Additive Manufacturing
Additive Manufacturing; Rapidly Develops to a Mainstream Technology Additive Manufacturing (AM) also known as 3D printing in its infancy is one of the most progressive technologies in the manufacturing industry and medical fields. Soon this technology will be mainstream in these fields but will also be found in many households around the globe.
AM DEFINITION
Some of you may not know what AM is, the following is the standard definition by ASTM F2792-10,
“The process of joining materials to make objects from 3D model data, usually layer upon layer, as opposed to subtractive manufacturing technologies.” (ASTM F2792 - 12a)
Today in the manufacturing industry, many different machines types can perform an AM process, listed below in order of availability to the public.
Stereo Lithography Apparatus (SLA)
Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM)
Laminated Object Manufacturing (LOM)
Selective Laser Sintering (SLS)
3 Dimensional Printing Techniques (3DP)
Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF)
AM PROCESS
To help clarify how the AM process works below are generic steps are required when producing a part using the AM process.
1. Create a 3D model with a computer aided design (CAD) program such as SOLIDWORKS by Dassault Systèmes. The model is virtual 3D representation of an object.
2. Export the model, which usually in a STL format so the AM process can manipulate it.
3. Import the STL model into the AM machine and setup it up for use.
4. The machine builds the part layer by layer until complete.
5. When the part is complete, take it out of the machine.
6. Once removed out of the machine it may require a post-processing step.
7. The part is now ready for use.
HISTORY 1980’s
The 1980’s is the birth of AM technology and had only two major companies that were making machines with the AM process, 3D systems and Stratasys.
The beginning of AM started in 1984 when Charles Hull developed the technology for printing physical 3D objects from digital
AM DEFINITION
Some of you may not know what AM is, the following is the standard definition by ASTM F2792-10,
“The process of joining materials to make objects from 3D model data, usually layer upon layer, as opposed to subtractive manufacturing technologies.” (ASTM F2792 - 12a)
Today in the manufacturing industry, many different machines types can perform an AM process, listed below in order of availability to the public.
Stereo Lithography Apparatus (SLA)
Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM)
Laminated Object Manufacturing (LOM)
Selective Laser Sintering (SLS)
3 Dimensional Printing Techniques (3DP)
Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF)
AM PROCESS
To help clarify how the AM process works below are generic steps are required when producing a part using the AM process.
1. Create a 3D model with a computer aided design (CAD) program such as SOLIDWORKS by Dassault Systèmes. The model is virtual 3D representation of an object.
2. Export the model, which usually in a STL format so the AM process can manipulate it.
3. Import the STL model into the AM machine and setup it up for use.
4. The machine builds the part layer by layer until complete.
5. When the part is complete, take it out of the machine.
6. Once removed out of the machine it may require a post-processing step.
7. The part is now ready for use.
HISTORY 1980’s
The 1980’s is the birth of AM technology and had only two major companies that were making machines with the AM process, 3D systems and Stratasys.
The beginning of AM started in 1984 when Charles Hull developed the technology for printing physical 3D objects from digital
Cited: 2. “3ders.org” n.d. Web 26 Nov. 2012 3. “Stratasys.com” Stratasys Inc 12. ASTM F2792 - 12a “Standard Terminology for Additive Manufacturing Technologies" ASTM International, West Conshohocken, PA, 1993, DOI: 10.1520/F2792-12A Print 13. fundinguniverse.com “Stratasys, Inc