Technology

3D printer technology

Today, 3D printing is about to change a number of economic industries, and more and more people are convinced of its advantages in the fields of fast prototyping, design, advertising, production in small series and a number of other areas.

Still: how does it work?

Generally speaking, 3D printing is the creation of 3D objects by overlaying the source material layer by layer, following a predefined pattern. To some extent, the process resembles inkjet printing, but it is considerably more complex.

What is a 3D printer?

A machine called a 3D printer is used for this purpose. It usually has a printing head that overlays the material on a special platform, moving in three axes (three dimensions), as well as a chassis, a microcontroller and power supply.

What is happening?

The 3D printing process begins by setting a 3D model in the printer, and then begins the applying of layers of pre-loaded material, recreating the model. The result is a completed three-dimensional object that can be used as a prototype, design project, a mock-up or even for household purposes.

Materials

3D printing uses a variety of source materials, starting with different types of plastics (ABS, PLA, HIPS, etc.), also wood, metal and some exotic technologies working with chocolate or even human tissues. At this stage, the most widely used materials for 3D industrial printing are ABS (Polylactic Acid), PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate), Flexible Polyester, Nylon, and HIPS (High Impact Polystyrene). You can learn more about the different types of materials here.

3D printing technologies

There are many different technologies for 3D printing. The most popular among them are FDM, SLS, SLA / DLP, Material Jetting and SLM. The Solid Fil’s team knows all these technologies in details, and can choose the most suitable one for you, according to your specific needs and requirements.

FDM – Fused Deposition Modeling

FDM (Fused Deposition Modeling) is one of the most popular 3D printing technologies. It was created in the 80s of the last century, and today it is widely used in numerous industries, both for prototyping, and for creating conceptual models and end products.

SELECTIVE LASER SINTERING

SLS (Selective Laser Sintering) or laser sintering is a 3D printing technology in which the shaping of the final three-dimensional products is performed by a laser that manipulates a special powder. It was established in the 80-s of the last century.

STEREOLITHOGRAPHY

SLA  or stereolithography is the oldest complete 3D printing technology. It has exists since the early 80s of the last century. It continues to be widely used today due to its precision and the ability to produce very small details and fine details.

Material Jetting

Material Jetting is a relatively uncommon technology for 3D printing. It uses ultraviolet light to process photopolymer material. However, the material is not distributed in layers, as with other technologies; but instead, it is injected in the form of small drops.

3D Metal Printing

The ability to create solid three-dimensional metal objects makes the SLM technology extremely widespread for various industrial purposes. It can be used for the creation of complex objects with a complex structure.