3D Printing Additive Manufacturing

3D Printing/ Additive Manufacturing

3D printing is a processes in which material is joined or solidified under computer control to create a three-dimensional object, with material being added together (such as liquid molecules of plastic like material or powder grains being mixed together), typically layer by layer. Initially, 3D printing was a rapid prototyping technique mainly used for production of functional prototype of any design/ model/ object. Today, repeatability and material range have increased to the point that 3D printing is considered as an industrial production technology, with the name of additive manufacturing. 3D printed objects can have a very complex shape or geometry and are always produced starting from a digital 3D model or a CAD file. Even artificial limbs are also been made using 3D Printing giving a revolution in medical science also.

Characteristics of 3D printing:

• Objects are created by adding or depositing layers of material, not subtracting or cutting out pieces from a block of material.
• Because objects are created by adding layers, the computer file with details about model must be converted into slices the printer will create layer by layer.
• Printing a three-dimensional object can take hours or days to complete, depending on the complexity and size of the object.
• Cost is based on materials used, among other factors