3D PRINTER

3D printing or additive manufacturing is a process of making three dimensional solid objects from a digital file. The creation of a 3D printed object is achieved using additive processes. In an additive process an object is created by laying down successive layers of material until the object is created. Each of these layers can be seen as a thinly sliced horizontal cross-section of the eventual object. 3D printing is the opposite of subtractive manufacturing which is cutting out / hollowing out a piece of metal or plastic with for instance a milling machine.3D printing enables you to produce complex (functional) shapes using less material than traditional manufacturing methods.

Every 3D printer builds parts based on the same main principle: a digital model is turned into a physical three-dimensional object by adding material a layer at a time. This where the alternative term Additive Manufacturing comes from.3D printing is a fundamentally different way of producing parts compared to traditional subtractive (CNC machining) or formative (Injection moulding) manufacturing technologies. In 3D printing, no special tools are required (for example, a cutting tool with certain geometry or a mould). Instead the part is manufactured directly onto the built platform layer-by-layer, which leads to a unique set of benefits and limitations.

The process always begins with a digital 3D model - the blueprint of the physical object. This model is sliced by the printer's software into thin, 2-dimensional layers and then turned into a set of instructions in machine language (G-code) for the printer to execute.

From here, the way a 3D printer works varies by process. For example, desktop FDM printers melt plastic filaments and lay it down onto the print platform through a nozzle (like a high-precision, computer-controlled glue gun). Large industrial SLS machines use a laser to melt (or sinter) thin layers of metal or plastic powders