Filament-based 3D printingStandard home printers usually work with plastic filaments. The technology behind this is generally known as fused filament manufacturing (FFF). Instead, this new form of 3D printing that I'm going to discuss is a new technology called Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM). Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”? Get an original essay In an FDM printer, a long filament of plastic is fed through a spool to a nozzle where the material is liquefied and drawn onto the platform, where it immediately cools and hardens. The nozzle moves to place the element in the right place to build your model or element layer by layer by layer. When a layer is drawn, the platform lowers one layer so that the nozzle can begin drawing the next layer. Unlike most standard home printers, the FDM printing machine actually uses another filament used to construct the support material. Since the material used to construct the model cannot fully support its own structure at that time, the support material prevents it from falling. Once the printing process is complete, the model is then immersed in a bath containing special chemicals and soap. The support material, due to its composition and its reaction to chemicals in the bath, dissolves automatically. Because of this process, designs can be very complex and contain interlocking, interlocking, and moving parts. An example of the type of item you can make using this technology is the fully functional, continuously adjustable wrench, all printed in one piece. The printing material used by these types of printers is called ABS. ABS is very useful for functional applications because it has 80% of the properties of the actual injected production material. However, the surface of models produced by this form of printing is rougher compared to other materials. Powder-based 3D printing The type of printer I'm going to focus on is not filament-based but powder-based. Laser sintering is used to create 3D prints in polyamide, titanium, alumide and rubber. The inside of the printer is heated slightly below the melting point of the powder. The printer then spreads an incredibly thin layer of this powder. A laser then heats the areas that need to be sintered together to just above the melting point. This process then reveals that the parts hit by the laser are now fused while the rest remains loose powder. The models are printed layer by layer using this laser beam. After printing one layer, a new layer of powder is spread over the surface. Once printing is complete, the result is a large block of powder that contains the printed/sintered models inside the block. In order to remove the prints from the large powder block, the block must be mechanically struck against the unsintered powder can and the excess must be brushed off. Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a custom paper now from our expert writers.Get a custom essayOther materials such as stainless steel and highly detailed stainless steel also use powder, but are not laser sintered. Instead, a binder is used to glue the pieces together. This technology is called powder and binder 3D printing..