FDM – Fused Deposition Modeling (or FFF, PJP, LPD)

Every FDM/FFF 3D printer is supplied with a filament – a wire usually made of plastic – which is melted using a print head and extruded onto a build ... AdditiveBlogBlog Knowledgebase About Blog Knowledgebase About FDM–FusedDepositionModeling(orFFF,PJP,LPD) Thesetypesof3Dprinterscomeundermanydifferentnames.FusedDepositionModeling(FDM)wasthefirsttechnologyofitskindanditwascommercializedandtrademarkedbyStratasysaround1991.FFF(fusedfilamentfabrication)isatermthatemergedfromtheRepRapcommunity.ItreferstoanopensourceversionoftechnologywhichisverysimilartoFDM. DifferentcompanieshavedevelopedtheirFFFprintersmarketingthemunderdifferentacronyms.Forexample,3DSystems –PJP(PlasticJetPrinting)orZortrax–LPD(LayerPlasticDeposition)andsoon. Howitworks: EveryFDM/FFF3Dprinterissuppliedwithafilament –awireusuallymadeofplastic –whichismeltedusingaprintheadandextrudedontoabuildplatformunderneath.Themovementoftheprintheadagainstthebuildplatformisautomatedusingelectronicmotors.Theprintheadextrudesthemeltedfilamentto“draw”themodelonelayeratatime.Eachtimeasinglelayerhasbeenprinted,theheightoftheprintheadinrelationtothebuildplatformincreasesbyanincrement.Becausetheextrudedmaterialishot,alllayersarestronglyconnectedtogetherwiththefirstlayerstickingtothebuildplatform. Supportstructures Supportstructuresmightberequiredwhenprintingmorecomplexobjects.Instanceswherethesesupportsareusedincludepartsofamodelwhere: A)Overhangislocated B)Biggapsneedtobebridged C)Thepartis“floating”intheair Ifthe3Dprinterisasingleextrudertype,thesupportsareprintedfromthesamematerialastherestofthemodel.Theymustberemovedmanuallywithsmallpliersorbyhandaftertheprintingisfinished.Dualextruder3Dprintersuseonekindofmaterialforprintingthemodelandadifferentmaterialforthesupports.Thesupportmaterialisusuallywatersoluble,makingtheremovalmucheasier.Thesupportswillcompletelydissolveafterafewhoursofbeingplacedinhotwater. Infill AcoolfeatureofFDM/FFFprintersisthatyoucanchoosetheinternalstructureofthe3Dprintedmodel.Youcanprintmodelscompletelyfilledwithmaterialresultinginincreasedstrength.Ontheotherhand,youcanprintmodelswithinternalstructuretomakethemlightweight.Youdonothavetomaketheinternalstructureapartofyour3Ddesign.Thiscanbedoneautomaticallyinaslicer(softwareforprintjobpreparationthatcomeswiththe3Dprinter).Youusuallyentertheinfillparameterin%,forexample,youwant25%oftheinteriorfilled.Youthenchoosethetypeofpattern,e.g.,ahoneycomb.Thereareothersettingsavailablewhichhaveaneffectonthepropertiesoftheprintedpart–forfurtherinformationseeadesignguideforFDM/FFF3Dprinting. Applications Onahigh-endlevel,themostfrequentuseisrapidprototyping.Mainly(butnotlimitedto)plasticpartsthatareintendedtobeproducedbyinjectionmoldinglateron.Thetechnologyisalsosuitablefortheproductionofasmallseriesoffunctional,durableparts,fromawiderangeofmaterials.Startingwithcustomcableclipsandendingwithaircraftcomponents.ThebiggestplayerinthisfieldisStratasys,withtheirproductionseries3DFortusprinters.Thesemachinesareexpensive,buthaveahighaccuracyofprintedparts(understand:nowrappingduringprint,holesandotherdimensionsprintedexactlyasin3Dmodel,nodelamination).Also,thematerialscomewithtestedpropertiesanddetaileddatasheets. Onadesktoplevel,imaginationisyouronlylimit(well…orwhatyourprinteriscapableofproducing). Thelistcouldlooklikethis: Cheapprototypingofyourdesigns Gadgetsofallsorts(holders,toys,tools–justlookatthingiverse.com) Droneparts Cosplay,simplejewelry Sculpturesofyourfavoritehero Partsofa3Dprinter(rep-rap3Dprinters) Manufacturers:Stratasys,Ultimaker,Zortrax,PrusaResearch,MakerBot,Printbot,LulzBot,3ntr,FlashForge… Copyright2017©AdditiveBlog.Allrightsreserved. ContactUs: [email protected] RelatedLinks: PrivacyPolicy DisclaimerandCookiePolicy PrivacySettings Weusecookiestoenhanceyourexperiencewhileusingourwebsite.IfyouareusingourServicesviaabrowseryoucanrestrict,blockorremovecookiesthroughyourwebbrowsersettings.Wealsousecontentandscriptsfromthirdpartiesthatmayusetrackingtechnologies.Youcanselectivelyprovideyourconsentbelowtoallowsuchthirdpartyembeds.Forcompleteinformationaboutthecookiesweuse,datawecollectandhowweprocessthem,pleasecheckourPrivacyPolicy Youtube ConsenttodisplaycontentfromYoutube Vimeo ConsenttodisplaycontentfromVimeo GoogleMaps ConsenttodisplaycontentfromGoogle Spotify ConsenttodisplaycontentfromSpotify SoundCloud ConsenttodisplaycontentfromSound Save Weusecookiestoenhanceyourexperiencewhileusingourwebsite.Tolearnmoreaboutthecookiesweuseandthedatawecollect,pleasecheckourPrivacySettings. IAccept