3D Printing

Rapid prototyping takes virtual designs from computer aided design (CAD) or animation modeling software, transforms them into thin, virtual, horizontal cross-sections and then creates each cross-section in physical space, one after the next until the model is finished. It is a WYSIWYG process where the virtual model and the physical model correspond almost identically.

3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing (AM), refers to various processes used to synthesize a three-dimensional object. A 3D printer can “print” in plastic, metal, nylon, and over a hundred other exotic materials even coconut fibers.

A large number of additive processes are now available. The main differences between processes are in the way layers are deposited to create parts and in the materials that are used.

Some methods melt or soften the material to produce the layers, for example: selective laser melting (SLM) or direct metal laser sintering (DMLS), selective laser sintering (SLS), fused deposition modeling (FDM), while others cure liquid materials using different sophisticated technologies, such as (SLA). Smalll scale 3D printers typically use the FDM method to deposit a melted medium whose layers bind to each other as it cools.