Three Dimensional Printing Is An Additive Manufacturing Process

3D printing or additive manufacturing is a process of making three-dimensional solid objects from a digital design. The creation of a 3D printed object is achieved using additive processes. In an additive process the desired object is created by laying down successive layers of material (usually molten alloy or plastics) until the entire object is formed. Each of these layers can be seen as a thinly sliced horizontal cross-section of the eventual object.

With this action, the printer will make the object from the digital concept the exact size and shape desired. This process in printing a 3 dimensional object can take up to the same amount as the actual printing itself and sometimes even more. Everything depends on the complexity of the concept. Every little detail is made out by the printer so the digital blueprint has to be exactly as desired.

Rapid production of prototypes: 3D printing enables quick production of prototypes or small-scale versions of the real object. The printing of some products can be done within minutes. This helps researchers and engineers plan the actual object and catch any design flaws that may affect quality and functionality.

Part II of this paper will focus on the process of how 3D printers produce physical objects. This section will explain the computer files that are used in order to turn them into three-dimensional objects. The most noteworthy objects so far have bene the 3D printed guns and gun parts that have been designed by Defense Distributed.

To start off with a basic definition a 3D printer is a machine ranging in size from a pen to that of a tank (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2697306/Oar-Fully-functioning-plastic-boat-created-using-worlds-biggest-3D-printer.html). They create the desired design by continously spraying or to a surgical precision laying layers of material on top of each other layer to form the design that was created through one of the many programs made to create 3D printer designs. 3D printers can use a multitude of sources to create their three dimensional final products. These sources can include but are not limited to plastic polymers, titanium, aluminum, iron, steel, and almost any ductile metal or propane product that can be heated and placed without forming into a gas or melting to a point of no return. Of course these aren’t just typical polymers or metals they have been mixed with other certain chemicals and materials to give the materials new found properties. The cost of these 3D printers can be anywhere from $140 dollars all the way up to $846,000 (3ders.org). These are just the consumer models! Take a second to imagine the industrial and prototype models which are even bigger and more complex. When making the product the 3D printer creates it in a chamber where an arm like machine continuously lays material and forms the

To 3D print an object, the material that the object is made of needs to be acquired. Currently, 3D printing is limited to the following materials: metals, resin

2. 3D printing is done by creating an object on a computer, once the object has been designed to perfection, the information is sent to a 3D printer and is printed layer by layer until the object is complete.

Why go to stores and spend lots of money buying toys, jewelry, cups and many other plastic utilities when you can only press one button and print them out for yourself. This futuristic idea is not only innovating the scientific and technological world, but it is also innovating modern day households. The possibilities of 3D printing are extremely captivating, making this one of the most exciting innovations in recent times. 3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing, makes three-dimensional solid objects from a digital model or command. To picture how this process works, 3D printers use an additive process, where adding layers of a successive material creates an object. Traditional machines, however, uses a subtractive process by

3D Printing is a unique kind of printing system, which takes a 3D image file and creates a physical 3D image. As I mentioned before 3D files are generated from what is called a .stl file, which is a compressed triangular meshed surface. “These .stl files were originally intended for a rapid prototyping process called Stereolithography, and in the beginning were generated by CAD programs; however, because MRI and CT’s are surface scans, they too can generate a .stl file. These .stl files have become a world standard for exchanging 3D mesh type objects between programs” (McNeel, Sep. 2015, par. 3). Since MRI’s and CT’s can be scanned and converted into stl files it has paved the way into many different aspects of the medical and dental industry for 3D printing. When I say the medical and dental industry I am talking about many different avenues within those industries.

Finally, the author argues that the rapid improvement of 3D Printing and the increasing convenience for individuals to produce things with it is both a major concern and a tremendous

3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing is the process of making three dimensional objects by depositing a material layer by layer. It was invented by Chuck Hull in 1983 and was called Stereolithography because of the layer by layer production process

3D printers have been in the market for over 30 years up until now, starting at the 1980 's. Since the beggining, 3D printers have greatly developed but they are still in the process of researching and improving. The 3D market is expected to have many future advancements that will highly contribute to the different industries, including medicine, CAD/CAM dentistry, automotive, aerospace and defence, and the printing industry itself.

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 entire object is created. Each of these layers can be seen as a thinly sliced horizontal cross-

Once you have a 3D model the next step is to prepare it in order to make it 3D printable. Preparing a 3D model to be 3D printed is called slicing. Slicing is dividing a 3D model into hundreds or thousands of horizontal layers. This is done with software. It can sometimes be done within a 3D modeling software application. Certain 3D printers require a certain slicing tool. Once the 3D modelTo begin 3D printing you first have to make a virtual design of the object that you want to create. The virtual design is a CAD (Computer Aided Design) file. A CAD file is created using a 3D modeling application or with a 3D scanner. A 3D scanner is used to make a 3D digital copy of an object.

3D printing is a technology that was invented in the early 1980s by a man named Charles Hull (Ventola, 2014). Since its creation, 3D printing has branched into many different aspects of the world and is being utilized in fields like the automotive industry, medicine and is even being used for everyday purposes. Later on, Charles Hull founded a company called 3D Systems which developed the first ever 3D printer. In 1988, Hull and his company 3D Systems, put forth the first commercially available 3D printer. From this point on, 3D printing would be advanced and evolved to the point where it would have the opportunity to create a revolutionary impact on the world we