A Quick Introduction to 3D Printing

3D Printing

Three-dimensional (3D) printing in recent years has become the main focus of public and media attention as technology has at last approached the quality necessary for direct production of end-use devices. 3D printing is a method of manufacturing that materials such as metal or plastic are deposited onto one another in layers to produce a  three-

dimensional product and are offered with different options in terms of feature detail, 

materials, and costs. 3D printing is a game-changer that allows for the manufacturing of complex geometric shapes that can be mass-customized as compared to traditional manufacturing technologies such as forging, machining, casting, and injection molding. 3D printing has already been proved workable in many medical applications including the manufacture of custom prosthetic devices and dental implants.  The most popular methods of standard  3D printing include vat photopolymerization, powder bed fusion, material extrusion, sheet lamination, directed energy deposition, 

material jetting, and binder jetting. The industry has realized the manufacturing advantages of these methods and is investing in production systems to create complex structures for rocket engines, airplane parts, customized parts for cars. Although 3D printing technologies have advanced that several materials can be used to manufacture including polymers, ceramics, and metals, the products are still generally limited to a number of compatible materials. 

Printing Processes 

It can be a big challenge for people that are new to the world of 3D printing to figure out the differences in 3D printing. Like what the difference is between types of 3D printing like SLA and SLS, for example? With so many different acronyms, it can be pretty confusing. Although there are many different printers available, there are only 9 basic types of 3D printing methods that currently exist. With the 3 main methods being: Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM), Stereolithography (SLA) and Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) which all have effective uses for consumers, professionals, and businesses.