Is additive manufacturing essential for today’s industry?

The future of industry is printing thanks to additive manufacturing. A few years ago, you probably thought that everyone would eventually have a 3D printer at home to print household items, but the truth is that this initial boom has created a very different scenario and is currently dominated by industry.

What is 3D printing?

3D printing works similarly to 2D printing. That is, a digital file is created and loaded into the printer with the help of a computer, which is then printed.

In 2D printing, the printer extrudes ink onto the paper, and after a single printing cycle, you obtain a two-dimensional representation of the digital file. 3D printing works similarly, but the materials used and the printing cycle are different, and it is not unique.

The result is a three-dimensional model after printing. Instead of ink, you can use metal, composites, powder, liquid, or filament. To do this, the material is placed in thin layers, and after completing all the printing cycles, the project will be complete.

What are its main advantages?

There are many benefits derived from additive manufacturing compared to a conventional manufacturing process. We highlight the following:

It makes it possible to reproduce any type of geometry, thus freeing up the design process along with the restrictions associated with traditional production. Furthermore, the cost of producing a part with a certain geometric difficulty is not increased.
This manufacturing process is more competitive and breaks with the slow, traditional schemes of mass production systems for producing small series of units.
It allows for more efficient use of materials, creating less waste and printing only the necessary quantity.
It is not tied to an initial investment, as is the case when using traditional molds.
A mechanism can be integrated into the part to be worked on without the need for subsequent calibration or assembly.
Product developers are offered the ability to print assemblies of different materials in parts and with different mechanical or physical properties through a simple assembly process.
The cost of customized products is not increased.
Types of Additive Manufacturing Techniques

Below, we highlight three additive manufacturing technologies: Powder Bed Fusion, Material Jetting, and Fused Deposition Modeling.

Powder Bed Fusion (PBF)

This technique stands out because it enables the production of components in metal alloys such as titanium, nickel, or even plastic. It is ideal for manufacturing parts with a very consistent internal structure. It allows the manufacture of surgical instruments or customized implants in the medical sector, or lifting hardware and centrifugal compression rotors in the industrial sector. PBF, or powder bed fusion technology, is an additive manufacturing technique based on successively depositing layers of powdered material and fusing them with an energy source, usually a laser or electron beam.

Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM)

FDM is the simplest method available. It is based on three elements: a spool of filament that serves as the printing material, a bed or print plate on which the part will be printed, and an extruder. To operate, the filament is sucked in and melted by the printer’s extruder. The material is deposited layer by layer precisely onto the print bed.

To implement this method, the design must be created using software, and after the appropriate configuration, printing can begin. To begin, the machine temperature must be 200°C. The most common materials for this technique are acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) and PLA (polyacetic acid), although it is also compatible with polycarbonates such as PS, PET, or ASA, and other composite filaments based on wood, metal, or stone.

Material Jetting

This is another alternative for producing elements through additive manufacturing in any sector. This technique, also known as Polyjet, is based on the selective deposition of a mixed, light-reactive plastic material (photopolymer).

These processes are the most similar to those of a traditional inkjet printer. Like these, a print head moves over the platform, injecting photopolymers instead of ink. After depositing, the ultraviolet lights surrounding the head cause it to solidify, and the material hardens until the desired object is obtained, layer by layer.

This is the alternative for a precise finish, in which each area of ​​the part has specific characteristics. In other words, it can be used to create an object with a hard, resistant part and a soft, flexible end. You don’t need to print each part separately, which means a high level of performance and will be available after manufacturing.

In short, additive manufacturing allows for more advanced technological solutions and represents a significant impact on the industry, enabling a new, much more flexible and less costly business model. You can discover this and much more at MetalMadrid 2019.