Or maybe you are. The tool I am talking about is the 3d printer. Load a file, produce an item. Well, there is more to it than that, but that is the basic idea. The 3d printer is still somewhat in its infancy and it is evolving at a crazy rate. There is a learning curve with 3d printing, I am still learning it all myself. The key is to not be intimidated and keep educating yourself as these things are not going anywhere. Soon, we could be getting files from manufacturers to print replacement parts for their products rather than waiting on them to mail a replacement out, we are not quite there yet though. 3d printing offers us the ability to design and produce items tailor-made for our applications, prototype our creations, and reproduce things with relatively little cost and effort. This isn’t intended to be an exhaustive review of 3d printing, but just a brief and simplified overview, we will get into more specifics in later posts.
As far as the printers go, there are a ton of options. You can build your own, buy a kit and assemble it yourself, or get one that is almost ready to print straight out of the box. There are other options like services that will assemble kits and install upgrades, but I am getting into the weeds. Price pretty much scales with the size each printer is capable of printing within the printer types. Currently, at the consumer level, there are two main types: FDM and Resin. Without getting too technical, FDM melts plastic filament and builds it up layer by layer. Resin printers (for which there are many different types, most commonly DLP and SLA) dip a plate into liquid resin and cure a layer with a specific method, and it repeats this for each layer. There are other types, but these are the most common and for this post, we will focus on these.
FDM printers are generally less expensive relative to the size of the build area. There are many different materials to choose from, each with its own properties, applications, and settings required to use. PLA and ABS are two common materials and they generally come in 1kg spools of various colors. Resin printers have a higher resolution and can capture greater detail. The resin comes in 1L bottles and is available in various colors and levels of transparency.
The instructions for the print are generated from models and converted to a tool path in the form of code the printers can understand. If you are capable of drawing your own models, then you are ahead of the curve. If not, then there are tons of sites and creators providing free files online. Some groups and artists sell files or can be hired to create custom files. The cost of files depends on the complexity and time invested. For getting started and learning the ropes, the free files are great.
A big part of printing is breaking up the file, or slicing, it so the tool path or code can be generated. Orientation is a big part of this and will differ based on the media used to print and the purpose of the print. For example, if the printed part will be under stress and will be printed on an FDM printer, you would want the force to be applied perpendicularly to the layer lines if possible. Think of wood and the layers being grain. Depending on the size of your print bed and the orientation of the print, your model will commonly have to be broken up into multiple pieces and print sessions to be assembled after printing. My first printer had a build area of only 9” x 6” and I have been able to print some pretty large models.
I know this has been a quick, very high-level introduction to the 3d printing process, but it was only meant to dip our toes in the water and see that it should not be intimidating. It should be looked at as just another tool in our toolbox. There is far more to 3d printing. We will explore the aspects of 3d printing and take an even deeper look at those in future posts. Until then, stay awesome and keep making!
Pete