3d Printing Article
3d Printing Article
3d Printing Article
One
of
the
main
reasons
3D
printing
has
remained
in
the
Rapid
Prototyping
industry
for
so
long
is
because
of
the
reliability
and
repeatability
issues
it
continues
to
have.
While
repeatability
is
not
a
factor
in
the
Rapid
Prototyping
industry,
the
repeatability
of
a
part
from
print
to
print,
as
well
as
from
printer
to
printer
is
absolutely
necessary
in
order
to
become
a
reliable
manufacturing
process.
Tolerancing
is
a
crucial
aspect
in
the
design
of
any
part,
and
3D
printed
parts
must
be
able
to
meet
specific
tolerances
to
ensure
parts
will
be
able
to
assemble
together.
One
key
characteristic
of
3D
printing
that
causes
issues
with
accuracy
is
the
stair-stepping
effect
that
occurs
in
the
z-direction
of
a
print
as
each
layer
is
stacked
on
one
another.
A
variety
of
factors
such
as
varying
ambient
temperatures
and
excessive
foreign
vibrations
also
contribute
to
these
repeatability
issues.
3D
printers
are
currently
designed
to
minimize
these
factors
with
temperature
and
vibration
controlled
print
areas,
but
accuracy
problems
persist.
Scientists
at
the
Oak
Ridge
National
Laboratory
are
currently
working
on
self-monitoring
3D
printers
that
use
high
speed
cameras
to
analyze
the
printing
process
and
detect
any
flaws.
These
printers,
in
theory,
would
then
be
able
to
address
and
fix
a
flaw
as
soon
as
it
is
printed,
which
would
result
in
a
major
improvement
in
reliability
and
repeatability.
These
new
3D
printers
are
still
in
the
research
stage
of
their
development,
although
the
potential
for
this
technology
seems
to
be
the
favorite
to
propel
3D
printing
into
the
future.
3D
printing
has
done
an
excellent
job
of
developing
around
and
even
surpassing
the
technology
available
to
todays
designers.
3D
printers
were
designed
to
print
any
part
Computer-Aided
Design
(CAD)
systems
could
design,
but
they
have
progressed
so
much
that
CAD
systems
can
no
longer
design
every
part
that
3D
printers
are
capable
of
printing.
In
order
to
grasp
the
full
potential
of
3D
printing,
CAD
systems
must
be
redesigned
in
order
to
overcome
the
current
parametric
boundary
limitations
of
complex
geometric
designs.
Such
designs
include
hollow-core
and
lattice
structures,
which
reduce
the
weight
of
parts
and
can
lead
to
significant
cost
savings.
Companies
such
as
Materialise,
NetFabb,
and
SimpleWare
have
designed
software
to
design
hollow-core
and
lattice
structures
that
cannot
be
manufactured
by
traditional
manufacturing
processes.
These
companies
have
experienced
tremendous
growth
since
launching
their
CAD
software
and
will
continue
to
thrive
as
more
and
more
engineers
begin
to
utilize
their
software.
In
the
approximately
thirty
years
since
its
beginning
3D
printing
has
advanced
from
printing
a
small
range
of
plastics
to
printing
a
variety
of
plastic,
metallic,
ceramic,
digital
and
biological
materials.
The
capability
to
print
in
such
a
wide
range
of
materials
is
one
of
3D
printings
more
impressive
attributes,
but
advancements
are
still
needed
to
continue
to
broaden
the
selection
and
application
of
these
materials.
Organovo,
a
company
that
designs
and
3D
prints
functional
human
tissues
for
pharmaceutical
drug
testing,
is
currently
working
to
advance
their
engineered
tissue
applications
to
include
surgical
therapy
and
transplantations.
Voxel8
is
a
company
that
is
developing
the
worlds
first
3D
electronics
printer
that
will
seamlessly
integrate
3D
circuit
components
and
wiring
into
plastic
3D
printed
parts.
While
Organovo
and
Voxel8
are
working
to
advance
their
respective
fields,
researchers
must
continue
to
develop
new
metallic,
plastic
and
ceramic
materials
in
order
to
start
to
put
3D
printing
on
the
same
playing
field
as
the
current
manufacturing
processes.
The
newest
3D
printers
are
now
being
developed
with
multiple
extrusion
heads
in
order
to
integrate
multiple
materials
together
to
produce
more
complex
heterogeneous
parts.
Today,
3D
printing
is
a
very
serviceable
technology
for
unique
applications
in
the
manufacturing
industry.
If
3D
printing
technology
can
broaden
its
capabilities
and
overcome
some
of
its
issues,
it
will
develop
into
an
all-around
manufacturing
machine
that
can
change
the
way
products
are
made
forever.