What Are 3D Printers and How They Work?

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If you are working in a business field related to developing new products, you need to show a 3D model of your product to the clients before manufacturing it. A few years ago, it was done by creating a blueprint of the models. For example, this one:

A more modernized way is making digital 3D models using Computer-Aided Design (CAD) through software like Autodesk, Rhino 3D, Blender, etc. However, something can only beat the availability of a 3D model that the client can touch, see, and feel. So, here is what makes us realize the advantage of “3D printers”.

What Is A 3D Printer?

The 3D printer uses CAD to create a 3D model of the specified design using plastics, composites, or bio-materials. You can create models of any shape through 3D printers.

Working On A 3D Printer

3D printers work through “Additive manufacturing,” where an object is created by putting layers by layers. An Inkjet printer prints a 2D layer on paper using ink as the computer directs. A 3D printer uses the same phenomena except molten plastic instead of ink, which would never build too much volume. It repeatedly prints 2D layers, one above the other, using Fused Depositional Modeling. This 3D printing process uses a thermoplastic material fed from a large spool through a moving, heated printer head and is deposited on the layers of the 3D model. 

For example, if you have to print a paraboloid-shaped model in 3D, its 2D layers (or level surfaces) are circles with gradually increasing radiuses. So, the printer will create the 3D model by making a 2D circle of a slightly larger radius for each next layer from bottom to top.

This may be the most straightforward example because, all the 2D layers for a specific model are usually not always the same and can be much more complex. But practically, 3D printers are trained to build almost any model (like this 3D-printed Iron Man helmet).

Applications

3D printing applications are constantly being developed and used to manufacture models used in Medicine, Aerospace, and Defense. They have been used in manufacturing spare parts and various things used in daily life. 3D printers are now commonly found in classrooms and public libraries. Universities have 3D printers available for students to use in classes and for projects. 

Advancements

  • Since 3D printers are widely used to manufacture spare parts, companies are now switching to virtual warehouses. There, they don’t have to store the required details in a warehouse for years, and instead, they can use computer software to scan the given object and save its 3D model.
  • 3D-printed food is catching a lot of attention nowadays because it’s able to replicate the exact shape of candies anyone could ever want, with the added benefit of them being edible as well.
  • Efforts have been made to use 3D printers on a larger scale, like building houses, because it consumes less time, money, and labor. With the completion of the first-ever 3D printed house, Germany has fully certified the printing of 3D houses under the National Government’s Building Regulations.

This article is written by Umm EAiman Jalali, one of the contributors at the School of Literature.

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