3D PRINTERS.

BY: BISMA ARIF (1917111)

BS (SS) 1A
WHAT ARE 3D PRINTERS? WHAT IS 3D
PRINTING?
3D printing or additive manufacturing is a process of making
three dimensional solid objects from a digital file.
The creation of a 3D printed object is achieved using additive
processes. In an additive process an object is created by
laying down successive layers of material until the object is
created. Each of these layers can be seen as a thinly sliced
horizontal cross-section of the eventual object.
3D printing is the opposite of subtractive manufacturing which
is cutting out / hollowing out a piece of metal or plastic with
for instance a milling machine.
3D printing enables you to produce complex shapes using less
material than traditional manufacturing methods.

HOW DOES 3D PRINTER WORK?

It all starts with a 3D model. You

create one yourself or download it from a 3D repository. When
creating it yourself you can choose to use a 3D scanner, app,
haptic device, code or 3D modeling software.
A typical 3D printer is very much like an inkjet printer
operated from a computer. It builds up a 3D model one layer
at a time, from the bottom upward, by repeatedly printing
over the same area in a method known as fused depositional
modeling (FDM). Working entirely automatically, the printer
creates a model over a period of hours by turning a 3D CAD
drawing into lots of two-dimensional, cross-sectional layers—
effectively separate 2D prints that sit one on top of another,
but without the paper in between. Instead of using ink, which
would never build up to much volume, the printer deposits
layers of molten plastic or powder and fuses them together
(and to the existing structure) with adhesive or ultraviolet
light.

APPLICATIONS:
What can you use a 3D printer for? It's a bit like asking "How
many ways can you use a photocopier?" In theory, the only
limit is your imagination. In practice, the limits are the
accuracy of the model from which you print, the precision of
your printer, and the materials you print with. Modern 3D
printing was invented about 25 years ago, but it's only really
started to take off in the last decade. Much of the technology
is still relatively new; even so, the range of uses for 3D
printing is pretty astonishing.
  Medicine
 Aerospace and defence
 Visualization
 Personalized products

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES:

Makers of 3D printers claim they are up to 10 times faster
than other methods and 5 times cheaper, so they offer big
advantages for people who need rapid prototypes in hours
rather than days. Although high-end 3D printers they are still
expensive (typically about $25,000–$50,000), they're a
fraction the cost of more sophisticated RP machines (which
come in at $100,000–$500,000), and vastly cheaper machines
are also available (you can buy a Tronxy 3D printer kit for
around $100–200). They're also reasonably small, safe, easy-
to-use, and reliable (features that have made them
increasingly popular in places such as design/engineering
schools).
On the downside, the finish of the models they produce is
usually inferior to those produced with higher-end RP
machines. The choice of materials is often limited to just one
or two, the colors may be crude, and the texture may not
reflect the intended finish of the product very well. Generally,
then, 3D-printed models may be better for rough, early
visualizations of new products; more sophisticated RP
machines can be used later in the process when designs are
closer to finalization and things like accurate surface texture
are more important.

FUTURE OF 3D PRINTING:
Many people believe 3D printing will herald not merely a tidal
wave of brash, plastic gimmicks but a revolution in
manufacturing industry and the world economy that it drives.
Although 3D printing will certainly make it possible for us to
make our own things, there's a limit to what you can achieve
by yourself with a cheap printer and a tube of plastic. The real
economic benefits are likely to arrive when 3D printing is
universally adopted by big companies as a central pillar of
manufacturing industry. First, that will enable manufacturers
to offer much more customization of existing products, so the
affordability of off-the-shelf mass-production will be combined
with the attractiveness of one-off, bespoke artisan craft.
Second, 3D printing is essentially a robotic technology, so it
will lower the cost of manufacturing to the point where it will,
once again, be cost-effective to manufacture items in North
America and Europe that are currently being cheaply
assembled (by poorly paid humans) in such places as China
and India. Finally, 3D printing will increase productivity (since
fewer people will be needed to make the same things),
lowering production costs overall, which should lead to lower
prices and greater demand—and that's always a good thing,
for consumers, for manufacturers, and the economy.