La 3D printing, or additive technology, has seen significant growth since its introduction in the 1980s. Initially conceived for rapid prototyping, this technology has expanded into numerous sectors, such as automotive, aerospace, healthcare, fashion, and many others. This technological evolution has the potential to significantly transform the landscape of small and medium-sized businesses, opening up new opportunities, optimizing production, reducing costs, and shortening time-to-market.
In this article, we will explore the different technologies and materials used in 3D printing, the various available solutions, the advantages, and the most common uses in various industrial sectors.
Introduction: What is 3D Printing?
3D printing is a technology that enables the creation of three-dimensional objects from a digital model, using thin layers of liquid plastic, powder, or metal that are subsequently connected to form the object. This allows companies to test and refine their products before starting mass production, without the need to use traditional processes such as injection molding or CNC machining. Flexible, accurate, and rapid prototyping allows optimizing the product itself and avoiding waste, speeding up time-to-production and reducing unforeseen costs. This approach allows companies to adapt more efficiently to market needs and maintain a competitive edge by fostering innovation.
The Advantages of 3D Printing
Today, 3D printing represents a real advantage for companies that want to improve their production processes in terms of flexibility, efficiency, and competitiveness.
Let’s look at some of the most significant advantages:
Customization: With reduced costs and production times, even for a single piece, 3D printing offers extraordinary freedom with endless customization possibilities. Additive manufacturing eliminates the need to create new tools, molds, and dies for each new part, printing each design in a single phase regardless of its complexity. This represents a competitive advantage that combines experimentation and maximum customization with mass production.
Speed: Fast and on-demand, 3D printing reduces realization times, avoiding long setup times or outsourcing. During development, it means getting perfect prototypes in a few hours, with the possibility to verify and refine the design in real-time. During production, 3D printers allow the production of high-quality components and finished products much faster, eliminating the intermediate processing steps typical of traditional methods.
Creation of Complex Geometries: 3D printing offers the possibility to create extremely complex geometries that would otherwise be difficult, if not impossible, to produce using traditional methods. This technology can work with meshes, which are much more suited to freehand and organic designs, inherently more complex than regular shapes. Thanks to additive manufacturing, designers have much more freedom to modify and manipulate geometries to meet needs by creating unique applications. This results in much more complex parts with numerous advantages over more regular geometries, including reduced mass, fewer parts, and easier integration.
The ability to create products, models, or prototypes in a single process, with significant time and labor cost reductions, even for particularly complex projects, is a distinctive feature of 3D printing. This technology is not only sustainable and highly competitive, but it also proves to be extremely flexible for a wide range of applications.
3D Printing Technologies
3D printing technologies are mainly classified based on the materials used in the process and how they are treated. The choice of a specific technology depends on various parameters, such as production speed, mechanical resistance, desired surface finish, and final piece cost. In the 3D printing sector, machines of different shapes and sizes are available, using a wide range of processes, some of which are more widespread than others. Each technology has its unique characteristics and offers specific advantages, enabling greater customization and flexibility in the production of three-dimensional objects.
Here are some details on the main 3D printing processes used in the industrial field:
Multi Jet Fusion Technology
The Multi Jet Fusion (MJF) 3D printing technology, developed by HP, is an advanced system used by major market players such as Fama 3D, which allows the production of unique parts with a high-quality surface finish, quickly and at reduced costs. Unlike other technologies, MJF selectively distributes fusion agents and details across the entire powder bed. Subsequently, the layers are fused together using infrared light, ensuring greater speed and precision in the printing process. This makes MJF technology an ideal choice for efficient, high-quality productions.
One of the main advantages is production speed. Thanks to its ability to create complex, highly detailed parts in reduced times, Multi Jet Fusion 3D printing is ideal for meeting various business production needs. Additionally, thanks to the precision and high print resolution, it is possible to obtain parts with fine details and smooth surfaces, with a wide possibility for customization, allowing for the creation of unique and custom parts.
The Multi Jet Fusion 3D printing method currently represents the most advanced technology as it combines precision, quality, speed, and cost efficiency.
The most commonly used material in Multi Jet Fusion (MJF) 3D printing technology is a polyamide powder called PA12. It consists of fine polyamide particles, a shock-resistant thermoplastic with good elasticity and the best mechanical strength among all 3D printing materials. These characteristics make it suitable for a wide range of applications. Other materials are also available, such as PA11, glass-filled PA12, PA11, and TPU.
Resin SLA – LFS Printing
Stereolithography (SLA) 3D printing involves solidifying a photopolymer resin using a UV laser beam. The three-dimensional model is virtually divided into numerous horizontal layers through a highly precise process that proceeds from bottom to top. Before starting the production of the 3D file, the machine proceeds to build a preliminary support layer that will be subsequently removed. After creating the first layer, the support grid lowers, and the machine begins solidifying the next layer. Prototypes produced using stereolithography show remarkable adaptability for high-quality aesthetic finishes and are widely used as primary references for subsequent production phases. The great advantage lies in the fact that stereolithography achieves much higher precision, with freshly printed (raw) pieces showing such high surface precision that the layers are not noticeable.
Low Force Stereolithography (LFS) technology represents the next step in SLA 3D printing.
In LFS 3D printers, optical components are contained within a light processing unit (LPU). Inside the LPU, a galvanometer positions a high-density laser beam along the Y-axis. The beam passes through a spatial filter and is directed towards a folding mirror and a parabolic mirror to continuously provide a perpendicular beam to the print plane. This ensures precise and repeatable prints.
While the LPU moves along the X-axis, the printed part is gently separated from the flexible bottom of the tank. This significantly reduces the forces exerted on the parts during the printing process.
The Light Processing Unit (LPU) is the heart of the LFS system. It is custom-designed to provide uniform and precise illumination on the liquid resin in the tank. This controlled lighting allows for accurate and consistent polymerization of successive resin layers, ensuring superior print quality and more precise details.