3D Printing Technology

3D printing technology is becoming more and more mature, and its applications are becoming more and more extensive. However, there are still many people who do not understand 3d printing technology. So what is 3d printing technology?

3D Printing Technology Comparison: Applications

What is 3d printing technology

Ordinary printers used in daily life can print flat objects designed by computers. The so-called 3D printers work on the same principle as ordinary printers, except that the printing materials are somewhat different. The printing materials of ordinary printers are ink and paper, while 3D printers contain different “printing materials” such as metals, ceramics, plastics, and sand, which are real raw materials. After the printer is connected to the computer, the “printing materials” can be superimposed layer by layer through computer control, and finally the blueprint on the computer can be turned into a real object. In layman’s terms, a 3D printer is a device that can “print” real 3D objects, such as printing a robot, printing a toy car, printing various models, and even food. The reason why it is commonly called “printer” is to refer to the technical principles of ordinary printers, because the process of layered processing is very similar to inkjet printing. This printing technology is called 3D stereo printing technology.

Types of 3d printing technology

There are many different technologies for 3D printing. Their difference lies in the way of available materials and the construction of different layers to create parts.

3D Printing Technology and material Table
Cumulative TechnologyBasic Material
Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM)Thermoplastics, eutectic system metals, edible materials
Electronic Beam Freeform Fabrication (EBF)Almost any alloy
Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS)Almost any alloy
Electron Beam Melting (EBM)Titanium alloy
Selective Laser Melting (SLM)Titanium alloy, cobalt chromium alloy, stainless steel, aluminum
Selective Heat Sintering (SHS)Thermoplastic powder
Selective Laser Sintering (SLS)Thermoplastic, metal powder, ceramic powder
Polypropylene (PP)plaster
Laminated Object Manufacturing (LOM)Paper, metal film, plastic film
Stereolithography (SLA)Light hardening resin
Digital Light Processing (DLP)Light hardening resin

At present, the commonly used 3D printing technologies include Multi Jet Fusion(MJF), Selected Laser Sintering(SLS), Stereolithography(SLA), Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM), and Direct metal laser sintering (DMLS).

Stereolithography SLA

SLA

Stereolithography (SLA or SL) is a form of 3D printing technology.

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Selective Laser Sintering SLS

SLS

Selective laser sintering (SLS) is an additive manufacturing (AM) technique.

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DMLS

DMLS

Direct metal laser sintering (DMLS) is an additive manufacturing technique.

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FDM

FDM

Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM), or Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF), is an additive manufacturing process that belongs to the material extrusion family.

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mjf 3d printer

MJF

Multi Jet Fusion is an industrial 3D printing process that produces functional nylon prototypes and end-use production parts in as fast as 1 day.

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3D printing technology commonly used in Lava

According to our statistics, the 3D printing technology used by 85% of our customers is stereolithography (SLA) or multi jet fusion (MJF).

The following shows the 3D printed objects of customers in our company:

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