What is 3 D printing/Additive Manufacturing ?

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• The construction of a three-dimensional object from a Is Welding Additive Manufacturing

CAD model or a digital 3D model.
• Please Google and find the meaning of Subtractive and Welding is a form of additive
Formative manufacturing technologies with example manufacturing that has been around
for more than 100 years. You could
call most welding processes Manual
additive manufacturing, or 3D
What is Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM), a layer-wise 3D writing, as opposed to 3D printing
printing technology, has been developed by
FDM?
Stratasys© for fabricating complex geometrical parts .
The materials used are thermoplastic polymers and
come in a filament form.

Examples of thermoplastic used for FDM are PVA ,PLA

ABS ,NYLON/POLYAMIDE ,PP ,PE ,PEEK…

BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus

Outline of a FDM production

Summary of a basic FDM process.

Step 1 Import of Import Slicing Software and set
CAD data in .stl printing parameter Step 1: Import of CAD data in .stl
format (STereoLithography) format into
Slicing Software

Step 2: Slicing of the CAD model into

horizontal layers
Layer by layer Generation of Step 3: Generation of .gcode file.
printing of .gcode file.
finial part
Step 4: FDM fabrication process using
a filament modeling material to build
actual physical part in an additive
manner layer-by-layer

BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus

 Outline of a FDM production line

Z
X

Y
BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus
Outline of a FDM production

Polymer Filament

Polymer extrudate

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Factors effecting the final properties of
the printed parts

Material properties
• Type of polymer
• Melting point
• Viscosity at printing temperature
Final properties of the
printed parts printed parts
• Mechanical
• Thermal
• Electrical properties

Processing Parameters
Machine Properties
• Layer thickness
• Nozzle Diameter and temperature
• Raster angle and width
• Print bed and chamber temperature
• Infill Percentage and pattern
• Printing speed
• Number of contours

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Factors effecting the final properties of the printed parts

• Material parameters: Polymer type its chemical thermal and

• Number of contours: The number of contours of
mechanical priorities
the part outside
• Build Orientation: It refers to the inclination of the part in a
• Raster to raster gap (air gap): It is the gap
build platform with respect to X, Y, Z axis. X and Y-axis are
between two adjacent rasters in a same layer.
considered parallel to build platform and Z-axis is along the
Negative air gap refers to the overlap of rasters.
direction of part build.
Positive air gap allows space between rasters.
• Raster angle: Direction of the raster relative to the X-axis of
Printing with zero air gap is highly recommended.
build table.
• Infill density: The amount of material that is used
• Layer thickness: It refers to the thickness of the deposited
to build the part inside. For example; the inner
layer.
layers of the part can be printed in hexagonal or
• Nozzle diameter: It depends upon the type of nozzle used.
rectangular pattern.
Commercial printers mostly use 0.4 mm nozzle diameter.
• Raster width: Width of raster pattern used to fill interior
regions of the part.

BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus

Processing Parameters
Part Orientation Raster width Raster Angle

Raster width or road width which refers Raster angle or orientation

The orientation of the to the width of the deposition path related which is measured from the X-
part is defined as how the to tip size. It also refers to the tool path axis on the bottom part layer.
part should be positioned width of the raster pattern used to fill Also, it refers to the direction of
when produced interior regions of the part curves . the beads of material (roads)
relative to the loading of the part.
The deposited roads can be built
at different angles to fill the
interior part.

BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus

Processing Parameters

The layer thickness which is recognized The air gap parameter which Infill pattern and fill density
as the height of the deposited slice from is defined as the space
the FDM nozzle between the beads of
deposited FDM material

BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus

• The layer thickness which is recognized as the height of the deposited slice from the FDM nozzle
• The orientation of the part is defined as how the part should be positioned when produced
• Raster angle or orientation which is measured from the X-axis on the bottom part layer. Also, it refers to the direction of
the beads of material (roads) relative to the loading of the part. The deposited roads can be built at different angles to fill
the interior part.
• Raster width or road width which refers to the width of the deposition path related to tip size. It also refers to the tool path
width of the raster pattern used to fill interior regions of the part curves .
• The air gap parameter which is defined as the space between the beads of deposited FDM material
• Printing speed is relative speed at which the printer head moves

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 To instructors please see the
Type Of Extrusion system used notes

The difference between Direct and Bowden extruders is the

location of the extruder in relation to the hot end.
A B
A. Direct extrusion system
Direct extruders, as the name implies, are
directly attached to the hot end and are a
part of the print head.

B. Indirect Extruder or Bowden extrusion system

The opposite of Direct extruders, Bowden
extruders are not attached to the hot end or print
head. Instead, the extruder is removed from the
print head and is most often attached to the printer
body. The filament is then fed to the hot end using
a Bowden tube

BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus

Benefits, Limitations & Application of 3 D of 3D printing
Benefits Limitations Application
Geometric complexity at no extra cost Lower strength & anisotropic material properties Biomedical

Very low start-up costs Less cost-competitive at higher volumes Aerospace, Automobile

Customization of each and every part Limited accuracy & tolerances Tooling

Low-cost prototyping with very quick turnaround Post-processing & support removal Electrical and Electronic

Large range of (specialty) materials Energy Storage

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Printers in our workshop

Flashforge Inventor 2 Raise 3D N2Plus

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END

BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus