3D printing techologies
All 3D printing technologies are based on the same principle, which involves gradually layering material on top of each other. However, even in the present day, there is no universal method suitable for all applications. It is necessary to consider what we expect from the printer and what we want to print. The most well-known 3D printing technologies can be divided into three categories based on the form of material printing and its processing:
- Material in the form of filament – material is extruded through a heated nozzle, including FDM and FFF. These can be considered synonymous.
- Liquid material – each layer is cured by a light beam (UV or DLP). This category includes SLA.
- Material in the form of fine powder – material is fused using a laser. Representative technologies include SLS.
3. SLS/DMLS
Another technology is SLS and DMLS, which differs from the previous ones by using powder as the material. The printer applies a thin layer of thermoplastic powder onto the build platform using an integrated roller, which is then fused in the areas of the final object. The roller then applies the next layer until the printing is completed. Another difference is that SLS can work with any material in powdered form that can be fused by a laser. This can include various types of metals, their alloys, ceramics, plastics, and more.
The resulting product is surrounded by the printing material, which needs to be removed. If a hollow product is being printed, it's necessary to create openings to allow the removal of uncured powder.
A similar method is Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS), which operates on the same principle. The only difference is that the process works only with metals and their alloys.
Source: Úvod do 3D tlače - Alena Furdová, Denisa Fialová, Michal Marko, Peter Leško
Zaklad do 3D Tisku s Jozefom Prušom – Jozef Pruša