Custom 3D Printing

Custom 3D printing is manufactured using digital technology material printers. Commonly used in the mold manufacturing industry for manufacturing models, it has gradually been used for direct manufacturing of some products, and there are already components printed using this technology. 3D printing is also applicable in fields such as automobiles and aerospace, and it has played a very important role.

The Characteristics of Custom 3D Printing

In general, the method of product processing is cutting, and the advantage of this processing method is that it can reduce materials. The material utilization rate is relatively low, and some large parts have a low utilization rate, even less than 20%. The material forming process technology is similar to material manufacturing, to significantly improve material production efficiency and reduce material waste rate. However, it requires a large number of tooling molds. For complex or large parts, complex process steps and large equipment tonnage are required.

The use of custom 3D printing technology will reduce traditional processing methods. This processing method obtains the workpiece by removing a portion of the material from the workpiece that is larger than the workpiece while adopting a new and increased processing method. This processing method uses layers of small blanks to gradually stack into large workpieces, decomposing complex 3D printing technology into simple combinations of 2D processing. Another advantage of 3D printing is that it does not require the use of traditional machining machines and molds. Technicians can use traditional processing methods to save less than half of their working hours, with only 30% or less, efficiently saving labor time and enabling direct printing of product samples or sample molds. Utilizing the advantages of 3D printing to improve material utilization and shorten manufacturing time. The characteristics of 3D printing include the following:

Custom 3Dprinting is widely used in various fields, but it cannot manufacture prototypes. 3D printing technology is mainly applicable to the manufacturing of single and small-batch product samples, which is conducive to the introduction of new products, manufacturing of parts with diverse or complex shapes, mold technology, and design. The process evaluation and assembly inspection of product design, short-term manufacturing and replication processing, and 3D printing are also suitable for printing materials that are not easily processed. This technology has played a very important role as it is the most common molding method. Because 3D printing technology is not only widely used in the manufacturing industry, but also has broad applications in fields such as aerospace, electronics, cultural arts, and architecture.
This technology can quickly transition from CAD modeling to manufacturing a single product during the manufacturing process. Samples of a single product can be completed in less than a day, while simple shapes can be processed in just a few hours. The 3Dprinting speed saves a lot of time compared to ordinary molding methods. Due to the rapid development and increasing efficiency of personal desktop-level 3D printers, many products, especially individual products, can be manufactured at home without the need for other processing channels, reducing the complex steps of obtaining products, such as product design concept, part design, packaging, distribution, and sales to the final customer. From product design to final 3D printing technology, remote manufacturing services are increasingly being used to meet customer design needs in a short period.
The advantage of free-form manufacturing is that it greatly shortens the trial production time of new products. This manufacturing method does not use molds and directly produces prototypes or parts. Meanwhile, no matter how complex the shape may be, it can be manufactured using this technology. Manufacturing will not be affected by the complexity of the shape and can print samples or parts made of multiple complex shapes and structures, as well as multiple materials.
Custom 3Dprinting is widely used to manufacture products with multiple varieties, small batches, and short forming times. Custom 3D printing technology is directly driven by digital models and uses specified materials to pile up. It does not require the help of other molds, effectively reducing product development and trial production time, saving mold materials, and also bringing significant time benefits.

3D Melt Deposition Forming and Printing

There are many types of custom 3D printing processes, and the most widely used one is the fused deposition molding (FDM) technology. Many 3D printers use the fused deposition molding process. Its advantages are relatively easy to implement, simple operation, and short equipment and model manufacturing time.

Melt deposition molding technology is a heating head that heats hot melt materials (such as ABS, nylon, etc.) to the standard requirements, to achieve a semi-fluid state. Then, the heating head will move along the two-dimensional geometric trajectory determined by CAD under equipment control. At the same time, the nozzle will squeeze out the semi-fluid state material, and the material will instantly solidify to form a thin layer with a contour shape.

This process is very similar to the printing process of a 2D printer, except that what comes out of the custom 3D printing head is not ink, but molten materials such as nylon or resin. At the same time, due to the vertical movement of the printing head or base of the 3D printer, it can gradually pile up materials layer by layer in a short period, and each layer is determined by the trajectory of the CAD model to print the shape that meets the requirements. Therefore, the designed 3D printed product can ultimately be printed.

The heating nozzle of the rapid prototyping 3D printer is controlled by a computer and performs planar motion based on horizontal layering data: the raw materials are sent to the nozzle by the wire feeding mechanism, processed, such as heating and melting, and then the next step is to extrude and bond from the nozzle to the workbench, which is cooled and solidified for a short period. The cross-section is completed layer by layer. After completing each layer of cross-section, the height of the workbench will decrease by one layer before continuing with the design of the next layer of cross-section. Each layer of cross-section is repeated in this way, and completing the last cross-section means completing the shape of the entire entity. The thickness of each layer is determined based on factors such as the diameter of the nozzle extrusion and the speed of nozzle movement.

The melt deposition molding process requires simultaneous production of supports during prototype production. To save material waste and improve deposition efficiency, the new FDM equipment adopts a dual nozzle structure. The function of each nozzle is different, with one nozzle used for depositing product materials and one nozzle used for depositing support materials. Generally speaking, model materials have fine characteristics and low deposition efficiency. The supporting material wire is thicker, and the deposition efficiency is also higher.

The advantages of dual nozzles include high deposition efficiency and reduced manufacturing time during the deposition process of custom 3D printing, as well as flexible selection of support materials with special properties. The purpose is to facilitate the removal of support materials during the processing. There are many support materials, such as water-soluble materials, hot melt materials, etc. Support the workpiece being formed, and after each layer is formed, reduce the paper thickness by one layer to feed, bond, and cut a new layer of paper, forming a three-dimensional prototype part surrounded by many small waste blocks. Then take out the prototype parts for custom 3D printing, and if there are any excess scrap pieces, the technician needs to remove them. After completing all the steps, a 3D printed product will be obtained.

Stacked Entity Manufacturing Process

The material used in the Layered Solid Manufacturing (LOM) process is foil, which is directly cut by laser scanning or cutter motion, and then gradually stacked layer by layer to form 3D printed products.

Compared to other custom 3D printing processes, this technology uses more paper materials in the stacked solid manufacturing process, which has the advantages of efficient manufacturing, simple operation by technical personnel during the construction process, and easy operation of the process. Therefore, this technology was widely applied in the early stages and quickly developed as one of the 3D printing process methods.

The basic principle of using laser cutting for the laminated solid manufacturing process. Based on the contour lines of each section in the 3D CAD model, under the control of the equipment, commands are issued to control the laser cutting system, causing the cutting head to move in different directions. The feeding institution sends the material coated with thermos on the bottom surface to the upper part of the workbench, mainly including coated paper, ceramic foil, etc. The laser cutting system uses a carbon dioxide laser beam to cut the paper on the workbench along the contour line of the foil according to the cross-sectional contour extracted by the equipment and cuts the noncontour area of the paper into small fragments. Then, layers of paper are pressed tightly and glued together by a hot pressing mechanism.

Custom 3D printing technology is a manufacturing process that produces 3D printed products by increasing the material layer by layer. The speed and convenience of manufacturing products using 3D printing technology are relatively fast, and it is generally suitable for the manufacturing of small batch or single-piece products.

Custom 3D Printing