3D printing is usually realized by a material printer using digital technology. It is often used in mold manufacturing, industrial design and other fields to make models, and then gradually used in the direct manufacturing of some products. Parts already printed with this technology.
This technology has been applied to jewelry, footwear, industrial design, architecture, engineering and construction (AEC), automobile, aerospace, dentistry and medical industry, education, geographic information system, civil engineering, guns and other fields.
Extended data
Principle Analysis of 3D Printing Technology
1, 3D design
The design process of 3D printing is as follows: firstly, the 3D model is modeled by computer aided design (CAD) or computer animation modeling software, and then the built 3D model is "divided" into layers of sections, thus guiding the printer to print layer by layer.
The standard file format for collaboration between design software and printer is STL file format. STL files use triangular surfaces to roughly simulate the surface of objects. The smaller the triangular surface, the higher the resolution of the generated surface. PLY is a scanner that generates 3D files by scanning. VRML or WRL files generated by PLY are usually used as input files for full-color printing.
2. Printing method
By reading the cross-section information in the document, the printer prints these cross-sections layer by layer with liquid, powder or sheet material, and then bonds the cross-sections of each layer together in various ways to form an entity. The characteristic of this technology is that almost any shape can be made.
The resolution of the cross-sectional thickness (that is, the Z direction) and the plane direction (that is, the X-Y direction) printed by the printer is calculated in dpi (pixels per inch) or microns. The general thickness is 100 micron, that is, 0. 1 mm. Some printers, such as ObjetConnex series and Projectet series of 3D Systems, can print a thin layer of 16 micron. The plane direction can print a resolution similar to that of a laser printer.
The diameter of printing "ink drops" is usually 50 to 100 micron. According to the size and complexity of the model, it usually takes several hours to several days to make a model by traditional methods. However, the technology of 3D printing can shorten the time to several hours, which of course depends on the performance of the printer and the size and complexity of the model.
Step 3: Complete
At present, the resolution of 3D printers is large enough for most applications (the surface may be rough, like sawtooth in the image). In order to obtain higher-resolution articles, the following methods can be adopted: first, use the current 3D printer to print a slightly larger object, and then slightly polish the surface to obtain a "high-resolution" article with a smooth surface.
Some technologies can print multiple materials at the same time. Some technologies also use supports in the printing process. For example, when printing some inverted objects, you need to use something that is easy to remove (such as soluble things) as a support.
Baidu encyclopedia -3D printing