As our new millennium is already well underway, a small, rather silent but decisive revolution is taking place in manufacturing processes . With the development of digital tools and the democratization of Internet access, our world is connecting its different parts but also the various communities of interest that form the social fabric. At the same time, consumer desires are evolving and they want more customization in their options.
Thanks to technical advances in multiple fields, a new tool has appeared on the market and it perfectly meets all the issues and aspirations mentioned above. 3D printing is indeed a great promise of autonomy in our consumption choices, which will become increasingly personalized as access to this type of tool expands. But how does a 3D printer work? Here are some answers.
The principle of 3D printing
To understand how a 3D printer works, you must first understand the principle of additive manufacturing. Traditionally, machining processes use subtractive manufacturing methods, which remove material to create an object. On the contrary, 3D printing superimposes several layers to achieve the final result. This is particularly interesting because the losses are almost zero and the geometric possibilities are much wider.
Concretely, a 3D printer consists of a support plate on which the object will be materialized and a printing nozzle. This is generally mobile, except in certain very specific cases, and moves to create the different layers of material. At each stage, the machine therefore prints a plan and it is the accumulation of these plans that will end up creating the structure of the object from a simple 3D file and consumables. Today, it is even possible, thanks to online 3D printing, to have your objects printed by a specialist like 3Dhubs and then receive them at home!
Different types of processes
To know how a particular 3D printer works, you also need to know the type of 3D printing or machining process it uses. The most common is FDM. This technique consists of depositing a filament of molten plastic with each pass, either on the printing support or directly on the part. The nozzle moves to extrude the filament of molten plastic, which, upon contact with the part, immediately freezes.
The SLA process is more intended for industry and is used in particular in jewelry or in the dental sector. Here, it is a photosensitive liquid resin that solidifies as soon as it is touched by an ultraviolet laser beam. Even more advanced is the SLS process. This high-tech process involves large means of implementation but also offers the most interesting applications. The laser will melt a consumable in powder form and has the advantage of being able to work both wax and metals.
How is a 3D printer controlled and operated?
3D printing is appreciated because it is the most economical and precise technique that allows you to create an object from a computer file. And all this in total autonomy. A 3D printer is therefore not controlled but it is however necessary to provide it with all the characteristics of the object to be printed using a very specific file. CAD is often used to create the 3D structure of the object and then it is saved in STL format before being transmitted to the machine.
The 3D file must then be processed by what is called “slicing” software, which will cut the structure into slices and transmit the manufacturing protocol to the 3D printer. This is where the quality and precision of the object’s finishes are determined because the more layers there are, the better the rendering of the final object will be. Depending on the process by which a particular 3D printer works, it will superimpose the different layers and ultimately produce the exact object to be printed!
