What is a 3D Printer and how is it used?
A 3D Printer or also called a 3Dimensional Printer is a printer that is capable of printing an object exactly as it is.
Perhaps you all know what is a printer, but do you know what are 3D printers and how do they work? If you do not know anything about it like the rest of the people and want to know everything, then you must read this article completely.
Where a normal printer can print only in 2D, a 3D printer is more advanced than this and it can print three-dimensional things just like a real object. With this, you can design the object as you imagine. This ease and accessibility are what a 3D printer offers you.
Where you can see 2d models only in front, while 3d models you can see front and back from all sides. As we see things in our real life. By the way, read this article till the end to get all the information related to what is 3D Printing Machine and how it works.
Additive processes are used to create a 3D-printed object. To create an object in this additive process, the material is placed one on top of the other in successive layers until that object is created. In this, you can see each of the layers as a thinly sliced horizontal cross-section of the eventual object that you want to create in the end.
3D printing enables you to create very complex (functional) shapes which are very difficult to do with traditional manufacturing methods. At the same time, very few things are needed for this.
Who invented 3D Printing Technology?
3D printing technology was invented by Chuck Hull in 1984.
How does 3D Printing work?
3D Printing starts from your computer when you create a 3D Model in your system. , this digital design is a CAD (Computer-Aided Design) file.
A 3D model is either created from the ground up by 3D modeling software which is based on the data generated from a 3D Scanner. Whereas with the help of a 3D scanner you can make a digital copy of an object.
3D Scanning
It is a process in which a real-world object or environment is analyzed to collect data about its shape and appearance. From these collected data then digital 3D models are created.
What Materials Are Used in 3D Printers and Printing?
polymers, metals, concrete, ceramics, paper, and some edibles (e.g. chocolate).
Materials are often produced wire feedstock a.k.a. In 3D printer filament, powder form, or liquid resin. These materials are used in all seven previously described 3D printing techniques. By the way, polymers are used more commonly and some additive techniques themselves emphasize the use of certain materials.
How To Choose The Right 3D Printing Process?
Choosing the right optimal 3D printing process for a particular application can be difficult. There is often more than one suitable process. Each process offers different benefits, such as greater dimensional accuracy, superior material properties, and better surface finish.
For this reason, I have created a decision-making tool and generalized guidelines to help you choose the right 3D printing process.
Generally speaking, there are actually three main things that you should consider first:
Required material properties: strength, hardness, impact strength, etc.
Functional and visual design requirements: smooth surface, strength, heat resistance, etc.
Capabilities of the 3D printing process: accuracy, available print volume, layer height, etc.
What is the Industry of 3D Printing? How does it work?
The expected growth of the worldwide 3D printing industry was around $3.07B in revenue from 2013 to $12.8B in 2018. At the same time, according to sources, it is also going to cross the figure of $ 21B by the year 2020.
As it is evolving, 3D printing technology is going to transform almost all major industries in the future, along it is going to change how we are going to live, work, and play in the future.
This 3D printing industry encompasses technologies and materials of many forms. Where people think about 3D printing, then they visualize about Desktop 3D Printer. I told you about this very small thing.
3D printing is divided into metal, fabrics, bio, and other industries. That is why it must be seen as a cluster of different industries which have different applications.
If we try to know in which industries what percentage of 3D printing is used, then for this I have kept some figures below to understand it better :-:
Consumer Goods (17%)
Industrial Goods (17%)
High Tech (13%)
Services (9%)
Healthcare sectors (7%)
3D printing is now increasingly intertwined with our day-to-day business operations. CEOs of many companies are looking at 3D printing as a benefit. At present times, most companies are primarily focusing on research, development, and prototyping. Everyone knows about their potential.
Advantages of 3D Printing
Very Low Start-up Costs
Earlier formative manufacturing (such as Injection Molding and Metal Casting) required a unique mold in each part. The cost of these custom tools is very high. To reduce their cost, thousands of items of similar parts were manufactured.
Since 3D printing does not require any specialized tooling, the start-up cost is negligible. The cost of a 3D printed part depends only on the number of materials used, the amount of time the machine took to print it, and post-processing, if required, to get the final output.
Customizing Every Part
Have you ever wondered why our clothes have standardized sizes? The reason for this I have already told is that in traditional manufacturing it is easier and cheaper to sell identical (similar) types of products to consumers.
3D printing allows easy customization. Since its start-up costs are very low, all it takes is to change the digital 3D model to create a new custom part. So what is the result?
With this, each item can be easily customized according to the specific needs of the user, due to which there is no impact on manufacturing costs.
