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3d Printing

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How exactly does a 3D printer work?
Before the 3D printer was developed, the 2D printer was still a fascinating machine to many people. With a 2D printer, what was printed out on a piece of paper was put together and designed on a computer program such as Microsoft Word or Presentations. The file that the printed image or information was created in holds the instructions that the printer is to follow. A 3D printer also needs a file and instructions to print. The goods or designs that are printed can be customized, because altering them will not require complete retooling, only slightly adjusting the instructions in the software. The file is known as a Computer Aided Design (CAD) or Computer-Aided Manufacturing (CAM) file that requires the use of a 3D modeling program, or with a 3D model using a 3D scanner. This software quickly slices the model or design on the program into hundreds or thousands of thin-sliced, horizontal layers. The layers get printed one by one atop of one another until the 3D object is complete.

Owners of 3D printers can choose between 2 types of plastic strands: acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) or polylactic acid (PLA). Some 3D printers can use both kinds of plastic, while others only work with one. These plastics are available on spools with plastic strands/strings that are usually 1.75 millimeters thick or 3 millimeters thick. Gears work to pull the filament through the print head. Immediately before it is pushed through the pointed nozzle, the filament it pushed through a heated tube and softens into almost liquid form. The melted filament is then pushed out of the nozzle head in 0.1 millimeter thick lines. It quickly cools and solidifies, melting and sealing each layer to the previous one.

What can 3D printers make?
Many designers and companies use 3D printers to quickly and easily turn concept designs into tangible product models and/or prototypes from CAD drawings on a computer program. More recently, 3D printers are beginning to be used to make final products as well. These printers have been used to create different shoe designs, furniture, tools, toys, car parts, and many more everyday items.
3D printing is becoming quite popular to physicians, giving them the ability to create prosthetics, artificial teeth, hearing aids, and even replicate models of organs, tumors, and other bodily structures.

How can companies benefit from using 3D printers?
3D printing has been used for quite some time. Manufacturers and engineering companies have been using these printers to design prototypes and designs for traditional manufacturing. Today’s 3D printers are a whole lot faster and more affordable than the printers used years ago. Today, companies can own a 3D printer for tens of thousands of dollars, which seems like a lot to an average consumer, but in the long run, it saves the company money and time in the prototyping process. For example, Nike now uses 3D printers to create many prototypes of shoes and a magnitude of colours. Before these printers, the company would spend thousands of dollars on a prototype and have to wait weeks for it to arrive. Now, after spending a few hundred dollars, changes can be made to the prototype instantly on a computer and the prototype can be reprinted immediately using a predetermined plan provided within the computer software. 3D printers also allow rapid design changes and help improve inventory management. Warehouse space can be greatly reduced due to the ability for products to be produced on demand rather than in large runs or on a production line. Another benefit is that money can be saved on materials due to very little raw material is wasted when using a 3D printer. Also, people in remote locations now have the ability to develop and fabricate objects that, a few decades ago, would have been completely inaccessible to them.

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