3D printing

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For methods of applying a 2-D image on a 3-D surface, see pad printing.

This article is part of the series on the
History of printing
Technologies
Phaistos Disc 1850–1400 BC
Woodblock printing 200 AD
Movable type 1040
Intaglio 1430s
Printing press 1439
Lithography 1796
Offset press by 1800s
Chromolithography 1837
Rotary press 1843
Flexography 1890s
Screen-printing 1907
Dye-sublimation 1957
Photocopier 1960s
Pad printing 1960s
Laser printer 1969
Dot matrix printer 1970
Thermal printer
Inkjet printer 1976
Digital press 1993
3D printing
v • d • e

3D printing is a category of rapid prototyping technology. A three dimensional object is created by layering and connecting successive cross sections of material. 3D printers are generally faster, more affordable and easier to use than other additive fabrication technologies.[1]

Contents

[edit] Technologies

Previous means of producing a prototype typically took man-hours, many tools, and skilled labor. For example, after a new street light luminaire was digitally designed, drawings were sent to skilled craftsmen where the design on paper was painstakingly followed and a three-dimensional prototype was produced in wood by utilizing an entire shop full of expensive wood working machinery and tools. This typically was not a speedy process and costs of the skilled labor were not cheap. Hence the need to develop a faster and cheaper process to produce prototypes. As an answer to this need, rapid prototyping was born.

One variation of 3D printing consists of an inkjet printing system. Layers of a fine powder (plaster, corn starch, or resins) are selectively bonded by "printing" an adhesive from the inkjet printhead in the shape of each cross-section as determined by a CAD file. This technology is the only one that allows for the printing of full color prototypes. It is also recognized as the fastest method.

Alternately, these machines feed liquids, such as photopolymer, through an inkjet-type printhead to form each layer of the model. These Photopolymer Phase machines use an ultraviolet (UV) flood lamp mounted in the print head to cure each layer as it is deposited.

Fused deposition modeling (FDM), a technology also used in traditional rapid prototyping, uses a nozzle to deposit molten polymer onto a support structure, layer by layer.

Another approach is selective fusing of print media in a granular bed. In this variation, the unfused media serves to support overhangs and thin walls in the part being produced, reducing the need for auxiliary temporary supports for the workpiece.

Finally, ultrasmall features may be made by the 3D microfabrication technique of 2-photon photopolymerization. In this approach, the desired 3D object is traced out in a block of gel by a focused laser. The gel is cured to a solid only in the places where the laser was focused, due to the nonlinear nature of photoexcitation, and then the remaining gel is washed away. Feature sizes of under 100 nm are easily produced, as well as complex structures such as moving and interlocked parts.[2]

Each technology has its advantages and drawbacks, and consequently some companies offer a choice between powder and polymer as the material from which the object emerges. [3]. Generally, the main considerations are speed, cost of the printed prototype, cost of the 3D printer, choice of materials, color capabilities, etc.[4]

Unlike "traditional" additive systems such as stereolithography, 3D printing is optimized for speed, low cost, and ease-of-use, making it suitable for visualizing during the conceptual stages of engineering design when dimensional accuracy and mechanical strength of prototypes are less important. No toxic chemicals like those used in stereolithography are required, and minimal post printing finish work is needed. One need only brush off surrounding powder after the printing process. Bonded powder prints can be further strengthened by wax or thermoset polymer impregnation. FDM parts can be strengthened by wicking another metal into the part.

[edit] Resolution

Resolution is given in layer thickness and X-Y resolution in dpi. Typical layer thickness is around 100 microns (0.1 mm), while X-Y resolution is comparable to that of laser printers. The particles (3D dots) are around 50 to 100 microns (0.05-0.1 mm) in diameter.

[edit] Applications

Standard applications include design visualization, prototyping/CAD, metal casting, architecture, education, geospatial, healthcare, entertainment/retail, etc.

More recently, the use of 3D printing technology for artistic expression has been suggested.[5] Artist Bathsheba Grossman uses various rapid prototyping processes in many of her works.[6]


3D printing technology is currently being studied by biotechnology firms and academia for possible use in tissue engineering applications where organs and body parts are built using inkjet techniques. Layers of living cells are deposited onto a gel medium and slowly built up to form three dimensional structures. Several terms have been used to refer to this field of research: Organ printing, bio-printing, and computer-aided tissue engineering among others.[7]

[edit] Self-replication

3D printers that can copy themselves are a theoretical aim that is being pursued. One such printer in development, named RepRap is released under the GNU-license and can print plastic parts. Research is underway that will let it print circuit boards as well as details in metal. The creator said about the printer that "We want to make sure that everything is open, not just the design and the software you control it with, but the entire tool-chain, from the ground up." The printer is capable of downloading upgrades of its design in order to create new and better versions of itself. [8][9]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Close-Up On Technology - 3D Printers Lead Growth of Rapid Prototyping - 08/04
  2. ^ EETimes.com - Cheaper avenue to 65 nm?
  3. ^ The World In 2008
  4. ^ Wohlers Associates
  5. ^ Wall Street Journal
  6. ^ Artist Bathsheba Grossman's laser sintered sculptures
  7. ^ ABC News: 'Organ Printing' Could Drastically Change Medicine
  8. ^ Computerworld > Open source 3D printer copies itself
  9. ^ WebHome < Main < Reprap

[edit] See also

[edit] External links