Introduction to 3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing

Do you want to make plastic, ceramic or metal parts with 3D printing or rapid additive manufacturing?

We will focus on manufacturing processes where Stereolithography SLA printing is used because of its:

• Improved printing resolution vs other printing techniques: FDM
• Low relative costs since professional SLA, DLP and LCD printer prices range from 500-2.000 Euro
• Widest range of materials availability: 3Dresyns collections

SLA, DLP, LCD and Inkjet 3D printing with photoreactive 3D resins

Basic types:

• Laser SLA: a laser scans and cures the prints on a selected area layer by layer with SLA 3D printers
• Digital Light Processing DLP projection: a light projection of the image is cured on a selected area layer by layer with DLP 3D printers
• LCD Liquid Crystal Display: a LCD panel acts as a mask selecting the transmission of light in certain selected area for curing layer by layer with light from a LED source positioned underneath. Types:
  • Multicolor RGB LCD panels: LCD printers
  • Monochrome LCD panels: MLCD printers
• Inkjet: an inkjet 3d resin is injected hot and cured layer by layer with photoreactive inkjet 3D printers

Note. all these printing technologies use photoreactive 3D resins which are supplied online with just few clicks

Types of manufacturing processes:

• Direct manufacturing: 1 step/process
  • Direct printing by SLA, DLP, LCD and Inkjet 3D printing
• Indirect manufacturing: 2 steps/processes
  • Printing of injection molds by SLA, DLP, LCD and Inkjet 3D printing + injection or casting of resins, plastics, ceramics and metals

 

Direct Manufacturing: 1 step/process

Benefits: 

• 1 step process: direct printing of models, prototypes and functional parts
• Expensive molds can be avoided
• Faster for short runs (low number of produced units)
• Ideal for “changing” designs
• Low printer costs for 3D resin printing with SLA, DLP & LCD
• functional materials with very high flexural strengths can be obtained with our toughest 3D resins
• 3Dresyn PEEK-like, Polyetheretherketone like
• 3Dresyn Biotough D90 MF ULWA Monomer Free Ultra Low Water Absorption
• 3Dresyns "like" best functional engineering materials 

 Drawbacks:

• Expensive for long runs (high number of produced units)
• Slow for long runs
• Lower mechanical properties for competitors´ products than indirect manufacturing made with injected engineering materials such as polyamide "nylon", unless our 3Dresyn Nylon-like and 3Dresyns like best functional engineering plastics are used
• Most competitors´ resins are fragile like eggshells or Christmas balls
• Each 3D resin needs to be tuned/adjusted to each printer model: this limitation is overcome with our fast & easy printing instructions
• Ceramics & metals by direct manufacturing have significant limitations vs indirect manufacturing:
• Slower debinding + sintering of ceramics and metals
• More expensive ceramic and metal printers 80.000-350.000 Euro
• Worse ceramic and metal properties: lower isotropy, density, higher porosity, etc…
• difficult "tuning" of ceramic and metal 3D resins on printers 

Indirect manufacturing: 2 or more steps/processes

• Printing of injection molds by SLA, DLP, LCD and Inkjet 3D printing + injection or casting resins, plastics, ceramics and metals
• Needs the usage of injection and casting resins by gravity or with injection units and injection molds 3D printed with SLA, DLP, LCD & Inkjet printers

Types of injection molds:

• Ultra durable: made with Aluminum or steel by CNC
  • ideal for long runs of the same design
• Durable: 3D printed molds by SLA, DLP, LCD and Inkjet printers
  • ideal for short and medium runs of the same design
• Sacrificial: 3D printed sacrificial molds by SLA, DLP, LCD and Inkjet printers where parts/objects are intertwined with the mold, so molds needs to be sacrificed or eliminated with:
• Water: water soluble molds
• Solvent: solvent soluble molds
• Heat: heat soluble molds or supports
• Pressure: easy breakable cocoon molds without damaging parts

 Types of Indirect Manufacturing:

• Resin Injection & Casting: conventional liquid casting resins at room temperature or our injection and casting resins at >70-80ºC are cast by gravity in the mold
• Metal Casting: molten metals are cast by gravity in gypsum molds made by
  • Castable 3D resins with excellent burn-out printed by SLA, DLP, LCD and Inkjet printers
  • Waxes
• Resin Injection at high temperature: solid thermoplastics such as polyamide are injected hot (eg 290ºC) at certain pressure in molds printed by SLA, DLP, LCD and Inkjet printers
• Ceramic Injection Molding CIM: ceramic feedstocks containing binders are injected hot at certain pressure in molds printed by SLA, DLP, LCD and Inkjet printers   
• Metal Injection Molding MIM: metal feedstocks containing binders are injected hot at certain pressure in molds printed by SLA, DLP, LCD and Inkjet printers   

Injection systems

Injection of resins, plastics, ceramics and metals needs injection units/machines. Types:

• Manual: cost effective 300 – 3000€
• Automatic: 3000 – 7000€ or higher

Where solid or viscous injection resins or plastics, ceramic and metal feedstocks are heated and injected under pressure in molds.

Ceramic and metal parts need to be debinded and sintered at high temperature in furnaces to produce 100% sintered ceramics and metals parts/objects

Indirect manufacturing

Benefits:

• Faster for medium and long runs (high number of produced units)
• Cost effective for long runs (high number of produced units)
• Ideal for making tougher biocompatible plastic materials such as polyamide "nylon", which can not directly printed by SLA, DLP, LCD or Inkjet unless our unique 3Dresyn Nylon-like and 3Dresyns like best functional engineering plastics are used
• Ideal for cost effective manufacturing ceramics and metals by combining the best of 3D printing and CIM & MIM technologies
• Each “3D resin” does not need to be tuned/adjusted to each printer: only durable or sacrificial 3D resins for printing molds are tuned once in the printer
• Ceramics & metals by indirect manufacturing have significant benefits vs direct manufacturing

• faster debinding + sintering
• affordable printers below 1000 Euro can be used for printing the molds
• better ceramic and metal properties: higher isotropy, density, lower porosity, etc…

 Drawbacks:

• 2 step process
• Expensive molds, only justified for long runs 
• High labour costs for too short runs
• Slow process for basic plastic modelling/prototyping

"Our goal in 3D printing: any color, any material, any process, any finishing, any end use application and any SLA, DLP, LCD and Inkjet 3D printer"

"3Dresyns offers the widest range of safe functional Stereolithography SLA, DLP, LCD and Inkjet 3D resins for safe printing of functional and biocompatible materials"

How To Buy: Online Shopping of 3Dresyns in just few clicks: the widest range of 3D resins in the market to help you to attain the desired finish and quality of your 3D prints.

“The aim of 3Dresyns is to provide the best Stereolithography and Inkjet resins and find solutions to unmet 3D printing market needs for any material, process and application”

"3Dresyns is committed to innovation and development of safe and biocompatible 3Dresyns with safe synthetic and bio based raw materials from renewable sources"