9 Essential Types of 3D Printers or 3D printing technologies

2. INTRODUCTION • As 3D printers are become more affordable and versatile, they are destined to disrupt multiple industries. Here's what you need to know about this quickly accelerating technology. • The world of 3D printing is exciting. With more affordable machines, creative entrepreneurs, innovative start ups, and new materials, the industry is rapidly evolving. • Since the invention of the 3D printer in 1983 by Chuck Hull of 3D Systems, companies have popped up all over the globe, attempting to make the most innovative machine. • Now there are 9 types of essential 3D printers available, which are very popular nowadays.

3. 3D Printing Technologies / Types of 3D Printers 1. FDM (Fused Deposition Modelling) 2. SLA (Stereo lithography) 3. DLP (Digital Light Processing) 4. SLS (Selective Laser Sintering) 5. SLM (Selective Laser Melting) 6. EBM (Electron Beam Melting) 7. LOM (Laminated Object Manufacturing) 8. BJ (Binder Jetting) 9. MJ (Material Jetting / Wax Casting)

4. Fused Deposition Modelling • FDM is the most common 3D printing method used in desktop 3D printing. Thermoplastic filament is heated and extruded through an extrusion head that deposits the molten plastic in X and Y coordinates, while the build table lowers the object layer by layer in the Z direction. • Effectively, the object is built from the bottom up. If an object has overhanging parts, however, it will need support structures that can be removed after the printing is finished. • This type of 3D printers is a cost-effective means for product development and rapid prototyping in small business and education sectors since it’s capable of fabricating robust parts reliably and quickly.

5. Stereo lithography • SLA has the distinction of being the oldest of the 3D printing technologies, first invented by Chuck Hull in 1983. • SLA works by exposing a layer of photo sensitive liquid resin to a UV-laser beam so that the resin hardens and becomes solid. Once the laser has swept a layer of resin in the desired pattern and it begins to harden, the model-building platform in the liquid tank of the printer steps down the thickness of a single layer, and the laser begins to form the next layer. Each layer is built on top of the preceding one. • SLA creates smooth surfaced objects with extreme detail, and it’s increasingly popular in industries like jewelry and cosmetic dentistry for creating cast able moulds.

6. Digital Light Processing • Digital Light Processing (DLP) and Stereo lithography have a lot in common. Both types of 3D printers use liquid photopolymers. You might have heard of these “resins”. DLP and SLA printers cure them by applying light to it. SLA does that with a laser, DLP with a special projector. • DLP technology was invented in 1987 by Larry Hornbeck of Texas Instrument and became extremely popular in projectors. DLP uses a computer-controlled, micro-mirror grid, laid out on a semiconductor chip. These tiny mirrors tilt back and forth. When a mirror is tilted, it reflects light, creating a bright pixel. • The technology is used in movie projectors, cell phones, and also for 3D printing. One of the benefits for 3D printing is its speed: You can print layers in an instant with this type of 3D printer.

7. Selective Laser Sintering • SLS is similar to SLA, but the key difference is that this type of 3D printer uses powdered material in the build area instead of liquid resin. A laser is used to selectively sinter a layer of granules, which binds the material together to create a solid structure. When the object is fully formed, it’s left to cool in the machine before being removed. • SLS is widely used for product development and rapid prototyping in a wide range of commercial industries, and also for limited-run manufacturing of end-use parts.  • The materials used in SLS can range from nylon, glass, and ceramics to aluminium, silver, and even steel.

8. Selective Laser Melting • SLM is sometimes regarded as a subcategory of the SLS 3D printer type, where SLM uses a high-powered laser beam to fully melt metallic powders into solid three-dimensional parts. • Typical materials used are stainless steel, aluminium, titanium, and cobalt chrome. For applications in the aerospace or medical orthopaedics industry, SLM is used to create parts with complex geometries and thin-walled structures, with hidden channels or voids. Elsewhere, as in the video above, it’s been used to fabricate gas turbines for the energy industry.

9. ElectronBeam Melting • In contrast to SLM, the EBM technique uses a computer-controlled electron beam under high vacuum to fully melt the metallic powder at high temperatures up to 1000 °C. • This type of 3D printer can use metals like pure titanium, Inconel718, and Inconel625 to fabricate aerospace parts and medical implants. But while the 3D printer technology is exciting, it’s currently very slow and very expensive.

10. Laminated Object Manufacturing • LOM uses layers of adhesive-coated paper, plastic or metal laminates, which are fused under heat and pressure and shaped by cutting with a computer controlled laser or knife. This is sometimes followed by machining and drilling. The 3D object is created layer-by-layer, and after the excess material is cut away, the object can be sanded or sealed with paint. • Though the dimensional accuracy of this 3D printer type is slightly less than SLA or SLS, LOM is one of the most affordable and fastest 3D printing methods available to create relatively large parts. It also allows for full-colour 3D printed objects.

11. Binder Jetting • Binder Jetting is an additive manufacturing process. This type of 3D printer uses two materials: a powder based (often gypsum) material and a bonding agent. The agent acts as an adhesive between powder layers. Usually, the binder is extruded in liquid form from a print head – just think of a regular inkjet 2D printer. After a layer is finished, the build plate is lowered and the process repeated.  • You can use this 3D printing technology with ceramic, metal, sand or plastic materials. • These type of 3D printers have a huge advantage. You can print in full-colour by adding pigments to the binder (usually cyan, magenta, yellow, black and white). This made it the preferred method for the popular 3D selfies. The drawback of this 3D printing method is the structural integrity of the objects. You won’t get high-resolution and rugged prints with this type of 3D printer technology – but there are some exceptions.

12. Wax Casting • The Material Jetting technology is better known as ”wax casting”. There‘s no inventor per se – it’s a technique used by jewellers since centuries. Lost wax casting (or investment casting) is a production process that mainly allows you to produce customizable jewelry of very high quality in various metals. But with 3D printing, there’s finally a process to automate wax casting – and for most jewellers, that’ quite something. • So it has become the dominant type of 3D printing technology if you’re a jeweller or want to experiment with casts.  • There are a handful of professional wax 3D printers on the market, like the “Wax Jet” from Statasys. If you want to experiment with this 3D printing technology, you don’t have to buy a printer. There are 3D printing services like Shape ways or Sculpted which use Material Jetting or Multi jet Modelling (MJM) machines for this task.

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