3D printing technology

Three dimensional printing technology.3D printer, also known as rapid

prototyping printer.It uses the principle of ordinary printer to connect the
printer with the computer, load the raw materials into the fuselage, accumulate
the raw materials layer by layer with the laser syringe under the control of
the computer, and finally turn the blueprint on the computer into a real
object.

3D printers appeared in the mid-1990s.Over the past decade, it has been used by
designers, engineers and scientists to make disposable mechanical products and
models.They make objects from layers of liquid and powder.The hearing aid production
department uses a 3D printer to scan the ear contour of patients to copy the appropriate
hearing aid; car customization companies are also using the device to provide car parts
for car enthusiasts; consumer electronics manufacturers use it to design product
functions to avoid modifying the design after mass production; doctors use it to make
practice models; and it is used by museumsIt reproduces the original to prevent visitors
from damaging the original.

But the price of the machine is high, and it costs about $100000 each.In
recent years, prices have fallen to about $15000.Only large companies can
afford such a high cost.

The goal of this project is to produce desktop 3D printers within $1000,

which can be used by designers, engineers, technicians and even ordinary
enthusiasts.[1]  

3D printing technology

Foreign name: three dimension printing

Category: technical terms

Abbreviation: 3DP

Appearance: mid-1990s

catalog
.          1 brief introduction

.          2 Principle of 3D printing

.          ▪ 3D design

.          ▪ Printing process

.          ▪ complete

.          ▪ technology

.          3 3DP classification:

.          4 application area

.          5 Introduction to operation

.          ▪ Preliminary preparation

.          ▪ Manufacturing prototypes

.          ▪ Post processing

 .          6 market potential

.          7 Application scenarios

Introduction of 3D printing technology

3D printing technology can complement the traditional manufacturing technology and

jointly promote the transformation of modern manufacturing industry.In addition, 3D
printing technology itself is also constantly improving, new application materials appear,
and the application field is gradually expanding.

3D printing technology

  
　　3D printing technology originated from the photographic sculpture and geomorphic
molding technology in the 19th century, which is called "rapid prototyping technology" in
academia.In 1986, Charles Hurley, an American scientist, invented the world's first 3D
printer with a liquid material called photosensitive resin.Based on this technology, huel
founded 3D systems, the world's first 3D printing equipment company, and sold its
first commercial product in 1992.In the 1990s, 3D technology experienced a wave of
rapid development. For example, Carl of the University of Texas proposed selective laser
sintering (SLS) technology in 1989, and MIT applied for the patent of "3D printing
technology" in 1990.Since this century, more and more companies around the world
have been involved in 3D printing manufacturing. At present, there are two industry
giants STRATASYS and 3D systems.According to statistics, the size of 3D printing
market reached US $22.04 in 2012, with a year-on-year increase of 29%. It is expected
that the 3D printing market will maintain a rapid growth momentum in the future.

Principle of 3D printing: layered manufacturing, layer by layer superposition

　　  
　　"3D printing" is a kind of "additive manufacturing" technology which adds materials
layer by layer to create three-dimensional objects. Its core principle is "layered
manufacturing, layer by layer superposition", which is similar to the process of triple
integration of cylindrical coordinates in higher mathematics.Different from the traditional
"material reduction manufacturing", 3D printing technology integrates mechanical,
material, computer, communication, control technology and biomedical technology. It has
the advantages of shortening product development cycle, reducing R & D costs and
manufacturing complex shaped workpieces. It may have an important impact on the
production mode of manufacturing industry and human life style in the future.According to
the forming mechanism of 3D printing, 3D printing is usually divided into two categories:
deposition raw material manufacturing and bonding raw material manufacturing, covering
more than ten specific 3D rapid manufacturing technologies. There are five mature and
potential technologies: SLA stereolithography, FDM volumetric molding, LOM layered
solid manufacturing, 3DP 3D powder bonding and SLS selective laser sintering.

Technology type and material jointly determine the scope of application

　　  
Specific to the subdivision type, different forming principles have different
requirements for materials.At present, SLA technology mainly uses liquid
photosensitive resin, FDM technology mainly uses filamentous hot-melt plastic,
LOM uses film material, SLS uses metal powder, and 3DP can use metal powder or
plastic powder.On the other hand, the physical properties of the material
itself will limit the application of different technologies.

Comparison of major 3D printing technologies

  
However, due to the physical characteristics of photosensitive resin, its 3D
printing products are mainly used to replace wax pattern and prototype design
verification in investment casting, and rarely used as functional parts.At
present, the only desktop technology in 3D printing technology is FDM. Based on
this technology, 3D printers sold by Jingdong Mall use ABS or PLA silk and
linear materials to make toys. In industry, FDM mainly uses engineering
plastics, and its products are plastic parts, casting wax molds and samples.SLS
is the most potential technology to prepare functional parts in 3D technology.
SLS can be subdivided into metal powder and binder mixed sintering, metal
powder laser sintering and metal powder compact sintering. The main advantage
of SLS is to produce relatively high strength metal products, and complete
sample function test or equipment simulation in high-end manufacturing
field.Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics has successfully
manufactured metal parts with inverted cone shape with larger angle by
sintering with Ni based alloy mixed with copper powder.

Compared with the traditional manufacturing technology, each has its own
use
　　  
Traditional mechanical manufacturing is based on the combination of cutting,
drilling, milling, grinding, casting and forging and other basic manufacturing
processes of "reducing" materials. Generally, the manufacturing of workpieces
can be completed through the combination of multiple processes.3D printing
technology adheres to the core principle of "layered manufacturing, layer by
layer superposition", which is an integrated molding technology. One 3D printer
can complete the manufacturing of the whole workpiece.From the perspective of
industrial application, 3D printing is suitable for small batch and complex non
functional parts; most of them are used to manufacture samples and molds in the
fields of automobile and Aerospace; while traditional machining manufacturing
is suitable for large-scale, mass-produced components, and is widely used in
almost all fields.From the analysis of materials used, subject to the needs of
technology, 3D printing technology currently uses materials such as plastic,
photosensitive resin and metal powder, which is much less than almost any
material that can be used in traditional machining.However, 3D printing, like
its technical characteristics, hardly produces waste, and the utilization rate
of materials can exceed 95%. However, the traditional "reduction" manufacturing
will produce a lot of waste materials to varying degrees.

In the future, it may complement the traditional manufacturing industry

　　  
Nowadays, 3D printing technology has caused great repercussions among the
public. Many enterprises have announced that they are about to enter or have
entered the field of 3D printing. Some scholars in the industry believe that 3D
printing will be an important part of promoting the third industrial revolution
and will set off a subversive revolution in the manufacturing industry.

 Comparison between 3D printing technology

and traditional mechanical manufacturing
  
However, after hundreds of years of accumulation and development, modern
equipment manufacturing industry has formed a complete set of complete and
functional industrial foundation; since the new century, the traditional
manufacturing industry has been constantly introducing a new generation of
information technology, which is transforming into an intelligent, digital and
networked modern advanced manufacturing industry.Technically speaking, 3D
printing technology needs to break through its own limitations in the future,
and the road to replace the traditional manufacturing industry may be very
long.Modern manufacturing technology and printing industry can be complementary
to each other.In addition, 3D printing technology itself is also constantly
improving, new application materials appear, and the application field is
gradually expanding.

3D printing technology 3D printing principle

3D printing technology 3D design

The design process of 3D printing is: first, modeling by computer aided

design (CAD) or computer animation modeling software, and then "partition" the
built 3D model into layer by layer section, so as to guide the printer to print
layer by layer.

3D creates a structure that is difficult to

achieve by ordinary methods

The standard file format for collaboration between design software and
printers is STL file format.An STL file uses triangular surfaces to approximate
the surface of an object.The smaller the triangular surface, the higher the
resolution of the generated surface.Ply is a scanner for 3D files generated by
scanning. VRML or WRL files generated by ply are often used as input files for
full-color printing.

Printing process of 3D printing technology

 The printer reads the cross-section information in the file, prints the
cross-sections layer by layer with liquid, powder or sheet materials, and then
glues the cross-sections of each layer in various ways to make a solid.The
characteristic of this technology is that it can make almost any shape object.

3D printing guns

The thickness of the cross-section printed by the printer (i.e. Z-

direction) and the resolution in the plane direction (X-Y direction) are
calculated in dpi (pixels per inch) or micron.Generally, the thickness is 100
μ m, that is 0.1 mm. Some printers such as objet connex series and 3D
systems' projet series can print a 16 micron thin layer.The plane
direction can print a resolution similar to that of a laser printer.The
diameter of the printed "ink drop" is usually 50 to 100 microns.It usually
takes hours to days to build a model using traditional methods, depending on
the size and complexity of the model.3D printing can reduce the time to several
hours, depending on the performance of the printer and the size and complexity
of the model.

Traditional manufacturing technologies such as injection molding can

produce large quantities of polymer products at lower cost, while 3D printing
technology can produce relatively small quantities of products in a faster,
more flexible and lower cost way.A desktop size 3D printer can meet the needs
of the designer or concept development team to make models.

3D printing technology completed

The resolution of 3D printer is enough for most applications (the curved

surface may be rough, like the sawtooth on the image). To obtain higher
resolution items, the following methods can be used: first, use the current 3D
printer to print a slightly larger object, and then slightly polish the surface
to get a smooth "high-resolution" item.
 3D printing car model

Some technologies can print using multiple materials at the same time.Some
technologies also use supports in the printing process. For example, when
printing some hanging objects, they need to use some easily removed things
(such as soluble things) as supports.

3D printing technology

Many competing technologies are available.The difference between them is

that parts are created with different layers of construction, and in a way that
materials are available.Some methods, such as selective laser sintering (SLS)
and mixed deposition modeling (fused deposition), are used to make printing ink
by melting or softening plastic materialsThere are also some technologies that
use liquid materials as "ink" for printing, such as stereolithography (SLA) and
laminated object manufacturing (LOM).Each technology has its own advantages and
disadvantages, so some companies offer a variety of printers to choose
from.Generally speaking, the main considerations are the speed and cost of
printing, the price of 3D printers, the cost of prototype objects, and the
selection and cost of materials and colors.

Printers that print metal directly are expensive.Sometimes people use

ordinary 3D printers to make molds, and then use these molds to make metal
parts.

3D printing house "ink" for reuse

Accumulation of basic technical materials

Selective laser sintering (SLS) thermoplastic, metal powder, ceramic powder

 Direct metal laser sintering (DMLS) almost any alloy

Fused deposition modeling (FDM) thermoplastic, eutectic system metal,

edible materials

Stereolithography (SLA) photopolymer

Digital light processing (DLP) liquid resin

Fused fiber manufacturing (FFF) polylactic acid (PLA), ABS resin

Melt and extrusion modeling (MEM) wire, plastic wire

Laminated object manufacturing (LOM) paper, metal film and plastic film

Electron beam melting (EBM) titanium alloy

Selective heat sintering (SHS) thermal powder

Powder bed and inkjet head 3D printing (PP) gypsum

3D printing technology 3DP classification:

(1) Three dimensional spray bonding molding machine

(2) Ink jet three bit printing

Three dimensional spray bonding principle:

3DP process is similar to SLS process, using powder materials, such as ceramic
powder, metal powder.The difference is that the material powder is not connected by
sintering, but the cross-section of the part is "printed" on the material powder through the
nozzle with adhesive (such as silica gel).

Main categories of 3D printing technology

The strength of the parts bonded with adhesive is low, and post-treatment
is necessary.First burn off the adhesive, and then infiltrate the metal at high
temperature to densify the parts.Increase the intensity.

Three dimensional spray bonding characteristics:

Suitable for forming small parts;

The surface of the workpiece is not smooth enough, the whole cross-section
needs to be scanned and bonded, and the molding time is long;

Multiple nozzles are used.

Representative company: Z Corporation

In fact, 3D printing technology is the general name of a series of rapid prototyping

technology. Its basic principle is laminated manufacturing. The cross-section shape of
workpiece is formed by scanning in X-Y plane by rapid prototyping machine, and the
thickness displacement of layer is made intermittently in Z coordinate to form 3D parts.At
present, the rapid prototyping technology on the market is divided into 3DP technology,
FDM melt lamination technology, SLA three-dimensional lithography technology, SLS
selective laser sintering technology, DLP laser forming technology and UV molding
technology.3DP Technology: 3DP full name three dimensional printing (3D printing).This
is the real 3D printing!Because this technology is very similar to plane printing, even the
print head is directly using a plane printer.Similar to SLS, the raw material of this
technology is also powder.A typical 3DP printer has two boxes.As shown in the figure
above, the powder storage cylinder is on the left and the molding cylinder is on the
right.When printing, the left side will rise one layer (generally 0.1 mm) and the right side
will drop one layer. The powder roller will take the powder from the powder storage tank
to the molding cylinder and lay the powder with the thickness of 0.1 mm.The printer head
prints the liquid onto the powder according to the computer data.(the Y-axis of a planar
printer is the paper moving, while the Y-axis of 3DP is the printing head moving) the
liquid is either adhesive or water (used to activate powdery adhesives in the
powder).FDM melt lamination molding technology: FDM melt lamination molding
technology is to heat and melt the filamentous hot-melt materials. At the same time,
under the control of the computer, according to the cross-section information, the
material is selectively coated on the workbench, and a layer of cross-section is formed
after rapid cooling.After one layer molding is completed, the machine table drops a height
(i.e. layer thickness) and then forms the next layer until the whole solid shape is formed.It
has many kinds of molding materials, high strength and high precision, which is mainly
suitable for molding small plastic parts.SLA stereolithography: SLA is stereolithography.It
uses laser to selectively polymerize and harden the liquid photosensitive resin needed to
be molded, so as to shape.There are two types of SLA, one is represented by objet and
printed from bottom to top.The other is represented by formlabs, which is printed from top
to bottom.SLS selective laser sintering technology: SLS full name is selective laser
sintering (SLS).Similar to SLA, SLS uses lasers.Unlike SLA, SLS uses powder instead of
liquid photosensitive resin.The energy of the laser makes the powder produce high
temperature, which is connected with the sintering reaction of the neighboring powder.[3]
DLP laser forming technology: DLP laser forming technology is similar to SLA
stereolithography technology, but it uses a high-resolution digital optical processor (DLP)
projector to solidify liquid photopolymer and conduct light curing layer by layer. Because
each layer is cured by slide like sheet curing, the speed is faster than the same type of
SLA stereolithography technology.The technology has high molding precision and can
match the durable plastic parts of injection molding in material properties, details and
surface finish.UV molding technology: UV molding technology and SLA stereo
lithography technology are similar, but the difference is that it uses UV ultraviolet light to
irradiate liquid photosensitive resin and stack them layer by layer from bottom to top.
There is no noise in the process of forming. In the same kind of technology, the molding
precision is the highest, which is usually used in jewelry and mobile phone shell
industries with high precision requirements.The specific principle of each additive
manufacturing technology is different, but the main idea is to create a layer of things
according to computer data, and then create another layer of things on top of this layer,
and so on, until the whole three-dimensional model is made.The main feature is that the
structure complexity of the finished product is almost unlimited.At present, it is mainly
used in aviation industry, automobile industry, professional design (model manufacturing
of product design and architectural design), surgery (customized orthodontic cover,
denture, hearing aid), etc. 

Application fields of 3D printing technology

Three dimension printing 3DP 3D printing

Three dimensional printing TDP rapid prototyping machine

In the past, it was often used in mold manufacturing, industrial design and
other fields to make models. Now it is gradually used in the direct
manufacturing of some products.In particular, some high-value applications
(such as hip joints or teeth, or some aircraft parts) already have parts
printed using this technology."3D printing" means the popularity of this
technology.

3D printing is usually realized by digital technology material

printer.Since the 21st century, the production and sales of this kind of
printer have been greatly increased, and its price is decreasing year by year.

The technology has applications in jewelry, footwear, industrial design,

architecture, engineering and construction (AEC), automotive, aerospace, dental
and medical industries, education, geographic information systems, civil
engineering, guns and other fields.
 Selective sintering of powder materials

Small rapid prototyping machine

3DP process was developed by emanual Sachs et al. Of Massachusetts Institute of

technology in 1989.It has been commercialized in the name of DSPC (direct shell
production casting) by solid company of the United States to manufacture ceramic shell
and core for casting.

Introduction of 3D printing technology

Preliminary preparation of 3D printing technology

1. First open z-corp preprocessing software to input the S.T.L. files to be

printed

2. Gloves and masks must be worn during operation

3. Check whether there is enough space in the waste bottle and powder
recycling box

4. Remove the air from the powder with a tool

5. Squeeze the powder hard

6. Start the sweeper to smooth the powder

7. Using distilled water to wash ink jet head to make prototype

3D printing technology manufacturing prototype

8. Press online to connect the printer and calculator

9. The printer will perform inkjet printing based on the layered 2D images

Three dimensional post processing printing technology

10.After printing, remove the powder, take out the original carefully and
remove the powder with a brush

11. Place the original in the dust remover and blow away the excess powder
with an air gun
 12. The air gun pressure should be adjusted to about 2 – 3 bar atmospheric
pressure

13. Place the original in the suction chamber for glue penetration

Market potential of 3D printing technology

According to the Wallace Association, an industry consulting firm, the

market sales of 3D printing technology have reached $1.7 billion, and are
expected to rise to $3.7 billion by 2015.

As the inventor and leader of 3D printing technology, the company's

revenue in 2012 was 230 million US dollars, an increase of 40% over the
previous year.

The cube, a new printer designed by the company, is scheduled to go on sale

in May 2012. Its working principle is similar to that of a rapper. The app is
based on Apple products, making it easier for customers to operate.

Its own program has pre loaded a large number of object design drawings,
such as chess pieces, jewelry, kitchenware, etc., customers can directly print
the required items without learning complex 3D design software.

In addition, cube also supports wireless Internet links, allowing customers

to download more design drawings from the site: a toy elephant costs $4.99, a
ring costs $10, and a razor costs $15.

Shapeways, based in New York, is a strong competitor to 3D systems.The

company's marketing route is similar to that of Amazon: customers upload
their own design product drawings through the website, or order existing design
drawings, while the company prints products according to the drawings and
delivers them to their door.

On shapeways's website, there are $760 coral shaped table lamps, small
accessories for only a few dollars, and some rare things that only three-
dimensional printing technology can make, such as the "ball set", which is
similar to the Russian dolls but can't be opened.

Peter Weimar shawson, chief executive of shapeways, said they sell about 100000
products a month, of which the most popular are jewelry, apple cases and toy trains.

Application scenarios of 3D printing technology

Medical industry.An 83 year old man suffered from chronic bone infection,
so he replaced his jaw bone "printed" by a 3D printer, which is the first case
in the world to use 3D printing products to make human bones.

Scientific research.Through 3D scanning of fossils, researchers from Drexel

University in the United States have made a 3D model suitable for research by
using 3D printing technology, which not only retains all the external
characteristics of the original fossil, but also reduces the proportion, which
is more suitable for research.

Product prototype.For example, Microsoft's 3D model printing workshop,

after the product is designed, prints out the model by 3D printer, which can
make the design and manufacturing department better improve the products and
create better products.

Cultural relics protection.Museums often use many complex substitutes to

protect the original works from the environment or accidents. At the same time,
reproductions can also influence art or cultural relics to more people.Just
because the original Thomas Jefferson was to be exhibited in Virginia, the
Smithsonian used a huge 3D print replacement in place of the original
sculpture.

Architectural design.In the construction industry, engineers and designers

have accepted 3D printers to print building models, which are fast, low-cost,
environmentally friendly, and exquisitely made.It can meet the requirements of
designers and save a lot of materials at the same time.
 Manufacturing.Manufacturing also needs a lot of 3D printing products,
because 3D printing is much better than traditional manufacturing in terms of
cost, speed and accuracy.3D printing technology itself is very suitable for
large-scale production, so the use of 3D technology in manufacturing industry
can bring many benefits, even quality control is no longer a problem.

Food industry.Yes, it's "print" food.Researchers are already trying to

print chocolate.Perhaps as like as two peas in the near future, many of the
foods that look exactly the same are printed with 3D printer.Of course, by
then, it's possible that hand-made food will be many times more expensive.

Automobile manufacturing.It's not that your car is printed by 3D

printer (of course, it may also be possible one day), but that the automobile
industry will replace some non critical parts with 3D printed products when
carrying out safety testing and other work, so as to pursue efficiency and
reduce costs at the same time.

Accessories, accessories.This is the broadest market.In the future, whether

it's your personalized pen holder, your half body embossed mobile phone
case, or the unique ring you and your lover have in the world, they may be
printed out by 3D printer.It can be achieved without even waiting for the
future.