FAQs

Transparent or translucent materials suit a number of applications.  In medical, such materials let physicians see anatomy and are useful in surgical planning. help In automotive, clear materials often are used for headlights. In fluid research, … [Read more...] about How to work with transparent 3D printing materials

3D printed or additively made parts often need finishing after the build. According to many users, this is a time consuming and sometimes costly part of the overall additive process. A recent survey conducted with support from the Society of … [Read more...] about How do I finish my 3D printed part?

One of the key strengths of additive manufacturing (AM) is that it is well suited to applications that need low volumes of high-quality parts, such as the aerospace industry. Another strength is that AM can deliver parts as needed, in less time than … [Read more...] about How does additive manufacturing benefit Aerospace design

One of the lesser known 3d printing technologies is sheet lamination, sometimes also known as laminated object manufacturing (LOM). It is considered additive because one sheet of material is bound to another, in a layer by layer process. Early … [Read more...] about What is sheet lamination 3D printing?

The additive manufacturing industry has been a game-changer in the effort to battle this pandemic. Where supplies of personal protection equipment were scarce, the AM industry got to business and supplied hundreds of thousands of PPE for health care … [Read more...] about What is additive manufacturing doing to help fight COVID-19? 9 Examples

To build parts one layer at a time, you need to convert various materials into a form that can fit a layer by layer build process. For the additive process of Powder Bed Fusion (PBF), polymers or metals need to be converted into a fine powder. Then, … [Read more...] about Who makes powder bed fusion 3D printers?

Digital Light Processing (DLP) is one of the major additive creation technologies. It is a type of vat polymerization, similar to stereolithography, where a light source is used to cure a liquid photopolymer resin into specific shapes. In the case … [Read more...] about Who makes 3D printers that use Digital Light Processing (DLP)?

Until recently, the smallest commercial build size for a typical 3D printer was 5 x 5 x 5 in. or close to it. Researchers have gone smaller, printer micro motors and actuators years ago, but none of those systems reached the commercial level. … [Read more...] about What’s the smallest size you can 3D print?

Vendors continue to explore the limits of 3D printing/additive manufacturing, including size. When you need really big parts, you have several options to choose from. 3D Platform out of Chicago, makes several extrusion-based 3D printers that can … [Read more...] about What is the maximum size build for an additive manufacturing system?