longer available, it can be produced as part of a small, custom run that also includes the production of spare parts. As an alternative, components or devices can be printed overnight and prepared for testing before a larger manufacturing run.
Medical
Making custom implants and devices using 3D printing has applications in the medical field. For instance, a digital file that is matched to a scan of the patient's body can be used to quickly produce hearing aids. Costs and production times can both be significantly decreased with 3D printing.
Rail
Applications for 3D printing in the rail sector include the production of specialized parts like arm rests for drivers and housing covers for train couplings. The rail industry has used the method to repair deteriorated rails in addition to creating custom parts.
Robotics
The robotics industry is a perfect fit for 3D printing because of its quick manufacturing, flexibility in design, and simplicity of design customization. This includes efforts to develop customized exoskeletons and quick, effective robots.
