How does a 3d printer work?

A few decades ago, it might seem fantastic to be able to print almost any text, drawing or photograph at home in a matter of minutes, but now almost everyone can use a printer. In addition to printing images, today it has become a reality to embody volumetric objects according to their computer models. Peripherals that do this are called 3d printers. With their help, you can create details and objects of the most diverse forms that are used in technology, modeling of spatial complexes, and everyday life. So what are the capabilities of bulk printing and how does a 3d printer work?

Principle of three-dimensional printing

It is well known how volumetric objects are obtained by casting or machining a workpiece, the shape of which is closest to the final result. The last principle, formulated by Michelangelo as cutting off all that is superfluous from the stone, is used when creating sculptures. The method of forming a figure in 3D printing is called additive (from the English add - "add"), and it is radically different from those mentioned above. Here, the object is formed layer by layer by gradually applying portions of the material, that is, the created body is grown step by step until it acquires the required configuration. A diagram illustrating the principle of three-dimensional printing in a very simplified manner is shown in the picture.

By positioning the print head in the X and Y coordinate system, the material is applied in accordance with the predetermined layer configuration. Moving the build platform one step along the Z axis starts growing the next level of the object.

The first stage of preparation for printing is the creation of a computer model of the future component. This can be done in two ways: using a three-dimensional graphics editor or CAD systems (3D Studio Max, SolidWorks, AutoCAD and others) or by 3D scanning the object that you want to copy. Then, using the printer software, the model is broken down into layers and a set of commands is generated that determine the sequence of application of material when printing.

Equipment that implements the additive method of creating bodies, by analogy with two-dimensional peripheral devices, is characterized by a resolution along three axes in space. These parameters determine the height of the layer and the positioning accuracy of the print element. Another important technical characteristic of a 3D printer is the printable area, the size of which determines the maximum possible size of the grown body.

Various types of plastics, metal alloys, mineral mixtures, paper, photopolymers can be used as materials for three-dimensional objects in additive manufacturing.

Photopolymerization printing

This name combines two methods of creating three-dimensional objects from a special class of liquid substances - photopolymers, solidifying when exposed to ultraviolet radiation, - laser stereolithography and digital LED projection.

A scheme for printing a volumetric body using laser stereolithography technology is shown in the illustration. The working area is immersed in liquid photopolymer resin to the level of one layer. The laser beam draws a cross-section of the future object in accordance with its three-dimensional model, the irradiated areas of the material solidify. Then the base is lowered into a bath of liquid resin for the size of the next layer, and its construction is carried out similarly to the previous one. The process is repeated until the whole object is grown. After that, the remnants of the material are washed off from the product.

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The second kind of photopolymerization printing is implemented according to the same principle, only LED projectors are used as a source of illumination.

Lamination

This technology consists in the manufacture of bulk objects from sheets of paper, plastic films, foil. A diagram of the printing process is shown in the picture. The material with an adhesive coating applied to it is fed to the working platform or the lower layers of the part, when the heated roller passes over it, the surfaces are adhered. The contour of the layer is then cut out with a projected laser beam, which also divides the remnants of the sheet material into small fragments for easy removal.

Application of 3d-printing

3d-printers are used for rapid prototyping and production of piece parts, new components, models in industrial production, design of subject-spatial complexes, architecture, automotive, fashion industry, food industry, medicine and many other areas.

Since three-dimensional printing provides almost inexhaustible possibilities for obtaining volumetric structures of any complexity, this method is loved not only by engineers, but also by designers who create clothes and shoes, jewelry, small household items, furniture elements using 3D printers., toys.

Additive manufacturing technologies are also used in the manufacture of medical devices, for example, implants for dental prosthetics are printed on stereolithographic printers. In addition, artificial fragments of the human skeleton, bones, skull and cartilage are obtained on 3D printers. A promising direction is the use of various types of cells of the human body as a material, which makes it possible to print tissues and organs for transplantation.

Today, 3d-printers are not widely used in everyday life, since these devices are still quite expensive, and it is quite possible to do without the items made on them. But who knows, perhaps in the relatively near future, printing at home a broken cup, a broken favorite child's toy, an author's ring as a gift for a girl or a chocolate dessert for the holiday will become as commonplace as washing clothes or dishes without getting your hands wet today.

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