FDM vs FFF: What is the difference? - Clever Creations

You might have come across the terms fused filament fabrication (FFF) and fused deposition modeling (FDM) in the 3D printing world. On the surface, there is ... Skiptocontent Oursiteisreader-supported.Whenyoubuyviatheaffiliatelinksonthissite,wewillreceiveacommissionatnocosttoyou.Allopinionsremainourown.Learnmore FDMvsFFF:Whatisthedifference? Share:FacebookTwitterLinkedInReddit0shareYoumighthavecomeacrossthetermsfusedfilamentfabrication(FFF)andfuseddepositionmodeling(FDM)inthe3Dprintingworld.Onthesurface,thereisnocleardifferencebetweentheterms. Even3Dprintingexpertsaren’talwayscarefultomakeadistinction.Similarly,manyproductdescriptionsonAmazonandotheronlineshopsincludebothtermstoimprovesearchresults. Addtothistheother3Dprintingtechnologiesoutthere,likestereolithography(SLA)andselectivelasersintering(SLS),anditcanbedifficulttofigureoutwhatiswhat. InthisarticleIwillexplainthedifferencebetweenFFFandFDMandwhytheyareusedseeminglyinterchangeably. TableofContents show 1 WhatisthedifferencebetweenFDMandFFFtechnologies? 2 AfunctionalangletothedifferencebetweenFFFandFDM 3 SohowtointerpretFFFandFDMinthecurrentmarket? 4 ThebestFFF/FDM3Dprintersforbeginners 5 Conclusion TLDR:Formostconsumerusecases,thereisnomeaningfuldifferencebetweenFFFandFDM.Theactualdifferencestemsfromtrademarks,theoriginsof3Dprinting,andasmalltechnicalfeaturethatisirrelevantformostusers. WhatisthedifferencebetweenFDMandFFFtechnologies? ThedifferencebetweenFFFandFDMisbothcommercialaswellasfunctional. TherootsofFDMcanbetracedbackto1989,whenS.ScottCrump,founderofStratasysLtd.,inventedandpatentedtheFDMprocess.Stratasyswasarealpioneerinthe3Dprintingworld,andcontinuestobesotodaywithhigh-endindustrial-gradeprinters. Image:StratasysAfullyenclosedStratasysFDM3Dprinter ThepatentfortheFDMtechnologyexpiredin2009.Inturn,thisgaverisetotheopen-sourceRepRapProjectthathadactuallystartedfouryearsearlierbyAdrianBowyerinEngland.Stratasys’sdepositionmodelingwasmimicked,modified,andimproved.Mostimportantly,itwasmadeaccessibleandaffordabletoconsumerstobeusedathome. AdrianBowyer(left),thefounderoftheRepRapProject,andVikOlliver,aprominentmember. SinceStratasystrademarkedtheterm“FDM”,theRepRapteamcouldnotuseitfortheirprinters.Insteadtheycameupwith“FFF”–fusedfilamentfabrication,whichstillaptlydescribestheprocesswhileemphasizingtheusageoffilament. AfunctionalangletothedifferencebetweenFFFandFDM Stratasys’soriginalFDMtechnologyusedacompletelyenclosedsystem.Its3Dprintershadanenclosurethatallowedforthetemperarearoundthe3Dprinttobeheated.Thisconceptsignificantlyimprovesprintquality.Itreduceswarpingandincreasesmechanicalstrengthoftheprintedpart. IntheRepRapProject’sFFF,theenclosurewasdiscardedwithaffordabilityinmind.Themoltenfilamentisstillheatedonthewaytothe3Dprinter’snozzle.Onthebuildplate,however,itisexposedtotheambientairtemperatureandcoolsmorerapidly.Theresultiscompromisedprintquality(warping)andstrength.Thereducationinstrengthisduetointernalmechanicalstressescausedbytherapidcoolingoftheprint. Forthisreason,itisalwaysbesttobuya3Dprinterwithaheatedbed/buildplate.Thisensuresthattheprintstickswelltothebedanddoesnotcoolwarpasmuchasitotherwisewould. Whileyoucanfindmanyhobbyist3Dprinterswithenclosuresnowadays,thisdoesnotautomaticallymakethemFDMprinters. FFFandFDM3Dprintersbothproducetopqualitymodelsandpartsthatnoaverageconsumercancomplainabout.Thatsaid,thereisareasonwhyindustrialmanufacturersoptforStratasysprinters.Aswithanythingelse,italldependsonyourneeds. SohowtointerpretFFFandFDMinthecurrentmarket? Givenallthat,howshouldyouregardtheterms“FFF”and“FDM”in3Dprinterproductdescriptions?Becauseprintermanufacturershaveadoptedthehabitofusing“FDM”and“FFF”indiscriminately,youcaninterpretthemasthesamething. Ifyouareahomeconsumer,whatyou’relookingforisalmostalwaysFFF.Butsincemanufacturershappentobelievethat“FDM”isamuchmorewell-knownterm,theyattachittoFFF3Dprintersaswell.Thoughtheyarelegallynotallowedto,sincethisisstillStratasys’strademark. ThebestFFF/FDM3Dprintersforbeginners Forreaderslookingtomakeaquickdecisionwithoutinvestingtoomuchresearch,wecometoyouraid.WeselectedourtwofavoriteFFF3Dprinters,eachonerepresentingadistinctpricecategory. Ourrecommendedbudget3DprinteratthemomentistheCrealityEnder3Pro. OfficialCrealityEnder3Pro3DPrinterwithRemovableBuildSurface... 7,838Reviews CheckPrice Formoredemandingneedsandahigherbudgetwecan’trecommendthePrusai3MK3S+enough. Bothprintersneedassemblytheconsumer—whichmanyenthusiastsconsideranadvantage.Theyarebothimmeasurablytinkerable,withdozensofupgradesandpartsthatyoucan3D-printyourselfandaddtotheprinter.Theyenjoylarge,activeonlinecommunities—you’llneverbestuckwithanunsolvableissue. Asfordifferences,thePrusaoffersautomaticmeshbedleveling,whileintheEnderit’smanual.ThePrusacomeswithtop-qualitycomponents—bearings,belts,steppermotors,nozzles—whileEnder3Pro’sfeelcheaptosome.Thatsaid,theybothprovideamazingvaluefortheirprice. Conclusion Becausemost3DprintingmanufacturersusethetermsFFFandFDMassynonyms,thereislittleneedtopaymuchattentiontothem.Theyessentiallymeanthesamething:a3Dprinterthatcreatespartsbydepositinglayersoffilament.Thereisnotmuchmoretoit. Share:FacebookTwitterLinkedInReddit0share Tim Timisthefounderofclevercreations.org.Heispassionateaboutbuilding,repairing,andanythingDIYrelated.Whenheisnotbusywritingaboutthesetopics,youcanfindhiminhisworkshop. 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