S. Scott Crump developed fused deposition modeling (FDM) printing in the late 1980’s. FDM printing is the most commonly used and affordable method of 3D printing. You can think of a 3D printer being much like an inkjet printer. However, instead of laying down ink one layer at a time, 3D printers extrude layers of plastic.
Before creating an object using a FDM printer, one must start out with a 3D CAD drawing. Then, the CAD file is formatted so the 3D printer can understand the layout of the drawing. Once the CAD file is loaded into the 3D printer, the building process may begin.
3D printers consist of 3 main components. These 3 components are the printer platform, the nozzle or printer head, and the raw material itself. The printer platform is usually made of metal or hard plastic and is where the printed layers of material are deposited. The nozzle (printer head) is attached to a moveable chassis system. The thermoplastic filament material is fed through the nozzle using a motor controlled by a computer. The raw material is usually made from a production grade thermoplastic. This thermoplastic filament is wound around a coil on a spool for easy application.
THE PROCESS
During the 3D printing process, the plastic filament is drawn through the heated nozzle. The filament continues to unwind from the coil through the heated nozzle as it lays down material onto the printer platform. The nozzle and platform are both controlled by a computer that gets its coordinates form the CAD file drawing discussed earlier. As the molten plastic is laid down upon the platform, it cools quite rapidly and solidifies. Another layer is added on top of the first layer and is instantly fused with the layer below. This process continues layer by layer until a final object had been created.
Conclusion
There is no doubt that 3D printers have come a long way since the 1980’s. They are more technologically advanced and affordable than ever before. Their applications for modeling and rapid prototyping have helped the manufacturing industry immensely. As time goes on, newer technologies will surface that will make 3D printing even more valuable and cost effective. If you need help with prototypes, let Fab Masters use our 3D printing capabilities for your project.