Additive Manufacturing

How does additive manufacturing work?

The name additive manufacturing refers to technology that grows three-dimensional materials layered at once in superfine layers.

The next layer is connected by the previous layer of melted material. Objects can be digitally created using computer-aided design. STL files are "sliced" objects to ultra-thin layers in the program on the computer.

It helps guide the nozzle path in the printing head by accurately depositing materials into the preceding layers. The laser beam can also selectively melt and partly melt in powder. The material is cooled or heated and then fusioned into a 3-dimensional structure.

History of additive manufacturing

Chuck Hull, an American engineer at 3D Systems Corporation, is credited for inventing 3D Print in 1983 known as stereolithographic (3D printing). He invented the first commercially available rapid prototyping technique and the STL file format.

Thanks to Hull these STL file formats are currently used as infill techniques in most additive manufacturing systems. During that period, many industries introduced new technologies. Because technologies are still relatively new companies can use new techniques in new marketing techniques, although they may use the same basic technique.

Additive

Another technological progress is possible with the transition to digital technology. The digital revolution has come from the imaging of the communication sector and technology as well as architecture.

AM has the potential to increase production efficiency by delivering digital flexibility. Additive manufacturers use CAD software and 3D CAD scanners to direct deposited objects layer after layer, in precise shapes. The additive manufacturing process uses the addition of materials for the creation of an object.

The categories of additive manufacturing

While some media uses 3D printers to describe additive manufacturing processes there exist in fact several different processes varying in the method of layer production. Different processes depend upon materials and equipment.

In 2010 the American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM) " Additive Manufacturing” created the Standard Terminology to describe additive manufacturing processes.

Binder Jetting

The blending of the binder is done with powdered and bonded materials using the process. Binders Jetting are normally in powder form and building materials are usually a powder.

The print head runs in a horizontal direction on both the axis and y and deposits varying layers of the build material and the binding material.

Material Jetting

Material Jitting creates objects using the same technique as an inkjet printer.

Material has been jetted on the built platform either through continuous production methods as well as drop-on-demand methods for building the platform. Learn more about this Binder Jetting.

Directed energy deposition

Additive manufacturing that directly energy deposits can use a broad selection of materials like ceramics, metals and polymers.

A mounted laser, electric arc or electron beam gun on an arm horizontally melting wire, filament feedstock or powder builds up material as a bed moves vertically.

Metal extraction

AM, or additive manufacturing, uses polymers that are spooled and then either extruded or drawn through a heated nozzle.

The attached nozzle on a movable arm extrudes and builds the melted material layer by layer.

The layers adhere to each other either through temperature control or chemical bonding agents, as the nozzle moves horizontally and vertically.

Powder Bed Fusion

Typically, powder bed fusion processes include Direct metal laser sintering (DMLS), Electron beam melting (EMB), Selective heat sintering (SHS), Selective laser melting (SLM )and Selective laser sintering (SLM). Find the information in our article Powder bed fusion

Additive manufacturing vs Rapid prototyping vs 3D printing

Although initially known as rapid prototyping in the context of product development, this method has made huge leaps in recent years.

3D printed materials are also widespread and MIT invented this technology to produce a printer based on the AM technology in the 1990s. This term is not used effectively to describe new developments in industry, technology and services. Advertisements.

The different types of additive manufacturing

There are several different types of additive manufacturing processes. Direct energy deposition (DED) and sheet lamination (SL) are two of the most common.

In directed energy deposition, a focused beam of energy is used to melt material as it is deposited onto a build platform. This process can be used with both metal and plastic materials.

Sheet lamination involves bonding together layers of material, such as paper or plastic, with adhesive.

This type of additive manufacturing is often used to create prototypes or models of objects.

Laminated object manufacturing (LOM) is another common type of additive manufacturing. In this process, layers of material are bonded together with adhesive or heat.

LOM is often used to create prototypes or models of objects.

The various AM processes each have their own standards.

Advantages

Additive manufacturing has a number of advantages over traditional manufacturing methods. It is often faster and less expensive to produce objects using additive manufacturing than it is to use traditional methods. In addition, additive manufacturing allows for the creation of customized products that are not possible to create using traditional manufacturing methods.

Additive manufacturing is a rapidly growing industry with a wide range of applications. It has the potential to revolutionize the way products are designed and manufactured.

There are many advantages to additive manufacturing, including the following:

1. Directed energy deposition:

This type of additive manufacturing is well-suited for creating complex shapes or objects with multiple materials. It can also be used to repair existing objects.

2. Sheet lamination:

This type of additive manufacturing is ideal for creating large objects from sheets of material. It is also very versatile, as it can be used to create objects with different textures and colours.

3. Laminated object manufacturing (LOM):

This type of additive manufacturing is perfect for creating prototypes or small batches of products. It is also very fast and relatively inexpensive.

4. Flexible manufacturing:

Additive manufacturing can be used to create customized products quickly and easily. This is because the digital file can be easily changed to fit the customer’s needs.

5. Green manufacturing:

Additive manufacturing is a very environmentally friendly manufacturing process. This is because there is very little waste, and the objects that are created can be recycled or reused.

However, there are some disadvantages

1. One of the key disadvantages of additive manufacturing is the high cost of equipment and materials.

2. Additive manufacturing also has a limited range of materials that can be used, which can restrict the types of products that can be made using this technology.

3. Another disadvantage of additive manufacturing is its time to produce a product. This can be an issue for businesses that need to produce items quickly.

Electron beam melting (EBM)

Electron beam melting (EBM) is a type of additive manufacturing (AM) that uses directed energy deposition to melt and fuse metals. It is similar to other AM processes such as selective laser melting (SLM) but uses an electron beam instead of a laser to melt the metal powder.

EBM can be used to create parts from a variety of metals, including titanium, cobalt chrome, stainless steel, and nickel alloys. The process is well suited for creating parts with complex geometries or that require high precision.

EBM is typically used to create small batches of parts or prototype parts. It is not well suited for large-scale production due to the high cost of the equipment and the slow build times.

Sheet lamination is another type of additive manufacturing that can be used to create metal parts. In this process, thin sheets of metal are bonded together using adhesive or welding. The sheets can be cut to shape using a CNC machine or laser cutter and then assembled into a three-dimensional part.

Laminated object manufacturing (LOM) is a similar process that uses sheets of paper or plastic instead of metal. The sheets are bonded together and then cut to shape. LOM is typically used for prototyping or low-volume production. It is not well suited for high-precision applications due to the lower accuracy of the cutting process.

Selective laser sintering SLS

Selective laser sintering (SLS) is an additive manufacturing technology that uses a directed energy source, typically a laser, to fuse powder materials into a solid structure. A layer of powder is first deposited on a build platform and then selectively fused by the directed energy beam according to a computer-generated design. This process is repeated until the build is complete.

SLS is well suited for the production of complex, three-dimensional parts with a wide variety of geometries. It can be used to create parts from a wide range of materials, including metals, plastics, and ceramics. SLS is also capable of producing parts with intricate internal structures and features that would be difficult or impossible to produce using other manufacturing methods.

The main advantage of SLS over other additive manufacturing technologies is its ability to produce parts from a wide range of materials. This includes both traditional engineering materials such as metals and plastics, as well as more exotic materials such as ceramics and glass.

Contents

Additive manufacturing allows the creation of objects with geometric shapes using CAD and 3D scanning techniques. They are built layers by layers, as compared with a three-dimensional printing procedure and are in contrast to conventional fabrication, which typically combines machining or removing excess materials. There are several distinct AM methods that all have their own standards and these include the techniques used to deposit powder on x, y, and z and use liquid binding as adhesive.

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