Startup Guide

Building blocks of the future: What materials do 3d printers work with?

The rapid technological advances have ensured that 3d printing is very affordable nowadays, so the number of possibilities such as the printing of complete houses and medical implants has risen dramatically in recent years, but what is Currently all possible now?

3d printing is a technique that has existed for decades, also known as Additive manufacturing or Rapid Prototyping. This technology creates 3d objects by connecting layer for layer material. We See possibilities for printing shoes, jewelry, cars, bridges, complete houses, but also medical implants. Da Vinci 1.0 Pro is one of the affordable 3D printers under $1000 that can print using a variety of material.

What Materials Are Used in 3D Printing

3d printing starts with creating a design in programs like Rhinoceros, AutoCAD or Solidworks. By saving the design as. STL file is divided into thin slices. These slices are printed by the 3d printer layer for layer, which eventually creates a 3d object.

The above programs require some (prior) knowledge, but nowadays there are also more and more accessible design programs, Autodesk allows children, for example, to design their toys through a particular application. Also, there are also online libraries that are full of designs to be printed directly.

The design can then be printed through different production techniques, often depending on the material.

Fused deposition modeling (FDM)

Fused deposition modeling uses a movable spray nozzle. The nozzle is connected to a long thin wire with the thermoplastic material (material that is softened by heating) such as ABS, PLA or polycarbonate. By continually moving the nozzle horizontally over the same surface, while the platform sinks after each layer, an object layer is built up.

Stereo Lithography (SLG)

With stereolithography, a layer of liquid plastic is hardened by a movable laser beam. After the first layer has been modified with the laser, the container with liquid drops a few millimeters and the next sheet of molten plastic is added, which is then cured in the correct spot by the laser beam. The plastic most frequently used with SLG is the material ABS, where among other things LEGO cubes are made of.

Selective Laser Sintering (SLS)

Selective Laser sintering uses the same technique as in ' .' The difference is that, instead of a layer of plastic, a thickness of thermoplastic powder layer for the segment is hardened by a laser. First, a layer of powder is dispersed over the surface, after which only on the spot of the object powder is set by the laser. Then a layer of dust is applied again, and the process repeats itself. The material commonly used with SLS is Nylon (powdered).

ZCorp

ZCorp resembles the technique of selective Laser sintering, where the powder is also used. Unlike selective laser sintering, the layers are not hardened by a laser, but glued by a binder and then cured in the oven. For example, ceramics is a material that is printed using ZCorp.

Polyjet

Polyjet resembles Sterolithografie, but instead of a layer of liquid plastic works Polyjet with small droplets of material. These droplets are hardened by a UV-lamp, so the droplets attach to each other and eventually form a 3d object layer by layer.

Multi-Jet Modeling (MJM)

Multi-Jet Modeling also works with small droplets, but instead of liquid plastic, JMM works with drips melted wax. This allows exceptionally specific objects to be created. However, this also makes the objects much more fragile than the other techniques.

The materials that 3d printers work with are roughly divided into plastic filaments (on a roll), Plastic pellets (granules), liquids and powders. Filaments are often plastics such as Nylon, ABS, and PLA and are delivered as long threads on a roll. Plastic pellets are usually made of the same material but are thus supplied in the form of granules.

Besides filaments and pellets, there are also printers that work with liquids. The resin is, for example, a material that is often supplied in liquid form in a small (handy) tanks. Also, there is still material that is provided and used in the form of powder. These are often materials such as nylon, ceramic, metal or glass.

Nylon

One of the most commonly used materials during 3d printing is Nylon. Nylon is suitable for the making of packaging, jewelry, models, clothing and medical applications.

Scoop RFA: Kawasaki robots from the webshop

System Integrator RFA rad Factory Automation has a world first: a webshop for industrial Kawasaki robots. As you order a new smartphone, a new TV or another device, customers of RFA can now also order robots online. Is automation still more accessible?

Automation per mouse click

Peter Tacx, director of the Dutch manufacturer of interactive bicycle trainers Tacx, has recently ordered the first online Kawasaki robot. Because his company used Kawasaki robots in the production for more than 20 years, the step was quickly set. Through the new webshop for Kawasaki robots, He has re-expanded the number of robots in the factory.

Growing need for transparency

However, Rens Rad of RFA expects many more customers to take this step. He notes a growing need for transparency, both among existing customers and potential customers. Therefore, after the account they have created by RFA is verified, they see all the essential characteristics of the robots and accessories. The complete in Europe available program of robots is in the webshop, including the properties, technical specifications, drawing of the scope of the robot, the current stock, and the main accessories. This information is visible to every visitor of the webshop. After registering and verifying the account, prices will also be visible. As in many other web shops, visitors can compare multiple types of the robot to make a better choice. Buying is just a matter of clicking the shopping basket.

Delivery from stock

After the optimal robot has been selected, it can be placed "in the shopping basket" and transferred as an order to RFA, after which the command confirmation and the invoice will be generated. Within a few days, the robot is delivered by RFA, unpacked, connected to the supply voltage and demonstrated working. RFA also provides training for the operation, programming, and maintenance of Kawasaki robots. The support and service to the Kawasaki robots are carried out by RFA's specialists in the Benelux.

Have you ever wanted to design your motorcycle, but never got the budget together? Soon it becomes a lot more affordable, or even if it depends on the 3d print specialists of Zortrax.

The Polish company wanted to paint their craftsmanship and therefore hired a designer to design a complete body kit by a Triumph Daytona. The whole cockpit work was then created with a 3d printer. There is more work going on here than you think because in total there were 156 separate parts needed to build the machine. The char lasted one and a half months, and as you can see the butt, tank, saddle, light casing and the cockpit work are fully adjusted.

How does a 3d printer work ?

3d printing is a still relatively unknown technology for many people. This article explains how a 3d printer works, what it takes to print a 3d object, and what the differences are between different 3d printers.

The basis for 3d printing

3d modeled base for printing a 3d object is a design. As with 2d printing, the printer needs an example for printing. This example can be shaped in several ways. The purest form is to create a paper sketch that you then transfer to the company that will print your 3d object. The disadvantage of this method is that details can be lost when converting the 2d drawing to the 3d design. You are also often lost a lot of money in this way because you will have to pay for the work of the draughtsman.

It's easier if you have a 2d drawing program. This program, you create the design that you want to print and then forward it to the print company. They convert the 2d drawing into a 3d model, resulting in considerable savings in time and cost. Even simpler would be to create a 3d illustration directly and send it to the print company. Of course, you need the right software for this. SketchUp is a 3d drawing program that is reasonably easy to master and additional advantage, and it's free to download. Some cases, print companies themselves provide 3d software so that you can create the 3d drawing using that software. The latter case, the design can be directly acquired by the print company.

STL file

STL file where a 2d printer can manage the printer practically from any program, this is slightly different for 3d printers. Virtually all 3d printers can only be controlled using a Surface Tessellation Language (STL) file. An STL file is not just the design, but it also ensures that your item is divided into layers, which the 3d printer can then print for you. This way the 3d printer knows precisely where the material is to be glued or melted. There are plenty of STL files available on the Internet for printing simple and more complicated 3d objects, for example on Grabcad.com. However, if you want to design and write a full custom object in 3d, you will need to create an STL file yourself, for example using the Google SketchUp Plug-In that converts 3d drawings to STL files.

Methods 3d-Printing

Printing a 3d object can vary in different ways, depending on the 3d printer, but in general, all printers are from the same technique: the layer for layer building of your 3d model. Where the 3d printers differ in the way, the sheets are connected to each other. The most famous and cheapest way of 3d printing is currently FDM, which stands for fused deposition modeling. This method uses molten plastic. This molten plastic is stacked by the printer's nozzle layer for the layer to print the base of your model. It is quite easy to place multiple color plastic in the printer, so your 3d model can also be written in color. Inserting various color plastic is similar to putting different ink cartridges in a 2d printer.

An emerging method within 3d printing is the printing with granulate. In this method, a special powder with heat is melted together to print a solid object in this way. The basic model is created from head powder, and empty spaces are filled with filler powder. When the base model is completely fused, the filler powder is melted down by heating. This way, for example, you can have a cottage with Windows printed.

A more experimental method that is currently under development is stereolithography, using photopolymer. Due to exposure to bright UV light, this material occupies a solid form, and therefore a hard object is formed. This method of 3d-printing will also build up your model layer. Stereolithography is still quite expensive at the moment and is still little used.

Details and Materials 3d printer

3d printers are becoming increasingly frequent in the news, for example, the world is spinning, and it is said that a 3d printer can print with all kinds of different materials. This is partly true. The professional 3d printers used by companies can often print different documents, including ceramics, plastics, sand, and steel. However, the 3d printers on the market for consumers are still limited to the printing of molten plastic. Make sure you know beforehand which materials your favorite 3d printer can print to avoid surprises afterward. The level of detail also varies from printer to printer. The more expensive, more advanced models, get a higher level of detail than cheaper ones. The difference in more information will not express itself in the colors of your 3d object but in the aspect of small decorations to your model.

Size of your 3d object

The size of your 3d object depends on the print platform of your 3d printer.

The more advanced, larger, and more expensive the device, the larger the 3d object you can have printed. In contrast, a cheaper and smaller model print is also smaller 3d models. Current 3d printers for consumers print 3d objects with dimensions between 12 and 23cm. However, if you want to write a larger 3d object, please ask about the possibilities for professional 3d print companies, such as Shapeways or Sculpteo. They have larger 3d printers capable of printing larger models.

3d printers work in different ways. Based on an STL file, your 3d model layer is built for the segment. Each 3d printer differs in method, detail, and size.