A 3D printer is a printing device that creates 3D objects layer by layer from a digital sample. How a 3D printer works depends on which technology is implemented in it: FDM, SLS, SLA, LOM, SGC, PolyJet, DODJet or Binding powder by adhesives. The most popular is FDM printing technology, which is used in inexpensive household 3D printers.
3D printing is one of the most revolutionary technologies of our time. With 3D printers, you can print shoes, clothing, furniture, musical instruments, vehicles, food, homes, and even living human organs and tissues.
3D Printer Construction
A 3D printer with FDM printing technology consists of a metal body (frame), a compartment for securing a spool of filament, an extruder and a desktop. Single-extruder 3D printers can print single-color objects, multi-extruder printers multi-color. The more extruders a printer has, the more expensive it is. Electronic filling and heating and cooling system are hidden under the printer body. Some models have LCD displays for displaying current print information and USB ports.
Consumables for 3D printing
A typical 3D printer with FDM printing technology uses thin polymer filaments with diameters of 1, 75 mm and 3 mm to work. Such filaments are most often made of PLA or ABS plastic, but there are also combined materials with the addition of wood fibers, nanopowders, biodegradable particles, phosphorizing pigments and other components. The yarns are supplied in spools weighing from 0.5 kg to 1.5 kg. A spool of polymer filaments is placed in a special compartment of the 3D printer, and the end of the filament is fed into the extruder nozzle.
3D modeling of an object
Before you can 3D print a 3D object, you need to create a digital version of it in a 3D modeling program. You can use ready-made samples that are available on the Internet, or prepare 3D models for printing yourself. The prepared model is loaded into a special program for generating G-code, which divides the object into thin horizontal layers and forms a chain of commands that the printer can understand. The finished object is sent to print.
Layer-by-layer formation of an object
A 3D printer with FDM printing technology forms physical objects layer by layer, squeezing a thin stream of molten material onto the working platform. The printer moves the extruder exactly according to the digital model, so the printed physical object fully matches its virtual prototype. Most often, the printer's extruder, from which the soft plastic is squeezed out, moves while working on a stationary work platform, but there are devices in which both the extruder and the work platform are movable. The printing process begins with the bottom layer, after which the printer applies the next layer on top of the first. Melted plastic, getting into the working area, cools and hardens very quickly.
3D printing of support structures and object finishing
To prevent the object from deforming during printing, the 3D printer prints supporting structures (aka support structures, support structures). Such structures are not always printed, but only if there are voids or overhanging parts in the object structure. Imagine you want to print a plastic mushroom on a thin stem. With the base of the leg, it rests on the desktop, no support is needed here, but for the edges of the cap, which seem to hang in the air, such support will be simply necessary. After printing, the support structures can be easily removed by hand or cut with a sharp blade or knife.
