Table of Contents

Seminar On 3D Printing Technology Report pdf Free Download

INTRODUCTION

3D printing (or additive manufacturing, AM) is any of various processes used to make a three-dimensional object. In 3D printing, additive processes are used, in which successive layers of material are laid down under computer control. These objects can be of almost any shape or geometry, and are produced from a 3D model or other electronic data source. A 3D printer is a type of industrial robot. 3D printing in the term’s original sense refers to processes that sequentially deposit material onto a powder bed with inkjet printer heads. More recently the meaning of the term has expanded to encompass a wider variety of techniques such as extrusion and sintering based processes. Technical standards generally use the term additive manufacturing for this broader sense.

PRINCIPLES

The manual modeling process of preparing geometric data for 3D computer graphics is similar to plastic arts such as sculpting. 3D scanning is a process of analysing and collecting digital data on the shape and appearance of a real object. Based on this data, three-dimensional models of the scanned object can then be produced.
Regardless of the 3D modelling software used, the 3D model (often in .skp, .dae, .3ds or some other format) then needs to be converted to either a.STL or a .OBJ format, to allow the printing (a.k.a. “CAM”) software to be able to read it.

Printing Before printing a 3D model from an STL file, it must first be examined for “manifold errors”, this step being called the “fixup”. Especially STL’s that have been produced from a model obtained through 3D scanning often have many manifold errors in them that need to be fixed. Examples of manifold errors are surfaces that do not connect, gaps in the models, … Examples of software that can be used to fix these errors are netfabb and Meshmixer, or even Cura, or Slic3r.

Once that’s done, the .STL file needs to be processed by a piece of software called a “slicer” which converts the model into a series of thin layers and produces a G-code file containing instructions tailored to a specific type of 3D printer (FDM printers). This G-code file can then be printed with 3D printing client software (which loads the G-code, and uses it to instruct the 3D printer during the 3D printing process). It should be noted here that often, the client software and the slicer are combined into one software program in practice. Several open source slicer programs exist, including Skeinforge, Slic3r, and Cura as well as closed source programs including Simplify3D and KISSlicer. Examples of 3D printing clients include Repetier-Host, ReplicatorG, Printrun/Pronterface, etc

Rapid manufacturing

Advances in RP technology have introduced materials that are appropriate for final manufacture, which has in turn introduced the possibility of directly manufacturing finished components. One advantage of 3D printing for rapid manufacturing lies in the relatively inexpensive production of small numbers of parts.
Rapid manufacturing is a new method of manufacturing and many of its processes remain unproven. 3D printing is now entering the field of rapid manufacturing and was identified as a “next level” technology by many experts in a 2009 report. One of the most promising processes looks to be the adaptation of selective laser sintering (SLS), or direct metal laser sintering (DMLS) some of the better-established rapid prototyping methods. As of 2006, however, these techniques were still very much in their infancy, with many obstacles to be overcome before RM could be considered a realistic manufacturing method.

Rapid prototyping

Industrial 3D printers have existed since the early 1980s and have been used extensively for rapid prototyping and research purposes. These are generally larger machines that use proprietary powdered metals, casting media (e.g. sand), plastics, paper or cartridges, and are used for rapid prototyping by universities and commercial companies.

3D printing can be particularly useful in research labs due to its ability to make specialised, bespoke geometries. In 2012 a proof of principle project at the University of Glasgow, UK, showed that it is possible to use 3D printing techniques to assist in the production of chemical compounds. They first printed chemical reaction vessels, then used the printer to deposit reactants into them.

They have produced new compounds to verify the validity of the process, but have not pursued anything with a particular application.

CONCLUSION

3D printing is not just an fancy tenchnology anymore. It will impact our lives in a big way and drastically solve many problems of our society and multiple disciplines. Apart from manufacturing, the most defining impact we have seen till now is in healthcare and education. Soon, 3D printing will part of the mainstream technologies and will be used by consumers in a large scale. It’s our duty and responsibility to use this technology to the best of mankind and prevent its misuse. Its time we embrace and learn even more about 3D printing.