An Ultimate Guide for 3D Print designs

Guide for 3D print designs

If you want to make 3d print designs, you must have appropriate knowledge of software, optimal 3d printers, and suitable printing materials that will enhance the quality of your product very effectively. 

CAD or computer-aided design software enables you to create your desired 3D model. There are various types of CAD software available with their benefit like Fusion 360, Blender, Meshmixer, SelfCad, DesignSpark Mechanical

Steps to make 3D print designs

Step – 1:- 3D models

Designing a 3D model is the foundation step of how to make 3D print designs. These models are designed using CAD software, which converts them into instructions that can easily be understood by the printers.

Step – 2: – Convert to STL formats

STL stands for stereolithography and it is a universal 3D model format for 3D printing. All files are saved in this format before printing. After designing your 3D model, you have to print and it requires to be converted into STL formats.

Step – 3: – Slicing

A 3D slicer is a software that plays the role of medium between 3D models and 3D printing. Its function is to decode the STL format files into machinable reading codes which can be understood by the printers.

The slicer first cuts the object in different layers that enable the linear movements of a 3D printer extruder, fixation laser, or equivalents.

Guide for 3D print designs

Printing Material

In the manufacturing process of 3D designs, high-quality material is the key to creating standard and high-quality products. There are various types of materials are required according to their specific need.

List of materials used to create 3D print designs

Metals: – Industries like automobiles and aerospace use metals to manufacture their specific parts. Medical industries use metals like Aluminium alloy, cobalt, and nickel to create 3D print designs for dental applications.

Polymers: – 3D print technologies use polymers to manufacture polymers components and their prototypes. Polymers are very cost-effective, low-weight, and very flexible. Due to these properties, polymers are highly used to create 3D print design models. It plays a significant role in biomaterial and medical devices to produce good quality objects.

PLA: – PLA or Polylactic acid is widely used for FDM 3D printing. It is very brittle in nature and used as a very common material to produce good results in 3D printing.  

Nylon: – Nylon is one of the strongest, most durable, and most flexible materials for manufacturing functional parts, tools, and decorative items. It is widely used to create 3D print designs.

Guide for 3D print designs

Types of 3D Printing

Binder jetting Binder jetting is one of the major processes in 3D printing. In this process, a liquid-binding chemical is glued with powder particles. It can print a variety of products including polymers, metals, sand, and ceramics.

Sheet lamination – In this process sheets of materials are bound together to form a part of the object. The advantage of this process is material handling and extra material recycled. It can do full-colour prints and is very cost-effective. 

Vat Polymerization – This is one of the major 3D printing techniques where a vat of liquid photopolymer resin is cured by using ultraviolet rays. Stereolithography (SLA) and Digital Light Processing (DLP) are examples of this technology.

Powder bed fusion – In Powder bed fusion, a beam of electron or laser fuses together with the material powder. Electron beam melting increases an energy source to heat up the material This process includes electron beam melting (EBM), selective heat sintering (SHT), and selective laser sintering (SLS). The material used in this process are metals, ceramics, polymers, composite, or hybrid.

Conclusion

With the use of these technologies that we have discussed, you can create 3D print designs very smoothly and efficiently.

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