How does 3D printing work?

3D printing has been around for a while now, and many people in manufacturing are embracing it as a manufacturing process. For some people, the issue arises when they cannot understand what the procedure is all about. By knowing about the procedure, you can determine whether this is something you want to incorporate in your manufacturing process. Here is a guide to what goes on during 3D printing.

The notion behind 3D printing

One of the questions people ask is, how does 3D printing work? Well, the mechanism is pretty simple. Imagine a normal printer that you use in your office. Its work is to copy images and words and portray them on a piece of paper, as a 3D printer does just that. The only difference is, instead of ink, it uses plastic. The plastic is projected in the shape of whatever 3D image was created. Once the printing is done, you end up with a life-size model of the mage you had created to be printed.

Steps followed when 3D printing

Just like CNC machined parts, 3D-oriented parts need to go through a certain procedure to be completed.  In knowing these steps, you get to appreciate the process even more since you see how much thought was put into it. Here are the steps that go on during 3D printing.

Modeling

Before any printing is done, the first thing that one needs to do is 3D modeling. How this works is, you create a 3D model using any software to instruct it and ensure you get all the dimensions right. Ensure you go into all the necessary detail because whatever you miss will not appear in the final piece. Once that is done, the image is rendered into something that the 3D printer can read.

Slice the model

For the printer to get the entire thing done, the engineers slice the model into layers which the machine will create. The machine does not comprehend 3D images as humans do, so the slicing really helps. The printer will be directed to print out these layers bit by bit as they get stuck together and create a full object that looks like the model.

The printing process

Once the model has been sliced, the next thing that needs to happen is the ringing begins. The printer is loaded with the material, and printing starts. The printer combines a different layer of 2D prints to create the final 3D print.  It might take a while, but the engineers need to ensure that the printer is printing out the layers chronologically. Without doing that, you will end up with a piece that does not look like the model.

3D printing is a process that will be with us for a while. The steps above show just how easy it is for you to create things using 3D printers. 3D printing will revolutionize the manufacturing industry and give us faster and easier alternatives to make different pieces.