3D Printing Technology

3D printing also known as additive manufacturing, turns digital 3D models into solid objects by building them up in layers. 3D printing is used for rapid manufacturing. It is a new method of manufacturing where the companies are using 3D printers for short run and custom manufacturing. In this way of manufacturing, the printed objects are not prototypes but they are actually the end user products.

The term "3D printing" originally referred to a process that deposits a binder material onto a powder bed with inkjet printer heads layer by layer. The technology was first invented in the 1980s, and since then it has been used for rapid prototyping (RP). However, in the last few years, 3D printing has additionally started to evolve into a next-generation manufacturing technology that has the potential to allow the local, on-demand production of final products or parts.

Already it is possible to 3D print in a wide range of materials that include thermoplastics and its composites, Metals and its alloys, ceramics and various food forms. Right now, 3D printing as an end-use, manufacturing technology is still in its infancy. But in the coming decades, its combination with synthetic biology and nanotechnology has the potential to radically transform many designs with its production and logistics processes.

3D printing encompasses a wide range of additive manufacturing technologies. Each of these builds objects in successive layers that are typically about 0.1 mm thin. The methods used may vary significantly, but all start with a computer aided design (CAD) model or a digital scan. This is then processed by 'slicing software' that divides the object into thin cross sections that are printed out one on top of the other.

In basic terms, there are four categories of the 3D printer. Firstly we have printers which extrude a molten or semi-liquid material. Secondly, there are printers that solidify a photo-curable resin. Thirdly, there are printers that bind or fuse the granules of a powder. And finally, there are printers which stick together cut sheets of paper, plastic or metal.

Today, The Material extrusion process is the most common 3D printing process. The technology was invented by Scott Crump in 1988, who set up a company called "Stratasys" to commercialize his invention. Crump chose to name the technology 'fused deposition modeling' or 'FDM' and patented and trademarked these terms. Hence, while many people use the phrase 'FDM' to refer to this kind of 3D printing, only Stratasys actually makes FDM 3D printers.

The process further acts when, A UV laser beam traces the first slice of an object on the surface of the liquid, causing a very thin layer of photopolymer to harden. The perforated platform is then lowered very slightly and the process is repeated until a complete object has been printed out.

Another commonly used process is Material jetting. It uses a print head to spray liquid layers that are usually solidified by exposure to UV rays. This offers very high-resolution 3D printing and is even capable of producing multi-color and multi-material output by spraying several different materials from a multi-nozzle print head in varying combinations.

Similarly, Binder jetting process uses a print head to selectively spray a binder (glue) onto successive layers of power. Many binder jetting 3D printers spray colored inks as well as the binder on their powder layers, so allowing them to produce full-color output. Most commonly the powder used in binder jetting is a gypsum-based composite that needs to have its surface coated after the printout if a robust object is required.

The 3D printing industry already serves four quite distinct market segments, all of which are at different stages of maturation. The most mature market for 3D printing involves the production of prototypes. We have the use of 3D printers to fabricate the molds and other tooling from which final products are made. 3D printers may also fully develop a city in future. Demonstrating the potential, this technology has already 3D printed a number of houses, in China Produced using a vast material extrusion, these included a 1,100 square meter mansion and a five-storey apartment block.

Another future application is the use of 3D printers is to create replacement artificial organs, and even to directly repair the human body in situ(malignant cells in the human body). This is known as bio-printing and is an area of rapid development.

Back in the years late 2012 and early 2013, 3D printing caught the world's imagination, with many proclaiming that it would trigger the Next Industrial Revolution. To the bizarre dismay of this thoughts, such a revolution did not arrive within the next 18 months. Many people subsequently not only lost interest but decided to dismiss 3D printing as no more than hype.

3D printing technology developments continue to accrue as large commercial companies also continue to enter the marketplace, and nobody promised an additive manufacturing revolution overnight. Absolutely 3D printing is not doing to replace all forms of traditional manufacturing, and no intelligent brainy has ever suggested so. But within twenty years and possibly within less than ten, the digital manufacturing capabilities of 3D printing and related technologies are set to have a transformational impact on the direct or indirect production of a reasonable proportion of products, and hence on many individuals and organizations.

indirect production of a reasonable proportion of products, and hence on many individuals and organizations.