- March 31, 2023
- Posted by: Aryan Deo (Aarpee Decor)
- Category: Blog
What is 3D Printing?
A complete guide to 3D Printing
By Dev Sahu & Aryan Deo, Aarpee Décor
It’s 31st March 2023 today, i.e. last day of financial year 2022-23, and tomorrow the next financial year 2023-24 will begin.
So, on this day, let’s learn a little about 3D printing for better knowledge and experience with Aarpee Décor.
Contents of Article
What is 3D printing?
How does 3D printing work?
Examples of 3D Printing
3D Printing Processes
Advantages and Disadvantages of 3D Printing
Selecting the right 3D printing processes
What is 3D printing?
3D printing or additive manufacturing (AM) is the construction of a three-dimensional object from a CAD model or a digital 3D model. It can be done in a variety of processes in which material is deposited, joined or solidified under computer control, with material being added together (such as plastics, liquids or powder grains being fused), typically layer by layer.
The technology of 3D printing is growing day by day but its roots are from the 1980s.
Back in the 1980s, 3D printing techniques were considered suitable only for the production of functional or aesthetic prototypes. Furthermore, a more appropriate term for it at the time was rapid prototyping. However, as of 2019, the precision, repeatability, and material range of 3D printing have increased significantly. Consequently, some 3D printing processes are now considered viable as an industrial-production technology.
One of the key advantages of 3D printing is the ability to produce very complex shapes or geometries that would be nearly impossible to construct by hand. Additionally, fused deposition modeling (FDM), which uses a continuous filament of a thermoplastic material, is the most common 3D printing process in use as of 2020. Moreover, 3D printing is commonly associated with maker culture, hobbyists, and amateurs. It is often linked to desktop printers and accessible printing technologies like FDM. Furthermore, it utilizes low-cost materials such as ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene) and PLA (Polylactic Acid plastic material).
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How does 3D printing work?
Additive manufacturing has been around since the 1980s; therefore, the manufacturing methods developed before it are often referred to as traditional manufacturing. Unlike traditional manufacturing techniques, additive manufacturing builds up 3D objects by depositing and fusing 2D layers of material.
Additive manufacturing is best for low volumes, complex designs, and when speed is essential.
Subtractive manufacturing is best for medium volumes, simple geometries, tight tolerances, and hard materials
Formative manufacturing is best for the high-volume production of identical parts.
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Examples of 3D Printing
3D printing encompasses many forms of technologies and materials as 3D printing is being used in almost all industries you could think of.
A few examples:
- consumer products (eyewear, footwear, design, furniture)
- industrial products (manufacturing tools, prototypes, functional end-use parts)
- dental products
- prosthetics
- architectural scale models & maquettes
- reconstructing fossils
- replicating ancient artefacts
- reconstructing evidence in forensic pathology
- movie props
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3D Printing Processes
Types of 3D printing
3D printing processes have been categorised into seven groups by ISO/ASTM 52900 additive manufacturing – general principles – terminology.
All forms of 3D printing fall into one of the following types:
- Binder Jetting
- Direct Energy Deposition
- Material Extrusion
- Material Jetting
- Powder Bed Fusion
- Sheet Lamination
- VAT Polymerization
Binder Jetting
Binder jetting, as a 3D printing technique, involves depositing a thin layer of powdered material, such as metal, polymer, sand, or ceramic, onto the build platform. Subsequently, drops of adhesive are deposited by a print head to bind the particles together. This method enables the gradual construction of the part layer by layer. Once this process is complete, post-processing may be necessary to finish the build.
As examples of post-processing techniques, metal parts produced through binder jetting can undergo thermal sintering or be infiltrated with a low melting point metal like bronze. On the other hand, full-color polymer or ceramic parts can be saturated with cyanoacrylate adhesive. Binder jetting is a versatile method that finds applications in various fields, including 3D metal printing, the creation of full-color prototypes, and the production of large-scale ceramic molds.
Direct Energy Deposition
Directed Energy Deposition (DED) is a 3D printing method that employs a focused energy source, such as a plasma arc, laser, or electron beam, to melt a material. At the same time, a nozzle deposits the melted material. Furthermore, similar to other additive manufacturing processes, DED systems can be used to add material to existing components for repairs or, occasionally, to construct entirely new parts.
Material Extrusion
Material extrusion is an additive manufacturing (AM) methodology where a spool of material (usually thermoplastic polymer) is pushed through a heated nozzle in a continuous stream and selectively deposited layer by layer to build a 3D object.
Material Jetting
Material Jetting (MJ) is an additive manufacturing process that operates in a similar fashion to 2D printers. In material jetting, a printhead (similar to the printheads used for standard inkjet printing) dispenses droplets of a photosensitive material that solidifies under ultraviolet (UV) light, building a part layer-by-layer. The materials used in MJ are thermoset photopolymers (acrylics) that come in a liquid form.
Powder Bed Fusion
3D Printing technology, also known as Additive Manufacturing (AM), refers to processes used to generate a 3D object in which layers of material are successively formed under a computer-controlled program to create a physical object. Firstly, the 3D file source is usually sliced into several layers, and each layer generates a set of computer-controlled instructions.
Moreover, both 3D printing and additive manufacturing reflect that the technologies share the theme of sequential-layer material addition or joining throughout a 3D work. Furthermore, 3D printing technologies can be split up into two groups: direct and indirect 3D printing. Specifically, the main difference lies in the fact that the design is directly made from 3D printing (direct), or 3D printing was used in the process of creating your model (indirect).
Sheet Lamination
Firstly, the material is bonded in place over the previous layer using the adhesive. Then, the required shape is cut from the layer, either by laser or knife. After that, the next layer is added. Alternatively, steps two and three can be reversed, and the material can be cut before being positioned and bonded.
VAT Polymerization
Vat polymerisation utilizes a vat of liquid photopolymer resin, from which the model is constructed layer by layer. Additionally, an ultraviolet (UV) light is used to cure or harden the resin where required. Meanwhile, a platform moves the object being made downwards after each new layer is cured.
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Advantages and Disadvantages of 3D Printing:
The advantages of 3D printing include:
- Bespoke, cost-effective creation of complex geometries.
- Affordable start-up cost
- This process is based upon computer aided designs (CAD), any product alterations are easy to make without impacting the manufacturing cost. Hence, completely customizable
- Ideal for rapid prototyping, which means that products can be created faster than with more traditional manufacturing techniques, and without the reliance on external supply chains.
- Allows for the creation of parts with specific properties, parts can be created with high heat resistance, water repellency or higher strengths for specific applications.
The disadvantages of 3D printing include:
- Can have a lower strength than with traditional manufacture, this is because the parts are built up layer-by-layer, which reduces the strength by between 10 and 50%.
- Increased cost at high volume:
Large production runs are more expensive with 3D printing as economies of scale do not impact this process as they do with other traditional methods. - The accuracy of a printed part depends on the type of machine and/or process used. Some desktop printers have lower tolerances than other printers, meaning that the final parts may slightly differ from the designs. Hence, limitations in accuracy.
- Post-processing requirements:
Most 3D printed parts require some form of post-processing. This may be sanding or smoothing to create a required finish, etc.
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Selecting the right 3D printing processes
Selecting the optimal 3D printing process for a particular part can be difficult as there’s often more than one suitable process but each one will produce subtle variations in cost and output. Generally there are three key aspects to consider:
- The required material properties: strength, hardness, impact strength, etc.
- The functional & visual design requirements: smooth surface, strength, heat resistance, etc.
- The capabilities of the 3D printing process: accuracy, build size, etc.
These correspond to the three most common methods for selecting the right process:
- By required material
- By required functionality or visual appearance
- By required accuracy or build size
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