Whether you want to call it 3D printing or additive manufacturing (AM), The terms “additive manufacturing” and “3D printing” both refer to creating an object by sequentially adding build material in successive cross-sections, one stacked upon another. But in practice, there are various situations and settings where one term is preferred to the other, and it all comes down to scale and precision.
3D Printing
3D printing is the term preferred by those, not in manufacturing or engineering fields, those into technology but not specifically manufacturing technology or Industry 4.0. In most cases, 3D printing describes the fused deposition modeling (FDM) or fused filament fabrication (FFF) of smaller “desktop” 3D printers. FDM and FFF both print by forcing molten martial out of a nozzle controlled by a computer and deposited in structured layers.
3D printing uses two materials:
- A powder-based material, usually plastic, metal, or ceramic, and;
- A binder, which acts as an adhesive between layers of powder. Most binders come in liquid form.
The term 3D printing comes from the visual similarity of binder jetting to 2D printing. Inside a standard inkjet printer, a print head travels horizontally along X and Y axes to deposit drops of ink onto a piece of paper.
Additive Manufacturing
Additive manufacturing is 3D printing on an industrial scale and describes the more advanced techniques. Although the mainstream media and many in the industry use the two terms interchangeably, additive manufacturing (AM) is the broader and all-inclusive term. It is commonly associated with industrial applications, like the fabrication of functional prototypes. AM also involves end-user applications like the mass production of components. It reflects the professional manufacturing process that differs significantly from conventional, subtractive manufacturing methods.
In traditional manufacturing, parts are cuts from larger blocks of material. As a result, there is a lot of waste. On the other hand, in additive manufacturing, parts are created by layering material. It provides a more professional-looking finished product, on which the building layers are much harder to see.
“Why is it termed additive manufacturing?” because the construction process adds rather than subtracts raw material.
How does it work? That depends on the type of additive manufacturing used. According to the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), there are seven categories of additive manufacturing:
- VAT Photopolymerization — objects are build from layers of liquid photopolymer resin, which ultraviolet lights cured.
- Powder Bed Fusion — objects are constructed from layers of material powder and melted (or ‘fused’) using heat or a powerful laser. This Common techniques include selective laser sintering (SLS).
- Material Jetting — The print head is used to construct each layer of an object, which deposits droplets of a liquid material onto a build surface where they quickly solidify. Once complete, the ultraviolet lights will cure each layer.
- Sheet Lamination — is the technique of constructing objects from sheet or ribbon metal, which are bound together using ultrasonic welding. Sheet lamination is not an additive technique, as it usually needs traditional manufacturing techniques such as CNC machining to remove surplus material.
- Material Extrusion — the material will be drawn through a nozzle, where these are heated and stored in layers on the build platform. In this case, the cured layer does not require additional processing because it is in a melted state when it is stored.
- Directed Energy Deposition — DED encompasses a range of complex additive manufacturing techniques used to repair or add material to existing components. In most cases, molten material is delivered onto the target surface via a nozzle and hardens. In concept, the process is identical to material extrusion, with the distinction that the nozzle must be able to move in multiple directions to account for various shaped target surfaces.
- Binder Jetting — 3D Printing.
5 Places Additive Manufacturing is Unstoppable
There are five industries in particular where the amazing capabilities of additive manufacturing have transformed production:
1. Aerospace
Aerospace companies were some of the first to adopt additive manufacturing. Some of the toughest industry performance standards exist in this realm, requiring parts to hold up in harsh conditions. Engineers designing and manufacturing for commercial and military aerospace platforms need flight-worthy components made from high-performance materials.
3D printing delivers complex, consolidated parts with high strength. Less material and consolidated designs result in overall weight reduction – one of the most important factors in manufacturing for aerospace. The benefits of additive manufacturing for major companies and organizations continues to push forward the innovative designs and applications for the world of flight.
2. Medical
The rapidly innovating medical industry is utilizing additive manufacturing solutions to deliver breakthroughs to doctors, patients and research institutions. Medical manufacturers are utilizing the wide range of high-strength and biocompatible 3D printing materials, from rigid to flexible and opaque to transparent, to customize designs like never before.
Some applications shaking up the medical industry are orthopedic implant devices, dental devices, pre-surgery models from CT scans, custom saw and drill guides, enclosures and specialized instrumentation.
3. Transportation
Life in the fast lane means endurance to tough environments like extreme speeds and heat. The transportation industry needs parts that stand up to harsh testing and are lightweight enough to avoid unnecessary drag. With a wide array of rugged, high temperature materials and additive manufacturing technologies and the ability to build very complex geometries, transportation companies are just scratching the surface of what can be made additively manufactured for their vehicles.
4. Energy
Success in the energy sector hinges on the ability to quickly develop tailored, mission-critical components that can withstand extreme conditions. Additive manufacturing’s advancements in producing efficient, on-demand, lightweight components and environmentally friendly materials provides answers for diverse requirements and field functions.
Some key applications that have emerged from the gas, oil and energy industries include rotors, stators, turbine nozzles, down-hole tool components and models, fluid/water flow analysis, flow meter parts, mud motor models, pressure gauge pieces, control-valve components and pump manifolds.
With the development of corrosion resistant metal materials for customized parts that may need to experience under-water or other harsh environments, there’s no telling what major energy companies may accomplish with additive manufacturing.
5. Consumer Products
For designers, graphic artists and marketing teams, the time it takes to form an idea and deliver it to the market is everything. Part of that time is simulating the look and feel of the final product during design reviews to prove ideas to key stakeholders. Consumer product manufacturers have embraced 3D printing to help develop iterations and quickly adjust design.
3D printing is great for producing detailed consumer electronics early in the product development life cycle with realistic aesthetics and functionality. Sporting goods have benefited from early iterations delivered quickly and with fine details. Other successful applications include entertainment props and costumes, lightweight models and sets, and finely detailed architectural models.
As 3D printing technology advances in speed and build volume, more consumer products may turn to additive manufacturing for their large volume demands. See how Olympia Entertainment used 3D printing to develop a scale model of the new Red Wings stadium and the surrounding 50-mile district to sell out their premiere suites.
Splitting Hairs
3D printing and additive manufacturing are interchangeable, you need not worry about saying the wrong term because they both describe the same process. 3D printing is generally used to describe the “entry level” processes such as FDM, whereas additive manufacturing is used to describe the advanced and more precise techniques like SLS. It doesn’t really matter though because 3D printing is a form of additive manufacturing and everything made with additive manufacturing is 3D printed.
Reference source: ge.com || spatial.com || eos || ecolink.com || k3syspro.com || ptc.com || stratasysdirect.com || Marlon R. Nunez || Gaston Florest
