Not everyone thinks that subtractive prototyping has a place in the Additive Manufacturing arena. After all, subtractive is really CNC machining—a process that removes material from a larger…
This feature is part of a series of features for the 2011 Make Parts Fast Handbook. A 3D printer can be used to analyze form, fit, feel, function,…
Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) technology was developed by S. Scott Crump in the late 1980s and was commercialized in 1990. The build material is usually a filament or…
Hundreds of materials are available for additive manufacturing systems. Each offers different capabilities to meet your form, fit, and function needs. For the most part, each vendor of…
In 1986, inventor Charles W. Hull developed a “solid imaging process” known as stereolithography, which initiated the rapid prototyping revolution. Stereolithography (SLA) builds three-dimensional models out of liquid…
Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) technology can truly be called an additive manufacturing technology. Long used to build prototype parts early in the design cycle, increasingly it is used…
A 3D scanner is used to convert a three-dimensional object into digital bits (or a point cloud of information), which are used for many processes, such as: •…
Leslie Langnau is the Managing Editor of the Design World Network. She also has more than 20 years experience as a technology editor, covering such areas as controls, mechanics, mechatronics, couplings, industrial networks, and the field now known as additive manufacturing (formerly rapid prototyping).
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