3D printing or additive manufacturing is a process of making three dimensional solid objects from a digital model.
This term accurately describes how this technology works to create objects.
“Additive” refers to the successive addition of thin layers to create an object. In fact, all 3D printing technologies are similar, as they construct an object layer by layer to create complex shapes.
Each process and piece of equipment has pros and cons associated with it. These usually involve aspects such as speed, costs, versatility with respect to feed-stock material, geometrical limitations and tolerances, as well as a mechanical and appearance properties of the products such as strength, texture and color.
3D Printing process at his base has the following general steps:
First – You need the IDEA , what do you want to print ?
Second– You need to create the 3D Digital model , this is the first preview of your IDEA.
The 3D Digital model describes the process of forming the shape of an object. The two most common sources of 3D models are those that an artist or engineer originates on the computer with some kind of 3D modeling tool.
Third– You need to export the 3D model as a .STL or .OBJ file
Forth– Setup the 3D Printer.
It has to be chosen which material will best achieve the specific properties required for your object. The variety of materials used in 3D printing is very broad.
Based on the material some of the settings need to be adjusted in order to have a good print, in some cases you also need an enclosure.
Also based on the quality you need for you product some parameters have to be modified as well like speed, layer height or resolution, infill, supports, bed and extruder temperature, cooling etc…
Fifth– Let the printer finish the part until you think on your next project
Sixth– It may happen so that after an object is 3D printed it will require some post-processing.
This step requires specific skills and materials as often it cannot be directly used or delivered until it has been sanded, lacquered or painted to complete it as intended.
Eighth – The object is ready to be used!
Our technologies
CFF (Continuous Fiber Fabrication) – Markforged Onyx Pro
Onyx printers’ base material is a blend of nylon and chopped carbon for stronger and stiffer parts than plastics other printers use—and that stand up to corrosive chemicals common in manufacturing.
Boost the part strength 10x by embedding continuous fiberglass.
Print Onyx Filament—a revolutionary material with beautiful surface finish, stiffness and temperature tolerance. No other 3D printer on the market is designed from the ground up—hardware, software, and materials—to uniquely create chopped carbon fiber parts.
According to tests made by MarkForged of their special filaments parts printed on the Mark One can be designed to be stronger than 6061-T6 aluminum by weight and up to 1/3 the strength of the best carbon fiber composites made today. This strength is achieved thanks to the use of continuous fibers as a reinforcement in the printing material as opposed to the use of chopped fibers that Carbon PLA and ABS filaments designed for normal FFF/FDM 3D printers rely upon.
SLA – Form 2 from Formlabs + Form Wash and Cure
Stereolithography (SLA) 3D printing uses a laser to cure liquid photopolymer resin into solid isotropic parts.
With the common process, inverted SLA, a build platform is lowered into a tank of resin, leaving only a thin layer of liquid in between the platform and the bottom of the tank. Galvanometers direct the laser through a transparent window at the bottom of the resin tank, drawing a cross-section of the 3D model and selectively hardening the material. The print is built in consecutive layers, each less than a hundred microns thick. Support structures keep overhangs anchored to the platform where necessary. When a layer is complete, the part is peeled from the bottom of the tank, letting fresh resin flow beneath, and the platform is lowered once again. This process repeats until the print is complete.
SLA – Form 2 from Formlabs + Form Wash and Cure
Stereolithography (SLA) 3D printing uses a laser to cure liquid photopolymer resin into solid isotropic parts.
With the common process, inverted SLA, a build platform is lowered into a tank of resin, leaving only a thin layer of liquid in between the platform and the bottom of the tank. Galvanometers direct the laser through a transparent window at the bottom of the resin tank, drawing a cross-section of the 3D model and selectively hardening the material. The print is built in consecutive layers, each less than a hundred microns thick. Support structures keep overhangs anchored to the platform where necessary. When a layer is complete, the part is peeled from the bottom of the tank, letting fresh resin flow beneath, and the platform is lowered once again. This process repeats until the print is complete.
Depending on the technology and the material, the printed parts may require rinsing in isopropyl alcohol (IPA) to remove any uncured resin from their surface, post-curing to stabilize mechanical properties, manual work to remove support structures, or cleaning with compressed air or a media blaster to remove excess powder. Some of these processes can be automated with accessories.
3D printed parts can be used directly or post-processed for specific applications and the required finish by machining, priming, painting, fastening or joining. Often, 3D printing also serves as an intermediate step alongside conventional manufacturing methods, such as positives for investment casting jewelry and dental appliances, or molds for custom parts.
FDM (Fused deposition modeling) – Bolt Pro
The Bolt Pro is a professional 3D printer, designed to offer precise and reliable functional 3D printing results. The Bolt Pro 3D printer can achieve this due to the focus in offering features that give full creative control to our users. These features include a dual extruder system (IDEX) that can print with two materials at once or clone 3D models, which cuts the lead time of a project by half.
Bolt Pro build size amounts to 320 x 330 x 205 mm (D x W x H) serving its purpose as an industrial-use machine
