3D printers are increasingly popular among hobbyists and consumers. You’ve probably seen one on YouTube or know someone who owns one. In 2022, do you truly need one for your home?
To better understand if a 3D printer is right for you, you’ll need to understand the fundamentals of how they work. You will have a better understanding of what they are capable of making if you comprehend their methods. Four Types of 3D Printers
“Additive Manufacturing” refers to the use of numerous different technologies and procedures by 3D printers. In short, all 3D printers start with nothing and continue to add material until your part is complete.
The most common 3D printing procedures are the four listed below.
1. The process of pushing a thermoplastic material through a heated nozzle is referred to as Fused Filament Fabrication (also known as FFF or FDM). FDM 3D Printers are the most common (with consumers) and affordable method.
- Stereolithography – Also known as SLA, or a “resin printer,” uses a light source (laser or projector) to cure liquid resin into hardened plastic. Fun fact – SLA was the first type of 3D printer invented.
- Selective Laser Sintering – Also known as SLS, is a 3D printing method that uses a laser to sinter (compact) nylon or polyamide into the desired 3D print.
- Multi Jet Fusion, also known as MJF, applies fusing agents to the nylon powder bed with an inkjet array. MJF is one of the most popular methods for full-color 3D prints.FFF, SLA, SLS, and MJF are the four main types of 3D printing processes.
Some remaining types include Selective laser melting (SLM), Laminated object manufacturing (LOM), Polyjet, and Digital Beam Melting (EBM). Many of these are variations of the 3D printer types above.
Because FDM (or FFF) machines are most popular among home-use 3D printers, we’ll focus on them for the rest of this article!
Materials for FDM (FFF) Printers
Let’s look at the available materials before we take a closer look at FDM machines. Looking at the materials will help you understand how the machines work.
FDM 3D Printer materials come in spools that are called filament. Spools of filament typically cost $15-25 (US dollars). The brand, kind of material, size, and quality of the filament will all affect its price range. 3D printer filament comes in PLA, ABS, Nylon, TPU, PETG (PETT), and less common materials such as wood-filled, and more. Most 3D printing hobbyists use PLA (most common) or ABS as they’re affordable and easy to use.
How FDM 3D Printers Work
In simplest terms, the filament (material) is pushed through a heated Extruder at a continuous rate, while the Extruder moves around the X and Y-axis. This movement allows a 3D Printer to trace your chosen design, layer by layer.
Once you select or create your design, open it in one of many software programs called a slicer. Most slicing software accepts 3MF, STL, and OBJ mesh files.
Slicing software will then translate your 3D model into lines of code that represent very-thin layers. These layers typically only have a thickness of 0.1 or 0.2 mm on average. You can think of this as cutting a vegetable into paper-thin slices - The Extruder—or the point from which the plastic emerges—is instructed to relocate along the X and Y axes by the instructions (G-code). This procedure is carried out for each and every layer. The movements work similarly to 5th-grade math students who are plotting points who plot points on a coordinate plane. Each X or Y coordinate point exists in the instructions in a strategic order. Most often by the most efficient order (i.e. shortest printing time).
- Just like you may put frosting on a cake, the 3D printer Extruder will continue to move to every sequential point as the material comes out of the nozzle
- The Extruder moves point-to-point, laying down material until the shape of the individual layer is complete. All FFF 3D Printers include a small fan that helps cool the filament after it comes out of the Extruder. The fan helps the plastic solidify into the desired shape while adhering to the previous layer.Through the infill process, the 3D printer will fill in the inside of the outline. In order to provide the final object with the necessary structure, the infill will range from 5 to 100 percent. Infill is mainly used as a method to reduce material usage and printing timer, instead of having the model printed 100% solid.
