3D Printing

FDM 3D Printing

Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) or Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF), is an additive manufacturing process that belongs to the material extrusion family. In FDM, an object is built by selectively depositing melted material in a pre-determined path layer-by-layer. The materials used are thermoplastic polymers and come in a filament form. FDM is the most widely used 3D Printing technology: it represents the largest installed base of 3D printers globally and is often the first technology people are exposed to.

The typical layer height used in FDM varies between 50 and 300 microns and can be determined upon placing an order. A smaller layer height produces smoother parts and captures curved geometries more accurately, while a larger height produces parts faster and at a lower cost. A layer height of 200 microns is most commonly used.

FDM Materials

One of the key strengths of FDM is the wide range of available materials. These can range from commodity thermoplastics (such as PLA and ABS) to engineering materials (such as PA, TPU, and PETG) and high-performance thermoplastics (such as PEEK and PEI).

Benefits of FDM

FDM is non-toxic.
FDM is the most cost-effective way of producing custom thermoplastic parts and prototypes.
The lead times of FDM are short (as fast as next-day-delivery), due to the high availability of the technology.
A wide range of thermoplastic materials is available, suitable for both prototyping and some non-commercial functional applications.

APPLICATIONS

Industrial Parts
Art and Sculptures
Product Prototypes
Architectural & Engineering Models
Gift Items
Robotics
Product Casting
Medical

POST PROCESSING

Sometimes, to enhance print quality, 3D Printed Parts might require Post Processing. These include options like Chemical Treatment, Support Clearance, Painting etc. When required, post-processing might be quoted separately.

DLP 3D Printing

DLP (Digital Light Processing) is a similar process to stereolithography in that it is a 3D printing process that works with photopolymers. The major difference is the light source. DLP uses a more conventional light source, such as an arc lamp with a liquid crystal display panel, which is applied to the entire surface of the vat of photopolymer resin in a single pass, generally making it faster than SL. Also like SL, DLP produces highly accurate parts with excellent resolution, but its similarities also include the same requirements for support structures and post-curing. However, one advantage of DLP over SL is that only a shallow vat of resin is required to facilitate the process, which generally results in less waste and lower running costs.

In this process, once the 3D model is sent to the printer, a vat of liquid polymer is exposed to light from a DLP projector under safelight conditions. The DLP projector displays the image of the 3D model onto the liquid polymer. The exposed liquid polymer hardens and the build plate moves down and the liquid polymer is once more exposed to light. The process is repeated until the 3D model is complete and the vat is drained of liquid, revealing the solidified model. DLP 3D printing is faster and can print objects with a higher resolution.

Because of the nature of the SL process, it requires support structures for some parts, specifically those with overhangs or undercuts. These structures need to be manually removed. In terms of other post-processing steps, many objects 3D printed using SL need to be cleaned and cured. Curing involves subjecting the part to intense light in an oven-like machine to fully harden the resin.

Benefits of DLP

High print speed
Excellent accuracy of laying
Different application areas
Hight accuracy and complex prints
Available in various colours
Lightweight prints
Resolution 0.02mm (20 microns) - 0.05mm (50 micons)

APPLICATIONS

Jewellery
High Detailed Sculptures
Machine Parts
High detailed smallest models parts
Dental Medical