How 3D printers work

Historical digression

The progenitor of three-dimensional modeling is considered to be the Charles Hull company. Back in the late 80s, the developers demonstrated printing on a 3D printer, presenting the world's first plastic printing unit. Today prototyping is developing at such a pace that it is possible to print on a 3D printer from almost any material (paper, fabric, metal, products and even living cells) a wide variety of models.

Who is this?

The plastic printing machine consists of a housing, guides for the extruder head, the extruder itself, the working surface, stepper motors and electronics. Special 3D printer software is used to design models. Photopolymer resin and thermoplastic hold the palm among all kinds of printed materials.

In east european use, FDM and SLA technology are in great demand. In the first case, printing is carried out by a systematic layering of plastic, and in the second — the photopolymer resin freezes under the influence of laser beams.

FDM technology (Fused Deposition Modeling)

The most popular, both among amateurs and professionals, is the technology of layer-by-layer deposition (FDM). Usually, printing is carried out using ABS and PLA plastics, the quality of which makes it possible to obtain durable and thermally stable products.

It doesn't take much time to understand how a 3D printer works. Before starting the printing machine, a digital 3D model is developed in a 3D editor, for example 3DsMax or SolidWorks, and then a G-code is generated in a slicer (a special type of software for preparing the created model before sending it to print), which sets commands to electronics. Next, a thread of printed material, called a filament, is wound into the extruder, which, after melting by a heating element, is squeezed out through a nozzle (there may be several of them) onto a desktop platform.

The operation of the extruder set by the electronics can be manually adjusted according to the heating speed and temperature. The speed of the printer affects the quality of the finished product: the lower the speed, the more uniform the surface of the product. The temperature of the extruder and the working surface is set depending on the selected material, for example, PLA plastic does not require a high heating temperature, and ABS behaves more pliable at higher temperatures.

After all the parameters are set and the working plate is warmed up, the extruder begins to draw the layers of the object, moving along the specified route. During the printing process, in some printers, the extruder head gradually rises to the thickness of the layer, in others, the working surface is lowered. For the manufacture of complex models or structures with elements hanging in the air, it is necessary to print supports and a substrate. Usually, for this they resort to a special material — HIPS, which can be dissolved with water or easily separated from the structure.

Main features of the 3D printer

A home printing press will serve not only for entertainment purposes, but will also become a good assistant in household affairs. In order for printing on a 3d printer to always please the eye, choosing a device, it is necessary to take into account a number of basic characteristics. The first thing you should pay attention to is the printer case. There are models with an open and closed camera. A closed camera will protect the part from temperature fluctuations and prevent the curvature of the part during prolonged printing.

Print Resolution

The concept of print resolution refers to the minimum height of one layer. The smaller it is, the smoother the surface of the product will be, but printing with a thin layer will take much longer. The standard value of the nozzle diameter is 0.4 mm or 400 microns.

Print area

One of the most important indicators, since the possible size of the product directly depends on the printing area. This zone is measured in width, height and length, representing a conditional parallelepiped. The "gold standard" in FDM printing — the size of the printed area is 200x200x180 mm.

Print speed

The printing speed is responsible for accuracy. The speed of building the model will be much better at low speeds, but this mode of operation involves a heavy load on all elements of the 3D printer.

Working surface

For printing with ABS plastic, it is necessary to choose only models with a heated table, since it provides maximum adhesion of the model, allowing to avoid distortion. PLA plastic does not need platform heating and shows itself well in models with a non-heated table.

Manufacturer

In the east european market, you can find printers of European and American origin, but despite the high-quality assembly and functionality, their cost is often overstated. Maintenance of overseas devices is troublesome, as it is very problematic to find parts. Masters from China offer good options, but the quality and durability of Chinese devices often leaves much to be desired. East european printers will be a good option for household purposes. These machines are able to meet the needs of both a beginner and an experienced user, and consumables and parts are always available at an affordable price.

When choosing a 3D printer, you need to clearly understand for what purposes you need it. If the needs are limited to entertainment or teaching children, then a small printer with a modest printing area and one extruder is quite enough. If the purchase of a 3D machine is caused by a business plan or there is a need for large volumes of printing, then it is worth considering devices with a large printing area, two (three) extruders and a powerful power supply (the more powerful the power supply, the faster the working surface and the extruder heats up).