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How does a 3d printer know what to print


3D Printing: What It Is, How It Works and Examples

3D printers might seem like they're right out of a science fiction movie, but they're proving to be useful in a variety of industries. | Image: Shutterstock

How Do 3D Printers Work?

3D printing is part of the additive manufacturing family and uses similar methods to a traditional inkjet printer — albeit in 3D. Additive manufacturing describes the process of creating something in layers, adding material continuously until the final design is complete. This term most often refers to molding and 3D printing. 

It takes a combination of top-of-the-line software, powder-like materials and precision tools to create a three-dimensional object from scratch. Below are a few of the main steps 3D printers take to bring ideas to life.

How Does a 3D Printer Work?

3D printers are related to additive manufacturing. 3D printers use computer-aided design to understand a design. When a design is ready, a material that can be dispensed through a hot nozzle or precision tool is printed layer by layer to create a three-dimensional object from scratch.

 

3D Modeling Software

The first step of any 3D printing process is 3D modeling. To maximize precision — and because 3D printers can’t magically guess what you want to print — all objects have to be designed in a 3D modeling software. Some designs are too intricate and detailed for traditional manufacturing methods. That’s where CAD software comes in. 

Modeling allows printers to customize their product down to the tiniest detail. The 3D modeling software’s ability to allow for precision designs is why 3D printing is being hailed as a true game changer in many industries. This modeling software is especially important to an industry, like dentistry, where labs are using 3D software to design teeth aligners that precisely fit to the individual. It’s also vital to the space industry, where they use the software to design some of the most intricate parts of a rocketship.

 

3D PRINTERS USE MODELING AND SLICING SOFTWARE TO GUIDE THE PRINTER IN CREATING EACH OBJECT. Video: Digital Trends

 

Slicing the Model

Once a model is created, it’s time to “slice” it. Since 3D printers cannot conceptualize the concept of three dimensions, like humans, engineers need to slice the model into layers in order for the printer to create the final product. 

Slicing software takes scans of each layer of a model and will tell the printer how to move in order to recreate that layer. Slicers also tell 3D printers where to “fill” a model. This fill gives a 3D printed object internal lattices and columns that help shape and strengthen the object. Once the model is sliced, it’s sent off to the 3D printer for the actual printing process.

 

The 3D Printing Process

When the modeling and slicing of a 3D object is completed, it’s time for the 3D printer to finally take over. The printer acts generally the same as a traditional inkjet printer in the direct 3D printing process, where a nozzle moves back and forth while dispensing a wax or plastic-like polymer layer-by-layer, waiting for that layer to dry, then adding the next level. It essentially adds hundreds or thousands of 2D prints on top of one another to make a three-dimensional object.

3D Printing Materials

There are a variety of different materials that a printer uses in order to recreate an object to the best of its abilities. Here are some examples:

Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS)

Plastic material that is easy to shape and tough to break. The same material that LEGOs are made out of.

Carbon Fiber Filaments

Carbon fiber is used to create objects that need to be strong, but also extremely lightweight.

Conductive Filaments

These printable materials are still in the experimental stage and can be used for printing electric circuits without the need for wires. This is a useful material for wearable technology.

Flexible Filaments

Flexible filaments produce prints that are bendable, yet tough. These materials can be used to print anything from wristwatches to phone covers.

Metal Filament

Metal filaments are made of finely ground metals and polymer glue. They can come in steel, brass, bronze and copper in order to get the true look and feel of a metal object.

Wood Filament

These filaments contain finely ground wood powder mixed with polymer glue. These are obviously used to print wooden-looking objects and can look like a lighter or darker wood depending on the temperature of the printer.

The 3D printing process takes anywhere from a few hours for really simple prints, like a box or a ball, to days or weeks for much larger detailed projects, like a full-sized home.

How Much Do 3D Printers Cost?

The cost of 3D printers vary based on the size, specialty and use. The cheapest 3D printers, for entry level hobbyists, typically range from $100 to $500. More advanced models can range between $300 and $5,000. Industrial 3D printers can cost up to $100,000.

 

3D Printing Processes and Techniques

here are also different types of 3D printers depending on the size, detail and scope of a project. Each different type of printer will vary slightly on how an object gets printed.

Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM)

FDM is probably the most widely used form of 3D printing. It’s incredibly useful for manufacturing prototypes and models with plastic.

Stereolithography (SLA) Technology 

SLA is a fast prototyping printing type that is best suited for printing in intricate detail. The printer uses an ultraviolet laser to craft the objects within hours.

Digital Light Processing (DLP) 

DLP is one of the oldest forms of 3D printing. DLP uses lamps to produce prints at higher speeds than SLA printing because the layers dry in seconds.

Continuous Liquid Interface Production (CLIP) 

CLIP is amongst the faster processes that use Vat Photopolymerisation. The CLIP process utilizes Digital Light Synthesis technology to project a sequence of UV images across a cross-section of a 3D printed part, resulting in a precisely controlled curing process. The part is then baked in a thermal bath or oven, causing several chemical reactions that allow the part to harden.

Material Jetting 

Material Jetting applies droplets of material through a small diameter nozzle layer-by-layer to build a platform, which becomes hardened by UV light.

Binder Jetting 

Binder Jetting utilizes a powder base material layered evenly along with a liquid binder, which is applied through jet nozzles to act as an adhesive for the powder particles.

Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM)

FDM, also known as Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF), works by unwinding a plastic filament from a spool and flowing through a heated nozzle in horizontal and vertical directions, forming the object immediately as the melted material hardens.

Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) 

A form of Powder Bed Fusion, SLS fuses small particles of powder together by use of a high-power laser to create a three-dimensional shape. The laser scans each layer on a powder bed and selectively fuses them, then lowering the powder bed by one thickness and repeating the process through completion.

Multi-Jet Fusion (MJF) 

Another form of Powder Bed Fusion, MJF uses a sweeping arm to deposit powder and an inkjet-equipped arm to apply binder selectively on top. Next, a detailing agent is applied around the detailing agent for precision. Finally, thermal energy is applied to cause a chemical reaction. Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS) also utilizes this same process but with metal powder specifically.

Sheet Lamination

Sheet Lamination binds material in sheets through external force and welds them together through layered ultrasonic welding. The sheets are then milled in a CNC machine to form the object’s shape.

Directed Energy Deposition

Directed Energy Deposition is common in the metal industry and operates by a 3D printing apparatus attached to a multi-axis robotic arm with a nozzle for applying metal powder. The powder is applied to a surface and energy source, which then melts the material to form a solid object.

How a 3D Printer Works and What It Is Used for

3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing, is defined as a process in which a digital file is used to create a three-dimensional solid object. In the 3D printing process, sequential layers of material are laid down by the ‘printer’ until object creation is completed. This article covers the working, software, and applications of 3D printing.

Table of Contents

  • What Is 3D Printing?
  • How Does 3D Printing Work?
  • Top 7 3D Printing Software
  • 3D Printing Applications

What Is 3D Printing?

3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing, is a process in which a digital file is used to create a three-dimensional solid object. In the 3D printing process, sequential layers of material are laid down by the ‘3D printer’ until object creation is completed.

3D-printed objects are created through an additive process, where the printer places layer after layer of material until the desired thing is ‘printed’. Each layer can be considered a finely sliced cross-section of the printed item. With 3D printing, users can produce complicated shapes without consuming as much material as traditional manufacturing methods require.

The operation style of 3D printing is the opposite of ‘subtractive manufacturing’, where the material is cut out or hollowed using equipment such as a milling machine. Conversely, additive manufacturing does not need a mold or material block to create physical objects. Instead, it stacks layers of material and fuses them together.

3D printing offers swift product creation, low expenses for the initial fixed infrastructure, and the ability to create complicated geometries using several material types, something traditional manufacturing solutions might not be capable of as efficiently.

Timeline of 3D printing

Generally associated with the Do It Yourself (DIY) culture of amateurs and hobbyists, 3D printing has grown to include commercial and industrial applications. For instance, engineers today often use 3D printers for prototyping and creating lightweight geometric objects.

The origins of 3D printing lie in ‘rapid prototyping’. When the base technology was first invented in the 1980s, the term was used to describe it because, at the time, 3D printing was only suitable for creating prototypes rather than production components. In fact, the original intent of its creation was simply to accelerate the development of new products through swift prototyping.

Interestingly, the technology did not garner much interest when it was first introduced. In 1981, Japan’s Hideo Kodama filed the first patent for a machine that leveraged UV light for curing photopolymers. Three years later, French inventors Olivier de Witte, Jean Claude André, and Alain Le Mehaute jointly filed a patent for a similar technology. Both patents were abandoned, with General Electric saying the ‘latter lacked notable business potential’.

It was in 1984 that American inventor Charles Hull filed a patent for an ‘Apparatus for Production of Three-Dimensional Objects by Stereolithography’. He invented the STL file and founded 3D Systems three years later, in 1987.

Within the same decade, significant strides were made in the US 3D printing space, with patents filed for selective laser sintering (SLS) and fused deposition modeling (FDM). Desktop Manufacturing (DTM) Corp. and Stratasys were pioneering companies in the 3D printing space, founded around the same time.

After that, the industry transformed as rapid commercialization took hold of it. The first ‘3D printers’ were large and cost-intensive, with their makers competing to land contracts for industrial prototyping with large-scale automotive, consumer goods, health products, and aerospace manufacturers.

By 1987, 3D Systems had introduced the first commercial-grade SLA printer; in 1992, Stratasys and DTM released the first commercial FDM and SLS printers, respectively. The first metal 3D printer was introduced in 1994 by Electro Optical Systems (EOS), a German enterprise.

By the dawn of the new millennium, companies in the 3D printing space were competing fiercely for profits. Progress in materials science and the lapse of numerous patents increased the affordability of 3D printing.

Soon, thanks to the strides made in the 3D printing space, manufacturing processes were not exclusively owned by enterprises backed by heavy machinery and capital. Today, 3D printing has transformed into a cutting-edge solution for creating many different types of production components.

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How Does 3D Printing Work?

The ISO/ASTM 52900, related to the general principles and terminologies in additive manufacturing, categorizes 3D printing processes into seven distinct groups. Each type of 3D printing works a little differently.

The time taken to print a 3D object depends on the type of printing, the output size, the type of material, the desired quality, and the setup configuration. 3D printing can take anywhere from a few minutes to a few days.

The different types of 3D printing are:

1.

Powder bed fusion

In powder bed fusion (PBF), thermal energy, in the form of an electron beam or laser, selectively fuses specific areas of a powder bed to create layers. These layers are built on one another until a part is made.

PBF may include sintering or melting processes; however, the primary operation method remains the same. First, a recoating roller or blade places a fine layer of powder on the build platform. Next, the surface of the powder bed is scanned using a heat source. This source selectively increases particle temperature to bind specific areas.

Once the heat source scans a cross-section or layer, the platform descends to let the process be repeated for the next layer. The final output is a volume with fused parts, with the surrounding powder remaining unaffected. The platform then ascends to allow retrieval of the completed build. Powder bed fusion includes several standard printing methods, such as selective laser sintering (SLS) and direct metal laser sintering (DMLS).

SLS is regularly leveraged for manufacturing polymer parts for prototypes and functional components. SLS printing takes place with the powder bed as the sole support structure. The lack of additional support structures allows for the creation of complex geometries. However, produced parts often feature inner porosity and a grainy surface and generally require post-processing.

SLS is similar to selective laser melting (SLM), electron beam powder bed fusion (EBPBF), and direct metal laser sintering (DMLS). However, these processes are used for creating metal parts and rely on a laser for fusing powder particles, one layer at a time.

DMLS increases the temperature of the particles only up to the point of fusion, whereby they combine at a molecular level. On the other hand, SLM completely melts metal particles. Both these techniques are heat-intensive and thus require support structures. Once the process ends, the support structures are removed using CNC machining or manually. Parts are then thermally treated to address residual stresses during post-processing.

These metal 3D printing techniques create components with high-quality physical properties, sometimes even more robust than the base metal used. The surface finish is often excellent as well. In terms of material, these techniques can process metal superalloys and ceramics that can be hard to use in other processes. However, both DMLS and SLM are cost-intensive, and the system’s volume constrains the output size.

2. VAT photopolymerization

VAT photopolymerization can be split into two methodologies: digital light processing (DLP) and stereolithography (SLA). Both these processes create components one layer at a time by using a light source to selectively cure liquid material (usually resin) stored in a vat.

DLP works by ‘flashing’ an image of each complete layer onto the surface of the liquid in the vat. On the other hand, SLA relies on a single-point UV source or laser to cure the liquid. Excess resin has to be cleaned off the output once printing is completed, after which the item must be exposed to light to improve its strength further. Support structures, if any, will need to be removed post-processing, and one can further process the part to create a higher quality finish.

These methods are best-suited for output that requires high-level dimensional accuracy, as they can create intricately detailed items with an excellent finish. DLP and SLA are, therefore, well-suited for the production of prototypes.

However, these methods’ output is often brittle, making them less suited for functional prototypes. These parts’ color and mechanical properties are also likely to degrade in the sun’s UV light, making them unsuitable for outdoor use. Finally, support structures are often required and might leave blemishes, which one can remove through post-processing.

3. Binder jetting

Binder jetting works by depositing a fine layer of powdered material, such as polymer sand, ceramic, or metal, onto the build platform. After this, a print head deposits adhesive drops to bind these particles. The part is hence built layer by layer.

Metal parts must be thermally sintered or infiltrated with a metal that has a low melting point, such as bronze. Parts made of ceramic or full-color polymer can be saturated using a cyanoacrylate adhesive. Post-processing is generally required to finish the output.

Binder jetting has numerous applications, including large-scale ceramic molds, full-color prototypes, and 3D metal printing.

4. Material jetting

Material jetting is conceptually similar to inkjet printing. However, instead of inserting ink on paper, it uses one or more print heads to deposit layers of liquid material. Each layer is cured before the next layer is produced. While material jetting relies on support structures, they can be created using a water-soluble substance that is washable after the building is completed.

This highly precise process is well-suited for creating full-color parts using different material types. However, it is cost-intensive, and the output tends to be brittle and degradable.

5. Fused deposition modeling

In fused deposition modeling (FDM), a heated nozzle is used to feed a filament spool to an extrusion head. The extrusion head increases the temperature of the material, softening it before placing it in predetermined areas to cool. Once a material layer is created, the build platform descends and prepares for the next layer to be placed.

This process, also known as material extrusion, features low lead times and is cost-effective. However, its dimensional accuracy is low, and a smooth finish often requires post-processing. The output is also not well-suited for critical applications as it tends to be anisotropic, i.e., weaker in one direction.

6. Sheet lamination

Sheet lamination can be further classified into two technologies: ultrasonic additive manufacturing (UAM) and laminated object manufacturing (LOM). UAM has a low energy and temperature requirement and works by joining thin metal sheets using ultrasonic welding. It works with several metals, including stainless steel, titanium, and aluminum. On the other hand, LOM places layers of material and adhesive alternatively to create the final output.

7. Direct energy deposition

This technique uses a laser, electric arc, electron beam, or another form of focused thermal energy to fuse powder or wire feedstock as it is placed. The process takes place horizontally to create layers, which are then stacked vertically for part creation. It is suited for different material types, including ceramics, polymers, and metals.

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Top 7 3D Printing Software

The 3D printing space is heavily software-dependent, with programs required for everything from designing the output and slicing it into G-code to controlling the 3D printer. Let’s check out the top 3D printing software across applications.

1. MatterControl 2.0

This solution by MatterHackers is an all-in-one printer host, slicer, and CAD software for desktops. Users can create new models in the CAD section and slice them. Once the model is ready to print, MatterControl 2.0 can be used to directly monitor and control printing via a USB connection or over a Wi-Fi module.

The software features an intuitive interface and allows users to explore a collection of geometric primitives that users can import into the print. These primitives can be dragged into position on the standard triangle language (STL) file to be printed and designated as support structures.

MatterControl also gives users access to advanced print configurations, making it ideal for end-to-end design, support preparation, slicing, and control. Enterprise users can upgrade to MatterControl Pro for even more valuable features.

2. Tinkercad

This free, browser-based solution allows users to design printable 3D models and provides a starting place for practicing solid modeling. Its easy-to-use block-building feature enables users to form models using basic shapes.

Tinkercad has numerous guides and tutorials to help users create the desired designs, which can then be exported or shared easily. Its library gives users access to millions of files, allowing them to find and modify the required shape. Finally, it features direct integration with third-party printing services.

3. Blender

This free, open-source tool is well-suited for both newbies and advanced users. It is feature-rich and can be used for 3D modeling and sculpting, as well as for animation, rendering, simulation, video editing, and motion tracking. However, it has a steep learning curve.

4. UVTools

This open-source solution is a comprehensive resin printing suite, an excellent file viewer, and optimized for layer repair and manipulation for masked SLA. It is compatible with PrusaSlicer, giving users access to numerous third-party MSLA printer profiles.

Twin-stage motor control (TSMC) is a crucial feature of UVTools, enabling tiered print speeds for different movement parts for each layer. This reduces print time and boosts the likelihood of print success.

Finally, UVTools allows users to create a custom resin layer cure time calibration print for testing new resins and setting the appropriate configuration for different layer heights.

5. WebPrinter

This browser-based solution can be used to preview G-code without having to open the file in a full-capability slicer. Users simply need to upload the G-code file, and WebPrinter will show the tool pathing that the file will transmit to the 3D printer. It is a fast and simple method to view a potential 3D print output.

6. Ultimaker Cura

This open-source slicer is compatible with most modern 3D printers. Cura is well-suited for beginners as it is easy to use, swift, and intuitive. On the other hand, advanced users can leverage it to access 200 settings for refining prints.

7. Simplify3D

Simplify3D is a powerful slicing tool for enhancing 3D print quality. It slices CAD into layers, corrects model issues, and showcases a user preview of the final output. Its premium features are handy for enterprise heavy-use 3D printers.

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3D Printing Applications

Although 3D printing is not a recent invention, it has gained immense popularity in recent times across industries due to its newfound simplicity, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness.

The top applications of 3D printing are:

1. Construction

Construction is one of the significant applications of 3D printing. Concrete 3D printing has been explored since the 1990s as researchers sought a faster and cheaper way to construct structures. Specific applications of 3D printing in construction include additive welding, powder bonding (reactive bond, polymer bond, sintering), and extrusion (foam, wax, cement/concrete, polymers).

Today, large-scale 3D printers designed to print concrete are used to pour foundations and erect site walls. They are also capable of printing modular concrete sections for onsite assembly. These solutions allow for higher accuracy, more complexity, faster construction, and improved functional integration while lowering labor costs and minimizing waste.

In 2016, the first pedestrian bridge (12 meters long, 1.75 meters wide) was 3D printed in Spain using micro-reinforced concrete. A year later, the first fully 3D-printed residence was built in Russia. 600 wall elements were 3D-printed and assembled, after which, the roof and interiors were created for a total area of nearly 300 sq meters.

3D printing is also helpful in producing architectural-scale models. It is even being explored as a solution for constructing extraterrestrial habitats on the Moon or Mars, should the need ever arise.

2. Prototyping and manufacturing

In the case of traditional injection-molded prototyping, it can take weeks to produce a single mold that would cost up to hundreds of thousands of dollars. As established earlier in the article, the original purpose of 3D printing was faster and more efficient prototyping.

3D printing technology minimizes lead times in manufacturing, enabling prototyping to be completed within a few hours and at a small percentage of traditional costs. This makes it especially ideal for projects where users must upgrade the design with every iteration.

3D printing is also suitable for manufacturing products that do not need to be mass-produced or are usually customized. SLS and DMLS are used in the rapid manufacturing of final products, not just prototypes.

3. Healthcare

In healthcare, 3D printing creates prototypes for new product development in the medical and dental fields. In dentistry, 3D printing is also helpful in creating patterns for casting metal dental crowns and manufacturing tools for creating dental aligners.

The solution is also helpful for directly manufacturing knee and hip implants and other stock items and creating patient-specific items such as personalized prosthetics, hearing aids, and orthotic insoles. The possibility of 3D-printed surgical guides for particular operations and 3D-printed bone, skin, tissue, organs, and pharmaceuticals is being explored.

4. Aerospace

In aerospace, 3D printing is used for prototyping and product development. The solution is also critically helpful in aircraft development, as it helps researchers keep up with the strenuous requirements of R&D without compromising on the high industry standards. Certain non-critical or older aircraft components are 3D-printed for the flight!

5. Automotive

Automotive enterprises, especially those specializing in racing automobiles, such as those used in F1, leverage 3D printing for prototyping and manufacturing specific components. Organizations in this space are also exploring the possibility of using 3D printing to fulfill aftermarket demand by producing spare parts as customers require rather than stocking them up.

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Takeaway

The term ‘3D printing’ encompasses numerous technologies and processes that collectively offer a wide range of capabilities for producing components using various materials. The key similarity across 3D printing types is the additive layer-by-layer production process where no subtractive methodology, molding, or casting is required. Applications of 3D printing are rapidly emerging across industry verticals as the solution becomes more effective and affordable and penetrates deeply and widely across sectors.

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3d printers.

Overview of achievements in 2013 / Sudo Null IT News

Prostheses for humans and animals, 3D printing of space structures, food and shoes, improved printing accuracy, new materials, new software.
A bunch of projects on crowdfunding platforms.
Well, pistols, where would we be without them.

China, Japan, Australia, USA, Netherlands, Africa and Haiti, 3D printing seems to be everywhere in the world.
In 2014, 3D printing will go into space.
(Review of achievements in 3D printing 2012 here)
We read what we achieved for 2013 under the cut ( 54 photos ).

January

The Chinese printed a 5 -meter whole spare part for the aircraft from Titan

more pictures

The laser 3D printer

Technology of selective laser sintering in the action of

Parts smaller

are used, in which they are used by the detachable 3d printed

Hackerspace BioCurious offers a do-it-yourself bioprinter based on HP 5150 inkje

(the first inscription where instead of ink is "E. coli")

The European Space Agency is conducting experiments to build a shelter on the moon using a 3D printer


one and a half ton building block

February

A team of scientists from Scotland, for the first time, using a 3D printer, print three-dimensional tissue from stem cells

Article PDF

3D printed Urbee 2 is ready for production
change the way we make most things in a different way”

In February, there was a buzz with 3doodler, a 3D pencil that can “draw in the air”.
In just a few hours, they raised over a million dollars on Kickstarter. nine0003

Articles on Habré about this:
With the 3Doodler pen, you can draw three-dimensional objects directly in the air
Our answer is 3doodler. Assembled in 20 minutes
3Doodler is in a hurry to you! (Bonus: clone review)
In November, the "pencil" was delivered to Russia - the first (and last) review

Scientists printed an artificial ear

original article

Nike presented the world's first boots printed on a 3D printer

4D printing. Self-transforming objects

TED 4D Printing Video

March

The government of Singapore intends to invest $500 million in the development of the 3D printing industry.

3D printing makes it possible to create low-cost implants taking into account the anatomical features of patients

83-year-old inventor won $40,000 in a competition for his "do-it-yourself" extruder

April

Oxford University scientists say their 3D printer is capable of creating materials with some of the properties of living tissue0018

A 3D scanner capable of obtaining images from a distance of 1 km has been created

The Chinese government intends to invest $6.5M in the development of 3D printing technologies

GE prints fuel injectors for aircraft engines in two days

Printed ear capable of capturing radio frequencies

NASA awarded a $125K grant to develop a 3D food printer for astronauts who will fly into deep space

Saved life to the child, printing the trachea

NASA plans to send a 3D printer for the ISS in August 2014

The Japanese printed a carbon bunny the size of a

Chinese showed the largest detail for a combat aircraft, printed on 3D Printing Printing Printing Personnel 9000

June

British government invests £14. 7m in 3D printing projects

'artificial bone' made from polymers 22 times stronger than composite component

Microsoft built support for 3D printers in Windows 8.1

A foot was printed for a wounded duck

July

MIT develops software that makes it easier to work with composite materials

British children will learn robotics and 3D printing from the age of 5
Telegraph article

August

3D printed rocket engine passed NASA test, which was the starting point for many innovations to reduce the cost of spare parts production

Melbourne scientists have proposed a technology that allows you to grow your own cartilage for the knee joint from stem cells using a 3D printer

MIT scientists have developed a lightweight structure, the smallest details of which can be 3D printed and assembled like a Lego constructor. The intended use is in the construction of aircraft, spacecraft, dams and bridges.

The world's first full-scale architectural installation Echoviren

September

Breakthrough technology - printing with dissimilar materials, both organic and inorganic materials: ceramics, metal, plastic and even biological cells

Developers from Disney introduced software that will allow you to create and print mechanical toys on a 3D printer

$100 3D printer - The Peachy Printer0003

Scientists from the Netherlands using a 3D scanner and 3D printer created reproductions of paintings by Rembrandt and Van Gogh

October

UK provides £500K grant to equip 60 schools with 3D printers

HP plans to enter the 3D printing market in mid-2014

Scientists have discovered that natural components (vitamin B2) can be used in the 3D printing process to create implants

Haiti has a 3D printer

Microsoft came up with a technology that can turn any smartphone into a 3D scanner

November

A program for encrypting 3D models was released

Gelatin bioink for printing organs

The world's first fully metal 3D printer 9008

Scientists printed 20 layers of liver tissue that lived for 40 days0003

Desktop metal 3D printer

Progress in the manufacture of lithium-ion batteries using 3D printers.


Batteries can now be smaller than a grain of sand and thinner than a human hair. They can be used in implants and insect robots.

December

$1,500 metal 3D printer

BioPen surgical 3D printer lets you "print" tissue during surgery

Epson President: "There is no big future for plastic 3D printing at home"

Steel 3D printing - a quick guide / Sudo Null IT News .

Any metal 3D printing technology can print with steel.This is the most popular material.But what grades of steel and what technology is best for your needs?Will printed steel parts really be as strong and durable as traditionally made parts? way?

Let's see how a 3D printed steel part is revolutionizing manufacturing and opening doors to new applications in aerospace, medical equipment, automotive, tool making, heavy industry, architecture and more. In addition, more affordable desktop printers are expanding the scope and scope of real steel 3D printed parts.

Strength of steel printed parts. nine0240 Cast steel part (left), 3D printed version (center). On the right, a fully 3D printed hinge requires no assembly. (Source: Desktop Metal)

The most common question when it comes to a 3D printed metal model is "Will it be as strong as a forged or cast part?" ?". The short answer is yes... and no.

3D printed steel parts can be just as strong, and sometimes even stronger, than traditionally made ones. It depends on many factors such as: end use, type of steel, choice of 3D printing method, post-processing and shape of the part. Also, the comparison depends on which of the strength characteristics you focus on: tensile strength, static load strength, fatigue strength, etc. nine0018

Printed steel parts are used in the aerospace industry, the military, and for example the footbridge shown below. Therefore, the strength of printed products is beyond doubt, but let's take a closer look.

Queen Maxima of the Netherlands officially opens a 3D printed metal bridge. Photo by Adriaande Groot (Source: MX3D)

A 3D printed or laser powder sintered (LPBF) steel part has a finer grain structure than cast metal products. This provides better tensile strength characteristics, but in other respects the cast parts are currently still stronger. Most often, LPBF 3D printing is used to replace cast components, but in some cases, 3D printed components can replace forged parts. nine0018

One study showed that, under certain conditions, stainless steel parts made using LPBF 3D printers were three times stronger than parts made from the same steel using the traditional method.

In experiments comparing 3D printed steel parts to traditionally made steel parts, researchers create identical parts using two methods and compare their performance. However, head-to-head comparison of details is only part of the big picture. nine0018

The main advantage of printing with steel is not only its strength, but also the unique ability to create internal channels and lattice fillings in parts, which is impossible using traditional manufacturing methods. Metal 3D printing makes it possible to produce parts faster than traditional production, since this method does not require the use of special equipment and tools, it allows you to create assemblies as a whole, eliminating the need for subsequent assembly and welding. Designing a printed part usually means that less metal is needed to make it, and therefore less weight, for the same strength. nine0018 MX3D Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM) printed steel architectural support (Source: MX3D)

Steel 3D printing is also more stable and cost effective as it reduces waste. When using subtractive manufacturing methods, such as CNC machining, you make a part by cutting it out of a large one, with a lot of waste. With additive manufacturing, you only use the material you need to make the finished product. nine0018

Steel 3D printing is not intended to replace traditional methods in all areas, but it may be a better choice for a wide range of applications. Particularly when the required parts are unique and designed for specific applications, such as rocket engines, racing cars or the oil and gas industry. 3D printing is the fastest and most flexible technology for mass production and prototype production. For military and industrial applications, steel 3D printing is a faster and more efficient way to create individual parts for vehicles and machines. Stainless steel 3D printing is rapidly finding applications in medicine to create unique surgical instruments and implants. nine0018

If you know what characteristics your final product should have (tensile strength, compressive strength, hardness, density, etc.), then all these parameters can be incorporated into the product at the production stage.

Types of steel for 3D printing

Metal powder is the most used metal material for 3D printing (Source: GKN Additive)

There are thousands of different grades of steels and alloys with different mechanical properties, used in traditional manufacturing but in 3D printing there are only a few dozen of them, and some of them are unique, created specifically for this technology. Among the steel options, the following can be distinguished:

  • Stainless steel (316L, 304L , 17-4PH, 15-5PH, 420, 254, Ph2, GP1, 630, 410).

  • Tool steel (D2, M2, h23, h21, MS1, 1.2709).

  • Low alloy steel (4140).

  • Structural alloyed (20MnCr5).

Recently, unique alloys have been developed specifically for 3D printing, designed to solve the problems that occur with classical production methods. nine0018

For example, 3D printer manufacturer Desktop Metal released a patented stainless steel in 2022 that the company says combines the tensile strength, ductility, and corrosion resistance of 13-8 PH stainless steel, combined with the hardness low alloy steel like 4140. The company says customers can go to market with this material and skip the galvanizing step to protect products from corrosion.

ExOne offers two special blends of steel and bronze that the company says allows 3D printed steel parts to gain increased corrosion resistance while being easy to machine and polish. nine0018

While most of the metal powders used in 3D printing are similar to those used for other manufacturing methods, their numbers are on the rise as more companies adopt the technology. Some metal powder manufacturers, such as GKN, also make custom powders for specific 3D printing applications.

How to print with steel

The strength, properties, and applications of 3D printed steel products largely depend on which 3D printing technology you use. Some methods produce stronger parts, other methods provide better hardness or abrasion resistance, and some technologies are simply very fast. nine0018

Below are the main metal 3D printing methods, their properties and some of the most common application examples.

FDM printing

BCN3D's Epsilon printer extrudes metal filament from stainless steel (Source: BCN3D) as more printer manufacturers certify metallic filaments for use on their printers, such as Ultimaker, BCN3D, Makerbot, Raise3D. Raise3D has recently released a complete metal printing suite - Metalfuse (3D printer, debinding oven and sintering oven). This method is still much more popular for printing plastics, but with new plastic filaments filled with stainless steel powder, strong metal parts can be produced. nine0018

FDM media was once limited to thermoplastics. Companies like BASF Forward AM and The Virtual Foundry now offer metal filaments that can be used on almost any FDM printer as long as it has a hardened steel nozzle for abrasive media.

These materials are approximately 80% metal and 20% plastic. After printing, the post-processing process removes the plastic, resulting in 100% metal parts. nine0018

Due to the removal of the bonding plastic, FDM metal parts shrink during post-processing. The amount of shrinkage is constant and can be taken into account in CAD systems, which allows to obtain relatively accurate finished parts.

Forward AM's 316L Stainless Steel Ultrafuse filament produces finished parts with material properties that the company claims are comparable to injection molded metal parts. nine0018 (Source: BCN3D)

While 3D printing with metallic materials may not be suitable for high strength applications such as aerospace, the economics of producing simple metal components without critical loads on an affordable FDM printer can outweigh the impossibility of applying them in some areas.

Metal prototype parts and finished parts that will not be subjected to extreme stress are ideal uses for this technology. nine0018

Bound Metal Deposition (BMD)

Desktop Metal's Studio System 3D printer used bonded metal bars that were extruded layer by layer to form a metal part (Source: Desktop Metal)

Similar to FDM, Metal mesh deposition method (BMD) or bonded powder extrusion (BPE) is a 3D printing process based on extrusion. This method uses bonded metal rods or bonded powdered metal filaments, which consist of a much higher percentage of metal powder than the filaments used in FDM. As with FDM, post-treatment to remove the binder and heat treatment in a final sintering oven are required. nine0018

There are only a few 3D printers using this method such as Desktop Metal, Markforged and more recently 3DGence, but more companies are entering this market, so stay tuned. These printers are valued as a convenient solution for office 3D metal printing, they are more expensive than most FDM printers, but cheaper than the powder-based metal 3D printing technologies described below.

These printers use their own proprietary filament. Desktop Metal and Markforged offer four types of steel. nine0018

Ideal niches for this technology are metal prototype parts, where it is necessary to test the functionality of the part before mass production using traditional methods. Popular applications are molds, punching dies, nozzles, impellers, fasteners and heat exchangers.

For example, Shukla Medical uses Markforged's Metal X printer to print steel prototypes of its orthopedic implant removal tools. nine0018

Laser powder sintering.

Laser powder sintering technology uses one or more lasers to melt powdered metal into a desired shape layer by layer (Source: GE Additive) metal printing. This technology is used by 80% of all metal 3D printers on the market.

This method uses powerful lasers to selectively sinter metal powder layer by layer. nine0018

LPBF 3D printers are available in a wide range of sizes, prices and laser powers. These and other characteristics affect the properties of the finished part, print speed and other parameters of the finished products.

Steel and steel alloys are the most popular material for LPBF equipment and, unlike FDM and BMD, metal powders are commercially available as they are most commonly used in traditional production methods.

LPBF is a technology that maximizes the quality of a 3D printed part. Applications include aerospace components such as monolithic thrust chambers, rocket engine components and heat exchangers, molds, tools and other applications, as well as high wear parts and surgical instruments. nine0018

Binder Jetting

Binder 3D printing technology uses powdered metal and a binder to form metal parts (Sorrce: ExOne) binder, and not with a laser. During post-processing, the binder is removed.

Binder application stands out for its high printing speed compared to other 3D printing methods or traditional manufacturing, and metal parts made with this technology have material properties equivalent to those made by metal injection molding. nine0018

The number of manufacturers producing metal-bonded inkjet 3D printers is much smaller than that of LPBF machines. Leading manufacturers include ExOne, Desktop Metal, Digital Metal, GE Additive and HP.

Binder blasting is ideal for medium to high volume production of metal tools and spare parts.

In fact, HP claims that its Metal Jet 3D printer was designed specifically for mass production of 316L stainless steel products. HP has partnered with Parmatech to produce metal parts for the medical industry. Pennsylvania-based ExOne uses this technology to manufacture hard metal cutting tools and tool steels. nine0018

Electron Beam Melting (EBM)

(Source: GE Additive)

Electron Beam Melting (EBM) is another powder cladding technology. It works in a similar way to selective laser melting (SLM), but instead of using a laser as the energy source, it uses a much more powerful beam of charged particles.

The recoater moves the powder onto the printing plate and an electron beam selectively melts each layer of powder. After each layer is printed, the plate is lowered and another one is applied on top of the previous layer. nine0018

EBM can be much faster than SLM, but SLM produces smoother and more accurate pieces. The electron beam is wider than the laser beam, so EBM cannot produce the same precise parts as SLM. Another difference is that the manufacturing process takes place in a vacuum chamber, which reduces the amount of impurities in the material that can lead to defects. That is why EBM is often chosen for printing components for the aerospace, automotive, defense, petrochemical and medical implant industries. nine0018

Titanium is the most popular metal for most EBM applications, however steel can be used.

Cold Spray

(Source: Impact Innovations)

Cold spray 3D printing is done by injecting metal powders through a jet nozzle into a supersonic stream of pressurized gases such as air, nitrogen, or helium. The process is called "cold" because the metal particles do not melt, but hit the metal substrate and adhere to its surface during the so-called plastic deformation. nine0018

Cold spray printed products are not prone to porosity, thermal cracking and other defects associated with melt-based technologies. This method has several advantages over other production methods. The technology is used in the military and aerospace industries around the world. For example, the US Army uses cold spray to repair the mounts of a worn Bradley 25mm steel turret gun.

In the automotive industry, cold spray steel is used for crash repairs because the high strength steel substrates in cars can be susceptible to thermal repair methods such as welding. nine0018

Direct Energy Deposition (DED) and Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM)

WAAM Steel Parts from MX3D (Source: MX3D)

Direct Energy Deposition (DED) uses welding powder or wire that enters through a nozzle and is fed into the power source to melt the metal. A melt region is created and applied to the substrate. DED is a new process, reminiscent of an old building technology known as "cladding", in which a coating is applied to a substrate, often for thermal insulation or weather resistance. DED is useful for fabricating large objects as a whole, as well as complex geometries that require extensive machining. DED can get such parts much closer to finished than traditional CNC machining. nine0018

Because DED uses a coating process, it can be used to add complex geometries to existing steel parts, thus combining complexity with cost reduction. For example, the French company AddUp advertises a rocket nozzle that uses a preformed large 304 stainless steel hopper cone printed with an isogrid structure, usually made from a larger piece by traditional methods.

A technology related to DED is wire-arc additive manufacturing (WAAM). Instead of powder, WAAM uses a metal wire that is melted by an electric arc. The process is controlled by robotic arms. WAAM is also capable of producing large-sized metal parts, as demonstrated by the Dutch company MX3D and its nine thousand-pound 41-foot stainless steel bridge in Amsterdam, as well as an oil and gas equipment repair part, proving that parts can be made in the field. nine0018

Micro 3D printing

Micro parts printed from steel (Source: 3D MicroPrint)

Micro scale additive manufacturing, or micro 3D printing, can produce products with a resolution of a few microns (or less). There are three micro 3D printing methods to produce metal parts.

LMM (lithography-based metal fabrication) is a light-based technology that creates tiny parts from raw materials, including stainless steel, for applications such as surgical instruments and micro-mechanical parts. nine0018

Electrochemical deposition is the latest micrometal 3D printing process developed by the Swiss company Exaddon. In this process, the printing nozzle applies liquid with metal ions, creating details at the atomic level.

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