The 3d printing handbook epub

How to design for 3D printing ebook by Bitfab (free 3D printing ebook)

A compact ebook with tips and information on how to learn to design parts that can be 3D printed.

• What is 3D printing?
• What parts can be produced with 3D printing?
• How are 3D printed parts priced?
• Lot of tips and guidelines on how to design 3D printable parts
• How to optimize my design for appearance or strength

Do you want to design 3D printable parts? You don’t have a lot of time? This book is for you

What am I going to learn?

This book is for you if you already can design 3D models or you are currently learning to do 3D design. You can use any 3D design software to apply the information in this book, any 3D modelling or CAD program can export files for 3D printing.

A short introduction to FDM 3D printing will introduce you to the basic concepts of the process so you can understand how your parts will be produced. Then you have a collection of tips, rules and guidelines to  help you adapt your designs to be 3D printable.

You don’t need a lot of time to learn the content of this book. You’ll find that we have used a lot of images to clarify the concepts and make the content easier to grasp.

This is the perfect source if you need to quickly adapt your 3D modelling skills to start designing 3D printable parts.

Table of contents

• Basics of FDM 3D printing
  • What is FDM 3D printing
  • Applications of 3D printing
  • 3D printing for manufacturing
  • Understanding the FDM process
  • How FDM parts are priced
  • Design software

• Design guidelines for FDM 3D printing
  • Part size
  • Part tolerance
  • Walls
  • Holes, pins and small sections
  • Embossed and engraved details
  • Overhangs and bridges

• Printing orientation
  • Printing orientation and part finish
  • Printing orientation and part strength

Content sample: Part size

Maximum part dimensions: 400 x 300 x 300 millimetres (X, Y, Z axis)

Bigger parts can be printed on demand or spit in several print jobs.

Small parts. Small parts less than 20 x 20 x 20  millimetres can be hard to print with FDM technology.

Such small parts should have simple geometries in order to be printable.

Large parts costs. Since the volume increases rapidly when scaling the part dimensions (volume increases with the cube of the length) very large parts are expensive to produce.

When printing large parts we can offer costs optimizations such as large nozzles, higher layer heights, etc.

80% rule. To reduce the part volume to approximately half, scale the part to 80% of the original dimensions.

This is a measure to reduce costs of parts that can be scaled without affecting functionality (not very common in engineering parts).

More sample pages

You still need your 3D parts printed!

We are Bitfab, a 3D printing service with 6 years experience printing 3D parts. We can produce FDM, SLA and SLS parts for you and help you take advantage of the the benefits of 3D printing for your business.

Leave us a message

This book is open source, like a lot of the work we do at Bitfab. You can use the content, images, 3D models… All of them are published under a Creative Commons Attribution license in the project repo.

Technologies, design and applications (PDF) PDF

Written by Ben Redwood, Filemon Schöffer & Brian Garret 3D Hubs B.V. Amsterdam, The Netherlands Book design by Multitude Photography by Ken Giang (3D Hubs) unless source is stated Infographics by Tom Debicki (3D Hubs) Book printed by Coers & Roest © 3D Hubs B.V. 2017 3D Hubs is the world’s largest network of manufacturing services. With production facilities connected in over 160 countries, the 3D Hubs online platform helps you find the fastest and most price competitive manufacturing solution near you. Founded in 2013, the network has since produced more than 1,000,000 parts locally, making it the global leader in distributed manufacturing. This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the 3D Hubs B.V., whether the whole or part of the material is concerned. Specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. Reproduction of this publication or parts thereof is permitted only under the exemptions as provided for in the Dutch Copyright Act (Auteurswet), in its current version, and permission for use must always be obtained from 3D Hubs B.V. While the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication, neither the authors nor the editors nor the publisher can accept any legal responsibility for any errors or omissions that may be made. 3D Hubs B.V. takes no warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein. 3D Hubs B.V. has made extensive efforts to trace all copyright owners of the images used in this Work, however with respect to a few images the author could not be traced. If you believe that you own the copyrights vested in an image used in this Work, and 3D Hubs B.V. has not yet been in touch with you, please contact 3D Hubs B.V. Credits This book would not be nearly as complete without the dedication and contributions of an incredible amount of industry experts, manufacturers and above all our 3D Hubs community from all around the world. First and foremost, a huge thank you to the people who gave their time to review and provide feedback on the text in this book; Michael Molitch-Hou (Engineering.com), Sarah Goehrke (3Dprint.com), Bill Artley (Print Form), Alan Nguyen (Space Junk Co), Dr. Joshua M. Pearce (Michigan Tech), Richard Smith (Oxford University), Andreas Bastian (Autodesk), Erik de Bruijn (Ultimaker), Florian van der Horst (Oceanz), Chris Mcaloney (Proto3000), Tobias Tuffentsammer (ExOne), and Dr. Hisham Alkabie (EQT Aerospace & Defence). For their expert contributions as authors; thanks to Courtney Armstrong on designing for SLA/DLP, Perry Cain on layer height and support for FFF, James Low on snap fit connections, Ben Hudson on designing for FFF, Alkaios Varotsis for his clarifications on the differences between desktop and industrial FFF printing, Diederik van der Steen on post processing and desktop vs. Industrial SLA/DLP, Stefan Holdinga on designing for SLS, Chris McAloney on designing for Material Jetting, Martin Petrak on designing for DMLS/SLM, John Wall on enclosure design, Bill Artley on applications in automotive, Thomas van de Hout on topology optimization, Joris Peelz for his ever available expertize, Jack Davies for his contribution on reverse engineering & CAD software, Robin Brockötter on surface modeling and George Fisher-Wilson for his 3D printing case studies. Many thanks also goes to the following companies who provided us with the world-class case studies for Part 3 of this book; Ultimaker & Volkswagen AutoEuropa and PEAK Industries for applications in FFF. Formlabs and EnvisionTec for SLA / DLP, Paul Kohlhaussen Design and Rehook for SLS, Mark Thielen & Eindhoven University and Vitaly Bulgarov & Factor 31 for Material Jetting, ExOne for Binder Jetting, Concept Laser and Thomas van de Hout for their DMLS / SLM case studies. Special thanks must go to the awesome 3D Hubs team for tirelessly proofreading version after version and continuously pointing out improvements along the way. Tom Debicki for creating the design concept of the book, creating hundreds of versions of illustrations and all the infographics, and Ken Giang for the world class photography. We couldn’t have done it without you. Also special thank you to Bram de Zwart for creating the space within 3D Hubs to write this book and for supporting us every step of the way. And finally, a big thanks goes to the design team from Multitude for helping us bring this project from a concept into reality and getting this book to production with no compromise on quality. Table of Contents Foreword Introduction Part One: 3D Printing Technologies and Materials Chapter 01: Overview of 3D Printing Chapter 02: Material extrusion — FFF Chapter 03: VAT Polymerization — SLA/DLP Chapter 04: Powder Bed Fusion (Polymers)— SLS Chapter 05: Material Jetting — Material Jetting, DOD Chapter 06: Binder Jetting Chapter 07: Powder Bed Fusion (Metals) — DMLS/SLM, EBM Chapter 08: Decision making tools Part Two: Designing for 3D Printing Chapter 09: General design considerations for 3D printing Chapter 10: Description of 3D printed features Chapter 11: Designing for FFF Chapter 12: Designing for SLA / DLP Chapter 13: Designing for SLS Chapter 14: Designing for Material Jetting Chapter 15: Designing for Binder Jetting Chapter 16: Designing for DMLS/SLM Chapter 17: Design rules summary table Part Three: Applications of 3D Printing Chapter 18: Tools for producing 3D designs Chapter 19: Applications of FFF Chapter 20: Applications of SLA/DLP Chapter 21: Applications of SLS Chapter 22: Applications of Material Jetting Chapter 23: Applications of Binder Jetting Chapter 24: Applications of DMLS/SLM Index Foreword It is the summer of 2001 in Cupertino, California, I stare at a lump of foam, some lego-like mechanical elements and an assortment of electrical components scattered across a desk. My task was a tough one; to create the first prototype of a new product I had been contracted to design for Apple. The project brief was to create a device that could be a modern day Sony Walkman for the MP3 generation. It took hard work, dozens of design iterations and lots of foam but it was complete. The creation that would go on to become the first iPod prototype, and a decade of various future iPod incarnations which ultimately grew up to become the iPhone. When creating new products you’re always looking to make something that’s much better, visibly and functionally, than what’s available. Whether it’s hardware or software that you’re designing, at the core of it is the drive to create something new, disruptive, and emotional. With real innovation comes the need to prototype; if it’s not been done before, your first attempt is probably not going to be the one you run to the market with. Iteration is key. The way in which prototypes are designed, produced and modified has come a long way since creating that first iPod at Apple. Readily available and affordable prototyping via 3D printing is now a reality. The speed in which you can generate ideas into physical objects is now faster than it has ever been. We live in a world full of tools and resources that allow us to create and innovate with ease. The next step is to apply these resources as forces of disruption and change. This really hits home the importance of 3D printing and how it can work for anyone involved in designing or manufacturing physical objects. Innovative and complex product design needs prototyping. It takes time but in the end these are the tools that allow you to make those big decisions. Everything we were doing at Apple, back then, was brand new to the world of technology, which meant we had to continually evolve to find the right path. Part of this evolution set the foundation for others to adopt and improve the technology we developed later on. “The Handbook” will help to guide you on your own path as you look to leverage 3D printing and its potential to create your own breakthrough products, that hopefully will change the world. Every designer and engineer should keep it close as it paves your way into new manufacturing technologies that will spur your creativity and unlock your ideas as they become reality. Creation is changing, manufacturing is changing and design is changing, turn the page it’s time to stay ahead… Tony Fadell Creator of the iPod and founder of Nest Introduction As an engineer, often the most important consideration when designing parts for production is the method of manufacturing. A design can be produced via a range of manufacturing techniques with each having their own associated strengths and weaknesses. The purpose of this introduction is to identify where 3D printing sits as a method of manufacturing relative to more traditional processes, like CNC, injection molding and casting. This section will outline the most common manufacturing methods and conclude with an overview of the general 3D printing process. A detailed explanation of manufacturing technologies other than of 3D printing is outside the scope of this book. Classification of manufacturing techniques Most manufacturing techniques can be categorized into 3 groups. At the simplest level these groups can be defined as: · Formative manufacturing: best suited for high volume production of the same part, requiring a large initial investment in tooling (molds) but then being able to produce parts quickly and at a very low unit price. · Subtractive manufacturing: lies in between formative and additive, being best suited for parts with relatively simple geometries, produced at low-mid volumes, that are typically made from functional materials (particularly metal). · Additive manufacturing: best suited for low volume, complex designs that formative or subtractive methods are unable to produce, or when a unique one-off rapid prototype is required. Formative (injection molding, casting, stamping and forging) Formative manufacturing typically forms material into the desired shape via heat and pressure. The raw material can be melted down and extruded under pressure into a mold (injection molding/die casting), melted and then poured into a mold (casting) or pressed or pulled into the desired shape (stamping/vacuum forming/forging). Formative techniques produce parts from a large range of materials (both metals and plastics). For high volume production of parts, formative manufacturing is often unrivaled in cost. The main limitation of formative manufacturing is the need to produce a tool (mold or die) to form the part. Tooling is often expensive and complicated to produce, increasing lead times and delaying the manufacturing of a part. This large upfront investment is why formative manufacturing is generally only cost effective at high volumes. The design of formative tooling is also complex with the need for mold features like spurs or runners to assist in the formation of parts. Parts that are produced via formative manufacturing also have design constraints like draft angles and uniform wall thickness to aid in the forming process. Subtractive (CNC, turning, drilling) Subtractive manufacturing begins with a block of solid material (blank), and utilizes cutting tools to remove (machine) material to achieve a final shape. CNC milling, turning (lathe) and machine operations like drilling and cutting are all examples of subtractive techniques. Subtractive manufacturing is capable of producing highly accurate parts with excellent surface finish. Almost every material is able to be machined in some way. For majority of designs, subtractive manufacturing is the most cost effective method of production. Subtractive manufacturing is limited by a number of factors. Most designs require Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM) to plot tool paths and efficient material removal. This adds time and cost to the overall process. Tool access must also be considered when designing parts for subtractive manufacturing as the cutting tool must be able to reach all surfaces to remove material. While machines like 5-axis CNC eliminate some of these restrictions, complex parts will need to be re-orientated during the machining process, further increasing cost and lead time. Subtractive manufacturing is also generally considered a wasteful process, due to the large amounts of material that is often removed to produce the final part geometry. Additive (3D printing) Additive manufacturing (more commonly known as 3D printing) is the process of additively building up a part one layer at a time. There are a range of 3D printing technologies with each having their own benefits and limitations and each being able to print parts from different materials. Parts can be produced in almost any geometry, which is one of the core strengths of 3D printing (even though there are still rules that must be followed per technology). Also, 3D printing does not rely on expensive tooling having essentially no start up costs. The advantage of this is the rapid verification and development of prototypes and low- volume production parts. One of the biggest limitations of 3D printing is the inability to produce parts with material properties equivalent to those made via subtractive or formative techniques. Most 3D printing technologies produce parts that are inherently anisotropic or not fully dense. 3D printing also has limitations on repeatability, meaning parts will often have slight variations due to differential cooling or warping during curing. Cost comparison Cost is often the governing factor behind how a part will be manufactured. Figure 0.2 gives a general insight into how the cost of manufacturing (cost per part) varies based on the amount of parts being produced. The 3D printing process While there are many different 3D printing technologies, the following section will focus on the general process from design to final part. Although each method of 3D printing produces parts in a different way, these 5 core steps are constant across all technologies. 1. Producing a 3D file Producing a digital model is the first step in the 3D printing process. The most common method for producing a digital model (Figure 0.3) is Computer Aided Design (CAD). Reverse engineering can also be used to generate a digital model via 3D scanning. Both CAD modeling and reverse engineering are discussed in Chapter 18 of this book.There are several design considerations that must be evaluated when designing for 3D printing. These generally focus on feature geometry limitations, support material and escape hole requirements. Designing parts for 3D printing is discussed in Part 2 of this book.

347 Pages·2017·31.16 MB·English

by Ben Redwood, Filemon Schöffer, Brian Garret

#3d printing #3d print

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Written by Ben Redwood, Filemon Schöffer & Brian Garret 3D Hubs B.V. Amsterdam, The Netherlands Book design by Multitude Photography by Ken Giang (3D Hubs) unless source is stated Infographics by Tom Debicki (3D Hubs) Book printed by Coers & Roest © 3D Hubs B.V. 2017 3D Hubs is the world’s largest network of manufacturing services. With production facilities connected in over 160 countries, the 3D Hubs online platform helps you find the fastest and most price competitive manufacturing solution near you. Founded in 2013, the network has since produced more than 1,000,000 parts locally, making it the global leader in distributed manufacturing. This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the 3D Hubs B.V., whether the whole or part of the material is concerned. Specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. Reproduction of this publication or parts thereof is permitted only under the exemptions as provided for in the Dutch Copyright Act (Auteurswet), in its current version, and permission for use must always be obtained from 3D Hubs B.V. While the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication, neither the authors nor the editors nor the publisher can accept any legal responsibility for any errors or omissions that may be made. 3D Hubs B.V. takes no warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein. 3D Hubs B.V. has made extensive efforts to trace all copyright owners of the images used in this Work, however with respect to a few images the author could not be traced. If you believe that you own the copyrights vested in an image used in this Work, and 3D Hubs B.V. has not yet been in touch with you, please contact 3D Hubs B.V. Credits This book would not be nearly as complete without the dedication and contributions of an incredible amount of industry experts, manufacturers and above all our 3D Hubs community from all around the world. First and foremost, a huge thank you to the people who gave their time to review and provide feedback on the text in this book; Michael Molitch-Hou (Engineering.com), Sarah Goehrke (3Dprint.com), Bill Artley (Print Form), Alan Nguyen (Space Junk Co), Dr. Joshua M. Pearce (Michigan Tech), Richard Smith (Oxford University), Andreas Bastian (Autodesk), Erik de Bruijn (Ultimaker), Florian van der Horst (Oceanz), Chris Mcaloney (Proto3000), Tobias Tuffentsammer (ExOne), and Dr. Hisham Alkabie (EQT Aerospace & Defence). For their expert contributions as authors; thanks to Courtney Armstrong on designing for SLA/DLP, Perry Cain on layer height and support for FFF, James Low on snap fit connections, Ben Hudson on designing for FFF, Alkaios Varotsis for his clarifications on the differences between desktop and industrial FFF printing, Diederik van der Steen on post processing and desktop vs. Industrial SLA/DLP, Stefan Holdinga on designing for SLS, Chris McAloney on designing for Material Jetting, Martin Petrak on designing for DMLS/SLM, John Wall on enclosure design, Bill Artley on applications in automotive, Thomas van de Hout on topology optimization, Joris Peelz for his ever available expertize, Jack Davies for his contribution on reverse engineering & CAD software, Robin Brockötter on surface modeling and George Fisher-Wilson for his 3D printing case studies. Many thanks also goes to the following companies who provided us with the world-class case studies for Part 3 of this book; Ultimaker & Volkswagen AutoEuropa and PEAK Industries for applications in FFF. Formlabs and EnvisionTec for SLA / DLP, Paul Kohlhaussen Design and Rehook for SLS, Mark Thielen & Eindhoven University and Vitaly Bulgarov & Factor 31 for Material Jetting, ExOne for Binder Jetting, Concept Laser and Thomas van de Hout for their DMLS / SLM case studies. Special thanks must go to the awesome 3D Hubs team for tirelessly proofreading version after version and continuously pointing out improvements along the way. Tom Debicki for creating the design concept of the book, creating hundreds of versions of illustrations and all the infographics, and Ken Giang for the world class photography. We couldn’t have done it without you. Also special thank you to Bram de Zwart for creating the space within 3D Hubs to write this book and for supporting us every step of the way. And finally, a big thanks goes to the design team from Multitude for helping us bring this project from a concept into reality and getting this book to production with no compromise on quality. Table of Contents Foreword Introduction Part One: 3D Printing Technologies and Materials Chapter 01: Overview of 3D Printing Chapter 02: Material extrusion — FFF Chapter 03: VAT Polymerization — SLA/DLP Chapter 04: Powder Bed Fusion (Polymers)— SLS Chapter 05: Material Jetting — Material Jetting, DOD Chapter 06: Binder Jetting Chapter 07: Powder Bed Fusion (Metals) — DMLS/SLM, EBM Chapter 08: Decision making tools Part Two: Designing for 3D Printing Chapter 09: General design considerations for 3D printing Chapter 10: Description of 3D printed features Chapter 11: Designing for FFF Chapter 12: Designing for SLA / DLP Chapter 13: Designing for SLS Chapter 14: Designing for Material Jetting Chapter 15: Designing for Binder Jetting Chapter 16: Designing for DMLS/SLM Chapter 17: Design rules summary table Part Three: Applications of 3D Printing Chapter 18: Tools for producing 3D designs Chapter 19: Applications of FFF Chapter 20: Applications of SLA/DLP Chapter 21: Applications of SLS Chapter 22: Applications of Material Jetting Chapter 23: Applications of Binder Jetting Chapter 24: Applications of DMLS/SLM Index Foreword It is the summer of 2001 in Cupertino, California, I stare at a lump of foam, some lego-like mechanical elements and an assortment of electrical components scattered across a desk. My task was a tough one; to create the first prototype of a new product I had been contracted to design for Apple. The project brief was to create a device that could be a modern day Sony Walkman for the MP3 generation. It took hard work, dozens of design iterations and lots of foam but it was complete. The creation that would go on to become the first iPod prototype, and a decade of various future iPod incarnations which ultimately grew up to become the iPhone. When creating new products you’re always looking to make something that’s much better, visibly and functionally, than what’s available. Whether it’s hardware or software that you’re designing, at the core of it is the drive to create something new, disruptive, and emotional. With real innovation comes the need to prototype; if it’s not been done before, your first attempt is probably not going to be the one you run to the market with. Iteration is key. The way in which prototypes are designed, produced and modified has come a long way since creating that first iPod at Apple. Readily available and affordable prototyping via 3D printing is now a reality. The speed in which you can generate ideas into physical objects is now faster than it has ever been. We live in a world full of tools and resources that allow us to create and innovate with ease. The next step is to apply these resources as forces of disruption and change. This really hits home the importance of 3D printing and how it can work for anyone involved in designing or manufacturing physical objects. Innovative and complex product design needs prototyping. It takes time but in the end these are the tools that allow you to make those big decisions. Everything we were doing at Apple, back then, was brand new to the world of technology, which meant we had to continually evolve to find the right path. Part of this evolution set the foundation for others to adopt and improve the technology we developed later on. “The Handbook” will help to guide you on your own path as you look to leverage 3D printing and its potential to create your own breakthrough products, that hopefully will change the world. Every designer and engineer should keep it close as it paves your way into new manufacturing technologies that will spur your creativity and unlock your ideas as they become reality. Creation is changing, manufacturing is changing and design is changing, turn the page it’s time to stay ahead… Tony Fadell Creator of the iPod and founder of Nest Introduction As an engineer, often the most important consideration when designing parts for production is the method of manufacturing. A design can be produced via a range of manufacturing techniques with each having their own associated strengths and weaknesses. The purpose of this introduction is to identify where 3D printing sits as a method of manufacturing relative to more traditional processes, like CNC, injection molding and casting. This section will outline the most common manufacturing methods and conclude with an overview of the general 3D printing process. A detailed explanation of manufacturing technologies other than of 3D printing is outside the scope of this book. Classification of manufacturing techniques Most manufacturing techniques can be categorized into 3 groups. At the simplest level these groups can be defined as: · Formative manufacturing: best suited for high volume production of the same part, requiring a large initial investment in tooling (molds) but then being able to produce parts quickly and at a very low unit price. · Subtractive manufacturing: lies in between formative and additive, being best suited for parts with relatively simple geometries, produced at low-mid volumes, that are typically made from functional materials (particularly metal). · Additive manufacturing: best suited for low volume, complex designs that formative or subtractive methods are unable to produce, or when a unique one-off rapid prototype is required. Formative (injection molding, casting, stamping and forging) Formative manufacturing typically forms material into the desired shape via heat and pressure. The raw material can be melted down and extruded under pressure into a mold (injection molding/die casting), melted and then poured into a mold (casting) or pressed or pulled into the desired shape (stamping/vacuum forming/forging). Formative techniques produce parts from a large range of materials (both metals and plastics). For high volume production of parts, formative manufacturing is often unrivaled in cost. The main limitation of formative manufacturing is the need to produce a tool (mold or die) to form the part. Tooling is often expensive and complicated to produce, increasing lead times and delaying the manufacturing of a part. This large upfront investment is why formative manufacturing is generally only cost effective at high volumes. The design of formative tooling is also complex with the need for mold features like spurs or runners to assist in the formation of parts. Parts that are produced via formative manufacturing also have design constraints like draft angles and uniform wall thickness to aid in the forming process. Subtractive (CNC, turning, drilling) Subtractive manufacturing begins with a block of solid material (blank), and utilizes cutting tools to remove (machine) material to achieve a final shape. CNC milling, turning (lathe) and machine operations like drilling and cutting are all examples of subtractive techniques. Subtractive manufacturing is capable of producing highly accurate parts with excellent surface finish. Almost every material is able to be machined in some way. For majority of designs, subtractive manufacturing is the most cost effective method of production. Subtractive manufacturing is limited by a number of factors. Most designs require Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM) to plot tool paths and efficient material removal. This adds time and cost to the overall process. Tool access must also be considered when designing parts for subtractive manufacturing as the cutting tool must be able to reach all surfaces to remove material. While machines like 5-axis CNC eliminate some of these restrictions, complex parts will need to be re-orientated during the machining process, further increasing cost and lead time. Subtractive manufacturing is also generally considered a wasteful process, due to the large amounts of material that is often removed to produce the final part geometry. Additive (3D printing) Additive manufacturing (more commonly known as 3D printing) is the process of additively building up a part one layer at a time. There are a range of 3D printing technologies with each having their own benefits and limitations and each being able to print parts from different materials. Parts can be produced in almost any geometry, which is one of the core strengths of 3D printing (even though there are still rules that must be followed per technology). Also, 3D printing does not rely on expensive tooling having essentially no start up costs. The advantage of this is the rapid verification and development of prototypes and low- volume production parts. One of the biggest limitations of 3D printing is the inability to produce parts with material properties equivalent to those made via subtractive or formative techniques. Most 3D printing technologies produce parts that are inherently anisotropic or not fully dense. 3D printing also has limitations on repeatability, meaning parts will often have slight variations due to differential cooling or warping during curing. Cost comparison Cost is often the governing factor behind how a part will be manufactured. Figure 0.2 gives a general insight into how the cost of manufacturing (cost per part) varies based on the amount of parts being produced. The 3D printing process While there are many different 3D printing technologies, the following section will focus on the general process from design to final part. Although each method of 3D printing produces parts in a different way, these 5 core steps are constant across all technologies. 1. Producing a 3D file Producing a digital model is the first step in the 3D printing process. The most common method for producing a digital model (Figure 0.3) is Computer Aided Design (CAD). Reverse engineering can also be used to generate a digital model via 3D scanning. Both CAD modeling and reverse engineering are discussed in Chapter 18 of this book.There are several design considerations that must be evaluated when designing for 3D printing. These generally focus on feature geometry limitations, support material and escape hole requirements. Designing parts for 3D printing is discussed in Part 2 of this book.

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