Custom 3D Printing
The custom 3D printing technology method has unique performance. Its principle is to gradually add materials layer by layer, and the raw materials form high-quality workpieces with the help of the printer. Different printing processes have diverse performance options.
Industrial 3D Printing
The industrial 3D printing equipment is a machine for rapid prototyping technology, and the technology of this machine is digital model files. There are many materials used, both metal 3D printing and non-metallic 3D printing, and the technology of using these materials for layer-by-layer printing to manufacture products. Custom 3D printing technology is commonly used in the automotive industry, industrial design, and mold manufacturing. It will be used to manufacture different types of models and also to manufacture some products, such as automotive parts, aircraft parts, and medical models. More and more industries are using this technology to print high-quality components.
The Problems and Measures of Industrial 3D Printing
Industrial 3D printing technology is a printing method with unique performance, which involves gradually adding materials layer by layer and finally forming products with the help of machines. However, it is inevitable that during the manufacturing and production process, technical personnel may encounter some minor problems. If problems occur, they must be solved promptly. Failure to solve the problems promptly may lead to the failure of printed products, and there may be quality issues with customized 3D-printed products. When using industrial 3D printing, there are several problems encountered, and the measures taken for each problem are different.
- Selection of Printing Materials
Technicians must choose suitable printing materials before printing. However, there may be difficulties in selecting materials. Different materials have different characteristics and different aspects of performance mainly including strength, heat resistance, wear resistance, etc. The correct selection of printing materials plays a crucial role in the production of products. Before printing, based on the printing needs and considering the usage environment and printing requirements of the printed material, technicians study the performance of different materials and select the most suitable material for the product.
- Model Precision
Model accuracy is one of the important factors in industrial 3D printing. During manufacturing, there may be situations where the external dimensions of the model are different from those of the original model, exceeding the error range. This issue may be due to defects in the printing parameters and accuracy of the 3D printer, or it may be due to inaccurate model design. To solve this defect promptly, the operator needs to use machines with higher accuracy or adjust printing parameters, and carefully design the model.
- Printing Material Deformation
During the custom 3D printing process, there may be deformation of the printed workpiece. The reason for this problem is that the material is affected by temperature, which can cause thermal expansion and contraction of the material. Another reason is that the internal stress and printing parameter settings do not meet the standard requirements. The flaw in solving this problem is that technicians improve the support structure when using industrial 3D printing to reduce internal stress and adjust the printing temperature, speed, and parameters accordingly.
- Product surface Quality
Poor surface quality of printed materials is a problem that should be avoided as much as possible. Its form is nonadhesion between layers, uneven appearance, etc. This type of problem is usually caused by the inappropriate gap between the print head and the print bed, the printing temperature not meeting the standards, and the inequality of the print bed. Adjusting the bottom plate temperature to increase the viscosity of the printing bed, preventing the printing equipment from twisting, and cleaning the printing head within the specified time by the operator are the main methods to solve this problem.
- Slow Industrial 3D Printing Speed
Sometimes, the 3D printing process may experience slow progress, which can cause significant problems for printing. Usually, 3D printing speed is limited by printer performance and settings. Choosing a higher-speed printing device is beneficial for accelerating printing speed, and the printing parameters must meet the standards.
When using industrial 3D printing technology, it is highly likely to encounter the above problems, such as slow product printing speed, poor surface quality of printed materials, deformation of printed products, difficulty in selecting printing materials, and model accuracy issues. To solve the problem through appropriate methods and tools, the goal is to make the 3D printing results of high quality.
The Principles of Industrial 3D Printing
The common principles of industrial 3D printing include the following:
- Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM)
This is one of the industrial 3D printing technologies. The principle of this technology is to extrude melted materials from the nozzle, and the material must be in a fine wire state. The equipment moves through the nozzle’s movement path and switches layers, and the raw materials are stacked layer by layer and gradually solidified over time, eventually forming customized 3D-printed products.
- Stereolithography (SLA)
The material used in this technology is liquid photosensitive resin, which is bound by an ultraviolet laser or light beam to gradually solidify the material layer by layer. Laser is reflected onto the surface of the resin through a transparent liquid layer, which solidifies and constructs industrial 3D-printed objects on a fixed platform.
- Inkjet printing
Similar to traditional inkjet printers, 3D printed objects are formed by controlling the position and shape of the liquid material sprayed by the nozzle, stacking, and solidifying layer by layer.
- Selective Laser Sintering (SLS)
On a thin powder layer, use a laser beam to scan and sinter the powder, sintering the particles in the powder layer together to form a solid layer. Then, add a new layer of powder without covering it, and repeat this process until the printed object is complete.
- Selective Laser Melting (SM)
Powder melting technology is similar to SLS technology, but it not only sinters powder particles but also melts them to completely blend. This technology plays a crucial role in melting metal powder or metal alloy materials, and the movement path of the laser beam plays a crucial role. The powder does not slowly melt and solidify, ultimately forming customized industrial 3D-printed metal objects.
The Advantages of Industrial 3D Printing
There are various advantages of industrial 3D printing, and the main benefits are as follows.
Save raw materials because industrial 3D printing produces fewer by-products during manufacturing, eliminating the need for scraps and increasing material utilization. The amount of waste generated by this type of equipment is much less than that of traditional processing equipment. Industrial 3D printing technology is more environmentally friendly.
Infinite combination of multiple materials, combining different materials to form the same product, processing different materials seamlessly together, making the workpiece have unique performance. Industrial 3D printed products have extremely high precision and can also print workpieces with complex geometric shapes. Not only the design on the shape curve. Industrial 3D printing not only produces small batches of products but can also produce large quantities of products.
The manufacturing time of industrial 3D printing is relatively fast and does not require a lot of time. It can be formed by machine within a few hours. Through the design of technical personnel, this printing technology does not require traditional tool fixtures, machine tools, or any molds to assist in printing. It is a processing method from flat drawings to solid workpieces, which forms products from computer graphic data. The shape of the product can be simple or complex.
Commercial 3D printing can print assembled products and produce them on a large scale. Industrial 3D printing has automation, speed, directness, and accuracy during printing, transforming designs from computers into models.
The design of industrial 3D printing has become a common processing technology and is gradually being applied in design, mainly in the fields of industrial design and digital product molding. This technology can complete product manufacturing within a few hours, greatly reducing the time it takes for most products to enter the market. Customized industrial 3D printing is the process of printing products using various raw materials. With the help of 3D computer software, designers design a model on the computer and manufacture it using precision 3D printing equipment. The materials used for printing are diverse, ranging from metallic to non-metallic, such as aluminum alloys, titanium alloys, plastics, ceramics, rubber, carbon, etc. Different materials have different properties, and 3D printing service providers choose materials and then print them according to the requirements of the product.
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