What is 3D printer and how does it work?
What is a 3D
printer?
3D printer is a new technology the
birth of 3D printing was in 1984 in the hands of Chuck Hull who invented a
process known as stereolithography in which layers are added by curing
photopolymers with UV lasers, after that layer by layer technology used in each
layer has 0.1mm depth, in 1999 it was first used in medicine then parts of
human such as ears, fingers was
done, in 2005 3D printing technology became open
source, in 2006 the first SLS (selective laser sintering) machine
became variable, in 2008 the first self-replication printer which made the
printer able to print the majority of its own components.
Main Components Of 3D Printer
Print Bed:
The print bed is a flat
surface where the extruder deposits the filament from solid objects. This bed
is heated while printing but it depends upon which filament or material we are
going to use. Most of the beds are made of aluminum but now a days there is
also glass print beds available.
Extruder:
The extruder is the part
that feeds heated filaments on the bed. This plays a very important role in
printing objects. Firstly, the extruder filament exerts then it is heated. Due
to heating, filament starts melting and it starts depositing on the print bed.
Important part of the extruder is Nozzle which is also commonly known as the
tip of the extruder. Through the nozzle melted filament deposits on the print
bed. The size is varying from 0.25mm to 0.75mm. the most common size of nozzle
is 0.5mm. The extruder also has two types:
1) Direct – Filament is
fed directly to print bed.
2) Bowden- Filament is
fed from a certain distance.
Filament:
It is a material which is
inserted in an extruder for making objects. Commonly 1.75mm or 3mm diameter filament
is used for 3D-printing. This material is in the form of wire which feeds to
extruder through the motor. The most common PLA and ABS material used for
printing. Filaments available in various types of material.
How does it work?
The process of 3D printing (transforming a digital file into solid object) is a quite long and complicated one. This process is described in the following steps below:
Step 1
This step contains the drafting of 3D objects which we want
to print in CAD software. But we can’t use the 3D objects file as it is. These
files need to be converted into STL file format. There are multiple software available in the market which can be used for drafting and modeling also. Some
of these are fusion360, Solid Works, AutoCAD etc. Also, nowadays 3D scanners
are also available for making programmer files. This program sends to the main
board of the printer by using computers also by the pen drives or memory card.
Step 2
The next step of 3D-printing is when the program given to the
printer as per requirement material starts heating in the extruder and filament
starts to melt. This melting material deposited on the print bed as per
programmed and object made by depositing materials layer by layer on one
another. The layers are horizontal, cross, zigzagged with each other also in
hexagonal or honeycomb structure.
Here's how the 3D printer works.
Material Used In 3D Printing Technology:
In the 3D-printing needs high quality materials for making
high quality devices. 3D-printers technology is capable to making high quality
devices by using of many types of material like metals, ceramics and their
combination forms.
This most common material used for 3D-printing. This is most
diverse material for 3D printed toys and household products. This is available
in transparent and also in colors like green red yellow etc. Plastic is light
in weight also high durability its surface smoothness very well. The types of
plastic used in this process are usually made from one of the following
materials.
Polylactic Acid (PLA):
This is eco-friendly
material. PLA made up from sugar cone and corn starch therefore biodegradable.
This is available in two forms soft and hard. Plastics are made from polylactic
acid so it is used in industries hard polylactic acid are stronger and therefore
they used for making ideal products.
Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS):
ABS is best option of home-based 3D-printiners. It is valued for
strength and safety. ABS is available in various colors. This makes the
material suitable for products like stickers and toys. ABS also used to make
jewelry and vases.
Polyvinyl alcohol plastic (PVA):
It is used in low end home printers. It is low cost. This material
used for temporary used items.
Polycarbonate (PC):
PC is only used on this
printer which fetter nozzle is designed and operates on high temperature. This
is less frequently used.
Powders:
Today’s
3D-printers use powdered materials to construct objects or products. This
powder is melted inside the printer and distributed in layers unit the preferred
thickness and pattern are made. There are many powders used in printers but
most common are.
1) Polyamide (Nylon)
Nylon strength and flexibility is very elastic and highly
tensile therefore it is used for joining pieces and interlocking parts in 3D
models.
2) Alumide
This powder makes the strongest products. This is mainly used
for making industrial models and prototypes.
Metal:
The second most popular material in industry of 3Dprinting is
metal. The property of this material is strong, hard, more life and long
lasting. The properties of metal are good hence we make complex shapes human
organs and aerospace’s parts. They also make jewelry. Various metals used for
products are below.
1.
Stainless steel-printing out utensils cookware and
other items that could ultimately come in contact with water.
2.
Bronze -Used for vases and other products.
3.
Gold -Printed for jewelry like rings, earrings, bracelets
etc.
4.
Nickel-Used for printed coins.
5.
Aluminum -Used for printed thin metal objects.
6.
Titanium -It is best option for strong solid fixtures.
Resins:
Resins
properties are less flexible and strength. This is generally founding in
transparent black and white but certain printed items are produced in orange, red,
blue and green. This is less used materials used in 3Dprinting There are
available in three categories.
1) High details resins:
-These are used for small models.
2) Paintable resins: -Used in smooth surface 3D prints.
3) Transparent resins: -Used in strongest class and smother
to that touch and transparent in appearance.
In 3D-printers also used other materials like carbon fiber, graphite and graphene nitinol paper.
Types of 3D printing:
There are several
types of 3D printing, which include:
- Stereolithography (SLA).
- Selective Laser Sintering (SLS).
- Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM).
- Digital Light Process (DLP).
- Multi Jet Fusion (MJF).
- PolyJet printing.
- Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS).
- Electron Beam Melting (EBM).
Stereolithography (SLA)
(SLA) is the original industrial 3D printing
process. SLA printers excels at producing parts with high levels of detail,
smooth surface finishes, and tight tolerance. The quality surface finishes on
SLA parts, not only look nice, but can aid in the part’s function—testing the
fit of an assembly, for example. It’s widely used in the medical industry and
common applications include anatomical models and microfluidics. We
use Vipers, ProJet, and iPro’s 3D printers manufactured by 3D Systems for SLA
parts.
Here you
can see how stereolithography printer works
Selective Laser Sintering (SLS)
(SLS) melts together nylon-based powders into solid plastic.
Since SLS parts are made from real thermoplastic material, they are durable,
suitable for functional testing, and can support living hinges and snap-fits.
In comparison to SL, parts are stronger, but have rougher surface finishes. SLS
doesn’t require support structures so the whole build platform can be utilized
to nest multiple parts into a single build—making it suitable for part
quantities higher than other 3D printing processes. Many SLS parts are used to
prototype designs that will one day be injection-molded. For our SLS printers,
we use Pro140 machines developed by 3D systems.
Here you can see selective laser
sintering
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