3D printing or additive manufacturing is the process of making solid (3D) objects from a CAD file. An object is then constructed by laying the gradients of the material. In 3D printing, you can create complex objects using very easy and less material.
3D printing process:-
After reading this section, you will have a complete overview of today’s 3D printing scenario.
There are three steps:-
The first step
It is the preparation of just before printing, in this you have to design a model the object you want to print. It can be created using a CAD software or with a 3D scanner or you can simply download from internet.
Once created a 3D file we have to slice a 3D object to create G-code for 3D printing for this you can use any slice software like CURA software.The second step is the real printing process.
For this we have to choose a material for 3D printing in which we will achieve the specific properties required for our object. variety of materials used in 3D printing process.
Most of these materials that enable you to achieve the precise design result you had in mind, and some others, like glass for example, are still being developed as 3D printing material and are not easily accessible yet.The third step is the finishing process.
This step requires specific skills, materials and specific equipment’s.
In this We have to use required basic standard 3D printer
Here we will see a detail of any standard 3D Printer
- Printing size: 300x300x400 mm
- Printing accuracy: -+0.1mm
- Nozzle Diameter standard 0.4mm
- Printing speed: Normal: 80mm/s Max: 200mm/s
- Materials: 1.75mm PLA, ABS, Copper, Carbon fibre
- Format: STL, OBJ, G-Code
After printing the object, it cannot be used by directly there need to be secondary process is called post processing step, as removing of extra material by cutting, rubbing, polishing to complete this object.
The material chosen for the project will determine in which printing methods are most suitable.
Benefits:-
- Low-cost prototyping very quickly
- The start-up cost is very low as compared with other technique
- Large range of materials available
- You can easily customize each and every part
- Complex shape without no extra cost
Limitation:-
- Less strength as compared to other technique and anisotropic material
- There is post-processing as support removal as extra material
- Not use for mass production
- There is a limit in accuracy and tolerance
Applications:-
- Automotive
- Entertainment
- DIY – Makers
- Education
- Product design
- Industrial tooling
- Healthcare
- Aerospace
- Robotics
The Different types of 3D printing
There are mainly three types of 3D printing used widely nowadays and compared to these three, Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM) process is used the most worldwide.
- Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM)
- Stereolithography & Digital light processing (SLA & DLP)
- Selective Laser Sintering (SLS)
