If you have decided to order 3D printing online you will possibly see that multiple technologies can be used to create your product. Which method you should use to develop the item mostly depends on the design. It would be smart to ask an expert for advice because this could be quite hard since there are many possibilities. The expert will take the purpose in account, but also your wishes will be used to give the best possible advice. The specialist could even advise you to use CNC parts online in case this is better, but this article will look at possible techniques to 3D print.
Selective Laser Sintering
Selective Laser Sintering is often called SLS, which is obviously its abbreviation. This technology to 3D print is used quite a lot. Selective Laser Sintering will work with a laser. This tool will melt a layer of powder, which will eventually be an actual item. During the SLS process the powder will be smoothed out and lasered in specific spots. The platform of the laser will lower a bit constantly. Every layer of powder will be melted locally by the laser, which is called sintering. The powder will then be hardened, which is how the 3D item will be developed.
Digital Light Processing
Another technology used to 3D print is Digital Light Processing, which uses a photopolymer to create the wanted object. The photopolymer will be transformed into an actual item with the help of light, which is done by using some sort of small beamer. The beamer will project the entire design on the surface of the photopolymer at once. After that the surface will be hardened. After this the beamer will be lifted to the next layer, which is a constant cycle. DLP also uses pillars, these can be removed after the printing is done.
Fused Deposition Modeling
Fused Deposition Modeling is a method that uses a nozzle to 3D print a product. The nozzle can be moved and will lay down a long and thin thread of thermoplastic material on top of each other. This is essentially how FDM works. Layer after layer the three dimensional object will be created. Most 3D printers for individual customers will make use of this technology. Unfortunately it does have a disadvantage, because with Fused Deposition Modeling you can clearly see the print layers in the created model.
Which materials can be used to 3D print?
Creating a three dimensional product is made possible by a special 3D printer, although you could also employ a 3D print service to turn your design into an actual object. For this process you, of course, also need to pick a material. This can be quite a hard decision, because there are quite a lot of materials that can be used for 3D printing New York City. To make it even worse, more and more materials are possibilities due to the constant developments and innovations in this industry. At the moment you could decide to use one of the three options that are mentioned below.
Titanium
It is possible to use metal to develop a three dimensional object with the help of a special 3D printer. One of these metal options is titanium. If you decide to use this material then you will have to employ a specific method, this is called Powder Bed Fusion. This method consists of multiple technologies, although titanium probably will use either SLM or DMLS. SLM is the abbreviation for Selective Laser Melting, while DMLS stands for Direct Metal Laser Sintering. 3D printed objects of titanium can have functional purposes, such as tools, but also look good, like jewelry for example.
PLA
PLA is an abbreviation and means Polylactic Acid, which can be used in combination with a 3D printer. It is a type of plastic that is made out of natural resources. Because of this, PLA is seen as relatively environmentally friendly since it can be biologically degraded, which is not possible with the most plastics unfortunately. Polylactic Acid is thus much better for the environment than other materials. On top of that, it does not smell too bad while it is being printed. Other plastics often stink during the process of 3D printing, but PLA does not have this characteristic.
Stainless steel
It has already been mentioned that metal can be used to 3D print an object. This can be done with titanium, but stainless steel is also an option. This is a cheap metal material and will be employed with the help of the previously mentioned method Powder Bed Fusion. However, stainless steel can also be used through Binder Jetting. This is a different technology to 3D print a metal item. Either way, a powder of stainless steel will be implemented during this interesting process.
3D printing for the architecture industry
Besides the designers, architects could also use 3D printing. They already employ a software called CAD to design buildings, but still often make models by hand. This is kind of dumb, since it takes much more time to do it this way. With the help of a 3D printer the model will be developed much faster. Therefore, it is certainly smart to buy this machine or use a service to create a model of a building you have designed. This way you can experience yourself how much better it is.
Author | Emily Forbes
An Entrepreneur, Mother & A passionate tech writer in the technology industry!
Email:- forbesemily@yandex.com
