3D printing, or additive manufacturing, builds a part layer by layer from a 3D file, most often by depositing fused filament (FDM). It makes it possible to produce complex shapes in house without tooling, at the price of lower mechanical strength and lower accuracy than machining.
In the project
This is the rapid prototyping process par excellence: a part is iterated in a few hours for the cost of the filament. On the running example, the lightly loaded structural parts, such as brackets, housings and jigs, are printed, usually in PLA. The practical flow at school is that the team hands STL files to the fablab manager, who takes charge of the printing. Hence the importance of booking the slot early and of paying attention to part orientation, since strength depends on the direction of the layers.
Fine parameter tuning, covering temperature, infill, supports and speed, the choice of material to suit the strength required, and the diagnosis of printing defects, all belong to the manufacturing course and to the fablab manager.
See also
- Machining — the complementary subtractive process
- PLA — the most common printing material
- Eco-design — material frugality and end of life
- Manufacturing and materials course (colleagues) — parameters, material choice, defects