3D Printing; General-Types-Type-Comparison-Materials

3D printing is a complex subject, and so we've compiled information on the topic from various sources. 

Often referred to as 3D printing, these processes are also referred to by other names such as rapid prototyping, direct digital manufacturing, or any of the process names. All 3D printing works on the concept of building up layers of material on top of each other to produce a finished part. During the process, any part of the model that overhangs must be supported - each process handles this differently which can have implications for the final product. Some processes allow for multiple parts to be nested together / built at once with only a slight increase in build time – this is better for higher volume orders.

Every process has its strengths and weaknesses - to best utilize the technology, you'll need to understand how each can be used to its full advantage

FDM – Fused Deposition Modeling

This is currently the most widespread form of 3D printing. All new machines are built by Stratasys under the trade names Dimension or Fortus. It builds each layer by extruding a thin filament of nearly-melted thermoplastic onto a build surface. It builds in a criss-cross fashion, so that each layer's “grain” is perpendicular – which makes the part stronger. It's support material comes in break-away and soluble forms – the latter allows for much more complicated geometries by allowing water to wash away support.

Strengths:

• plastics used are very durable
• a wide variety of materials are available
• soluble support technology allows for intricate geometry, including simple moving parts
• materials are cheap

 

Weaknesses:

• Untreated surfaces have a rough finish
• Strength along the Z-axis direction is far less than in X or Y (because of layer adhesion)
• Slower build-times with multiple parts

 

SLA – Stereolithography Apparatus

This was the original form of 3D printing. Currently, all systems are built by 3D Systems. The process forms each layer by scanning a UV laser over a build surface covered in a special resin that cures when exposed to UV light. The plate lowers into a vat to re-coat the surface for each layer. Support material is the resin itself.

Strengths:

• Accuracy
• Good surface quality
• Wide variety of materials

 

Weaknesses:

• Resins
• Long post-processing times (due to removing support material)
• Resins are toxic & unsafe for an office environment

 

PolyJet / ProJet

PolyJet is produced by Objet Geometries, and ProJet is produced by 3D Systems. This form of 3D printing lives up to the name “printing”. These machines work similarly to inkjet printers, but instead of using ink they use resin. The resin is jetted onto the surface and then cured by a passing light – similarly to the SLA curing. The support material isn't quite soluble, but is washed away by a jet of water.

Objet's Connex systems can print in multiple materials at the same time. This allows models to have transparent features with opaque internal parts. Also, using their “Digital Materials” technology, you can even intermix the materials with a variable ratio to allow parts with multiple materials properties in one build.

Strengths

• Great Accuracy
• High Resolution / Feature Detail
• High complexity parts
• Moving parts are possible
• Ability to print in multiple-materials

 

Weaknesses

• Expensive
• Support can be difficult to remove in some circumstances – limiting some geometries

 

Z-Corp

Another form of 3D printing using inkjet technology is known by the company's name: Z Corp. These machines create each layer by using an inkjet head to deposit a binder onto a bed of compacted powder. Powder is layered and cured in succession until a part is formed. After each build, the loose powder is removed leaving only the part remaining. The fresh part is then coated in elastomer which gives the parts added rigidity. Some machines have the ability to print parts in full color.

Strengths

• Fast part production
• The only full color parts process

 

Weaknesses

• Fragile parts – even when coated
• Lowest surface quality than other “jet” processes

ThermoJet / Solidscape

These machines print in wax in a similar method to the ProJet / PolyJet processes. They build up layers of wax by printing each layer on top of the last. Solidscape machines are used to print in wax that is later used as a lost-wax pattern in metal casting – used by jewelers to create rings. ThermoJets are generally used to produce purely aesthetic parts.

Strengths

• Accurate
• High detail
• Great surface quality
• Cheap

 

Weaknesses

• Very fragile wax parts
• Limited Materials

 

SLS/SLM/DMLS – Selective Laser Sintering/Melting & Direct Metal Laser Sintering

In this process, a laser is scanned across the top of a compacted powder surface. The laser is strong enough that it sinters / melts the materials together.

Strengths

• Wide range of materials
• Durable parts
• Accurate
• Good at bulk jobs (because each layer can be sintered quickly)

 

Weaknesses

• Expensive (machine purchase cost)
• Mediocre surface quality
• Large flat parts tend to warp

 

ProMetal - Direct Metal Printing

This technique is named after the trade name of the company that builds it: ProMetal. The process is similar to Z Corp where an inkjet head deposits binder onto a powder surface. The difference is that the powder is stainless steel and must be sintered in an oven. Later, the part is “infiltrated” to full density by heating the part in the furnace over bronze. This produces a hybrid SS / bronze material – gold is also possible.

Strengths

• Cheapest metal printing
• Bulk part printing
• Ability to print very large parts

Weaknesses

• Lower accuracy
• Limited
• Casting quality surface finish

ProMetal RCT – Rapid Casting Technology

This is similar to the other ProMetal method, however instead this one produces sand molds for metal casting. The end result after casting is a part of identical quality as traditional green sand casting, without the need to produce patterns – this cuts time and enables novel geometries.

Strengths

• Fastest metal castings
• No limited on material to be cast

 

Weaknesses

• Expensive (machines & prints)

 

DLP (EnvisionTec)

This technique is exclusive to EnvisionTec and is similar to SLA in that it uses a vat of light-curable resin. Instead of using a laser, it uses a DLP chip and a UV light source to cure each layer in one step (no XY scanning). This makes it five times faster than SLA.

Strengths

• Accurate
• High Resolution / Feature Detail
• Fast
• Casting friendly materials

 

Weaknesses

• Expensive (machine purchase cost)
• Accuracy fall-off (more accurate in the center than edges)

 

LOM – Layered Object Manufacturing

This process uses layered sheets of material (usually paper or plastic) that are cut out by laser or blade and adhered together. The latest version of this process is the Mcor Matrix which uses A4 printer paper and PVA glue to make prototypes.

Strengths

• Very cheap & available materials (paper & glue)
• Thin layer thickness
• Greenest 3D printing technology

 

Weaknesses

• Limited material selection
• Lower part strength

 

Other processes:

V-Flash

This system was released by 3D Systems to reach the low-cost / desktop market. Each layer is applied using a resin coated plastic sheet which applies materials.

Strengths

• Inexpensive
• Good accuracy
• Good resolution

 

Weaknesses

• Supports made of build material – high post-processing time
• Limited part size

 

Huntsman Digitalis

This system is currently only in prototype form and was debuted at the 2009 RAPID Show. It uses a novel Micro Light Switch technology to expose a vat of resin to a UV curing light.

Strengths

• Fast
• Accurate
• High Resolution
• Large build area

 

Weaknesses

• Limited Materials
• Probably will be expensive

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3-D Printer RepRap Clones Itself—Well, Almost

The self-replicating printer can print three-dimensional objects--and it's been released as open source.

CIO — You probably wished, at least once, that you could reach into your computer monitor and pull out a piece of pizza. Although you can't do so today, it may be possible to print edible objects in the near future, according to Adrian Bowyer of the Biometrics Research Group at the University of Bath. He's the founder of the RepRap project (short for Replicating Rapid-prototyper), which is based on a 3-D printer capable of replicating three-dimensional objects and recreating 60 percent of itself.

John von Neumann had spent time debating theories about self-reproducing machines during the 1950s, Bowyer discovered. Neumann called these machines Universal Constructors, and they inspired Bowyer to create a self-replicating 3-D printer. However, the idea to produce rapid prototyping printing products emerged in the late 1980s, Bowyer says. Initially, three-dimensional printing was used to create models and model parts, and sculptors used the technology to create intricate shapes for art exhibitions.

However, Bowyer believes that he's the first person to suggest a Universal Constructor (a machine that can self-replicate) that can also create other parts. In 2001, Bowyer convinced Bath University to invest in 3-D printing, and the university purchased two machines. By 2004, Bowyer realized that it might be possible to create a 3-D printer that could generally recreate itself, except for items such as electric motors and logic chips. The created parts have to be assembled by hand.

"Not counting nuts and bolts, RepRap can make 60 percent of its parts," says Bowyer. "The other parts are designed to be cheaply available everywhere." As he explains, the objects produced by RepRap are similar to Legos in both strength and durability. Most are made from thermoplastic polymer, with some containing ceramic slurries and silicon nitride. Materials such as silicone, wood and metal may also potentially be used, he says.

The RepRap is about the size of a standard photocopier. A user decides which model to print (or creates his own model). Next, the computer communicates with the RepRap as it would with a 2-D printer. The RepRap printer fills up with white powder surrounding the solid plastic object that it's creating, referencing the image displayed on the computer screen. Layer by layer, the object is created from the bottom up.

Among the items created so far are a pair of shoes, an iPod bracket, and even a martini glass. The RepRap should be able to create all its mechanical components on its own in the near future, says Bowyer, although some parts (like sensors or cameras) would have to be added.

Although today no machine in existence can enlarge or shrink chocolate bars like Willy Wonka's TV, the RepRap printer, says Bowyer, may be able to print chocolate bars in the foreseeable future.

Did You Say Open Source?

In February 2004, Bowyer published his idea for RepRap online. The entire RepRap project was released under the open-source platform under theGPL.

With a powerful technology, a good way to make bad things happen is to divide people into two groups: those who have it, and those who don't," Bowyer says. "The only way to avoid that is to give it to everyone. Also, if you try to patent or otherwise restrict access to a machine that copies itself, what you are saying to the world is that you want to spend the rest of your life chasing people through the courts who are doing with the machine the one thing that it was designed to do."

RepRap was founded in 2005 when Bowyer began to lead a small team on the project, with members from Canada, England, New Zealand and the United States, including his PhD student. Today, team member locations span six continents.

"The only way to learn about anything is to break it thoughtfully, then to make it work again," says Bowyer about the process of innovation.

By Ashley Laurel Wilson 

 

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IGH SOLUTIONS RECEIVES PRESIDENT'S AWARD IN STATEWIDE PRINT COMPETITION

IGH Solutions, located in Inver Grove Heights, MN, received several honors for outstanding achievement in the annual Star of Excellence Awards, a statewide printing competition hosted by the Printing Industry of Minnesota, Inc (PIM), the largest graphic arts association in the world. The Star of Excellence Awards recognizes companies who produce the best in print media and promotes excellence in print communications.

 

Competing against entries from printing and graphic arts firms throughout the state, IGH Solutions received eight awards, including PIM's very first President's Award, which the company will be presented with at the Star of Excellence Awards Banquet on April 29, 2010.

PIM judges, as well as President David Radziej, selected IGH Solutions as the recipient of this prestigious award for their exceptional 3D poster titled Alice in Wonderland.

"The President's Award was created this year to acknowledge an outstanding printed piece that didn't exactly align within our existing categories. This was a close competition with a very impressive standard of entries, making the judging process very challenging. We wanted to honor IGH Solutions for their innovative advancements in 3D printing -- the company and their employees should be very proud of this outstanding achievement," said David Radziej, president of PIM.

In addition to six Certificate of Merit awards, IGH Solutions was also granted a Best of Class award for the outstanding finishing techniques of the Nordstrom Birthday Treat gift card. The Certificate of Merit awards were given to recognize the Buckle gift card, as well as several lenticular posters and self promotion campaigns.

"IGH Solutions is delighted to be a member of a premier organization like PIM and takes great pride in the awards presented by the industry's best printers," said Ken Dishno, vice president of operations at the IGH Solutions, Travel Tags facility. "This is recognition of each member of our team, the value they bring and the passion that drives them to excel for the customer."

About IGH Solutions

IGH Solutions is a world leader in developing and delivering unique and innovative solutions centered around specialty and dimensional printing and related services. IGH Solutions serves as an umbrella over strategically located specialty print studios, sales offices and manufacturing facilities. The company has more than 30 years of printing experience and is the world's leading provider of high quality lenticular large-format and custom-printed plastics. For more information on IGH Solutions, visit

Source: IGH Solutions

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Zebra Imaging

A company is bringing full-color, glasses-free holograms to life, and R2D2’s got nothing to do with it. Instead, Zebra Imaging creates true 3D objects through software and a fast, powerful printing machine.

ZI’s software places a virtual camera inside every point of a digital model’s holographic vertical plane, in order to record its surface volume. Since there are about a million of these points, the amount of data is huge. Zebra then prints the data (containing distinct POVs) to a plastic polymer, creating a sheet full of 1-mm holo tile encryptions. Each tile is basically an image data conductor sensitive to light. When light is shined, its energy scatters around and all image angles are revealed at once, popping up a free-standing 3D model. When I reached out to “touch” the 3D buildings in a demo, I felt nothing but air, revealing a true optical illusion.

Most other autostereoscopic tech uses enhanced versions of LCDs for displays, likeAlioscopy’s use of a lenticular lens array or the fast frame rates of Philips’ Quad Full TV.

This tech is important for a few reasons. Its printing scalability (and physical flexibility) offers the best portable 3D-hologram imaging yet. The wide angles and true depth volume of the renders help people collaborate easier in real space, as opposed to a 2D screen (and might help avoid visual fatigue). And the 3D slabs are cheaper and faster to make than models made of other materials, like clay. This is why the U.S. Army likes them — maps of constantly changing battlefields can be printed on the fly.

Unfortunately, the prints still cost thousands of dollars, so it’ll be a few years before they’re widely available.

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SolidWorks Chopper Tutorial

Learn How to Model, Assemble and Render your own Complete Chopper in SolidWorks

 

 

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3D Printing at Home

In a common scene on Star Trek: The Next Generation, captain Jean-Luc Picard would walk up to an impressive, high-tech-looking console set in the wall and sternly say to it: "Tea. Earl Grey. Hot."

The console would shimmer and sparkle and, after a few seconds, a piping hot serving of tea complete with cup and saucer would materialize, ready for drinking.

The technology was known as a "replicator" because it replicated real things out of thin air. But, as it eventually turns out with much of Star Trek 's gadgetry, the technology is not so fantastical after all.

"It's not Star Trek anymore," says Cathy Lewis, chief executive of Desktop Factory, a company that is making its own version of replicators. "It's reality."

Real-world replicators, also known as additive fabrication machines or "3D printers," have actually existed for 20 years and were first used by industries that traditionally hop on board new gadgetry early, such as the military, aerospace and health sectors.

While they can't create food and aren't quite instantaneous, they can make objects out of thin air. They are also on the verge of breaking out into the mass market.

Early 3D printers were hulking behemoths and were extraordinarily slow and expensive. Today, the devices are considerably cheaper and smaller, and virtually every industry that needs to create prototypes of product models — from toy and hairbrush makers to toaster and cellphone designers — is using them.

"There are some companies that don't have one, but you can't find an industry without it," says Joe Hiemenz, communications manager for 3D printer manufacturer Stratasys Inc.

A typical 3D printer is about the size of a filing cabinet or refrigerator. Lower-end models sell for around $20,000 while more advanced versions go for more than $1 million. The largest machines can create objects measuring three feet by two feet by three feet. A small item like a pen takes a few hours to print while the largest objects require closer to a day and a half.

The devices work similar to everyday inkjet printers in that they print from computer files. The printers take three-dimensional objects designed in a computer-aided design (CAD) program and slice them into hundreds of layers, each about the thickness of a hair, then print each layer out one at a time from the bottom up. Each layer is treated with heat and pressure and hardened into plastic, then the next layer is printed. The end result is a three-dimensional model made of solid plastic.

While the majority of 3D printers only produce grey or black models, some manufacturers are beginning to add different colours.

The main benefits of a 3D printer to a business, Hiemenz says, are efficiencies and cost savings. Manually creating a prototype out of wood, clay or even plastic generally takes days or even weeks and is more expensive because it usually means outsourcing the work to an expert. 3D printers allows businesses to keep their prototype making in-house.

"It eliminates all the artistic labour in making the model," he says.

Users tend to love the printers because they allow for the creation of prototype models earlier in the design stage than before. Brookhaven National Laboratory, a research facility in New York, has since September been using a 3D printer to make parts for various projects, including a telescope design.

"Having printed some of these models, we've reviewed some problems that we probably wouldn't have discovered until way down the line," says Paul O'Connor, a scientist in the lab's instrumentation division. "The problems that were lurking there would have been found at a later stage and then would have been much more expensive to correct."

MARKET

While the price on the printers has come down, they are still out of the reach of the general public. Fewer than 30,000 have been shipped since their inception and the total worldwide industry is estimated to bring in just over $1 billion US a year in revenue.

About 40 manufacturers compete in the market, and all of them are small. Printing giants such as Xerox and HP are dabbling in the technology but have not yet released products.

The dynamics of the market could soon change, however, with at least one player aiming to broaden the appeal of 3D printers. Desktop Factory, a small company based in Pasadena, Calif., plans to release a compact $5,000 US printer in early 2009 with the small-business user in mind.

The unit, which is about as big as a microwave, prints hard nylon models up to five by five by five inches. So far, the company has logged more than 350 pre-orders, with the main interest coming from medical and dental practitioners as well as video game and animation programmers, Lewis says.

Desktop Factory aims to get the price down to under $1,000 US over the next three to five years and add different printable inks, such as those that produce flexible or transparent models. That would open up the market to everyday consumers, who could use 3D printers to fabricate household items, such as bendable toys or iPod covers, Lewis says.

"People will be able to disrupt the manufacturing chain and print replacement parts rather than having to drive to Home Depot for something that was manufactured in China," she says. "We haven't begun to tap into the users who really need the technology."

Ink refills an obstacle

One of the potential obstacles to mainstream adoption of the printers, however, is a problem also found with their inkjet cousins — the continuing need for ink refills. Larger printers, such as those produced by Stratasys, are expensive to maintain, with a spool that can produce 50 models selling for $350 US. Desktop Factory is targeting a price of $1 US per cubic inch of ink.

While the continuing investment may deter some users, others say handling their own prototype creation cuts down on overall costs.

"It's not a big factor," Brookhaven's O'Connor says. "We're saving a good deal of money this way."

Another factor that could affect widespread adoption of the technology is the public's unfamiliarity with 3D CAD software. The average home computer user has never encountered software such as Maya, Rhinocerous, SolidWorks which are used to create 3D models.

The solution, Lewis says, is the creation of an online database where users can download pre-built CAD files for printing on their home units. Printer companies or users themselves could create their own files and upload them to share with other people.

Three-dimensional home printers have a way to go before they are adopted in the home, but the day when the average person can make a cup of tea out of thin air may not be so far off.

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