3D Printer
In recent years, under the role of policy incentives and market promotion in various countries, 3D printing technology research and development speed has been accelerated, the industry hot spots frequently. Recently, Japan's success in the manufacture of 3D printing "and...
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FDM3D printer has the characteristics of fast entry, low cost, etc., the use of its creators players in the minority, but also because FDM printing has an inherent technical barrier, so most of the 3D model printed with FDM technology will have layer lines, next let me take a look at how to hide the FDM printing model layer lines it!
There will be the following types of laminar pattern in our printed models.
Cracks: mainly extrusion problems. The possibility of its one is the consumables, its two is the temperature, and its three is the feeding material.
Water ripples: Water ripples are caused by machine XY axis vibration, and the corners of the model will be more likely to appear. Generated by the following factors: printing speed is too fast, too high acceleration, mechanical vibration.
Step pattern: When the nozzle guide is not installed correctly or the cooling fan does not work or fails, resulting in the printed layer is not cooled in time, the new layer will be printed will be extruded and deformed. There are the following causes: model shaking, cooling is not timely, the machine movement components are not stable
Methods to eliminate the layer pattern
Wet sanding
Smoothing the surface with sandpaper (400 to 1,000 grit, depending on the roughness of the print) is recommended for the following three reasons.Sanding relies on friction, which generates heat and causes prints to warp and fade; a small amount of water or oil will prevent this.It's easy to scratch plastic, and wet sanding helps minimize the risk.Sanding produces many particles that are a breathing hazard. When wet sanding, many particles bind to the liquid, keeping them out of the air.
Apply wash resin
The wash resin is applied evenly to the surface, at which point the surface of the model becomes very smooth and can be washed directly after curing with an ultraviolet light, isn't that convenient! When you really want to make your 3D printed parts look professional, painting is the way to go. But as a handicapped person, how can I get the coloring perfect?
Brush painting method
Mix the acrylic paint and alcohol in the ratio of 1:1.2 with a stirrer, and then filter it with 400 mesh gauze after mixing, which can filter out the tiny impurities and avoid affecting the coloring, and use the cross-cross method when coloring, that is, when the first layer is almost dry, put on the second layer of fresh paint, and the brush direction of the second layer is vertical to the first layer.
Airbrush method
The same as the pen method, we still need to stir, filter, in order to avoid the clogging of the airbrush, we need to increase the proportion of alcohol to about 1.5, when spraying to adjust the spraying range of the airbrush, you can try spraying in the blank area, to the model spraying can be used multi-angle spraying, so that the model after spraying the color thickness will be more uniform.
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Introduction: Among any industry, the development and implementation of standards are of paramount importance to ensure the proper operation of certain components, systems or services. Today, additive manufacturing (AM) is gaining applications in many fields, so the performance of subsequent 3D printed parts this also needs to be controlled, including performance and biocompatibility. To meet these stringent requirements, post-processing of the original part produced by additive manufacturing is critical. The post-processing step of additive manufacturing eliminates defects and helps the user to obtain the desired performance.
Different post-processing solutions have emerged on the market to help 3D printed parts meet the certifications for different applications, allowing them to compete directly with traditional processes such as injection molding.
Whether it's making prosthetics, nasal swabs, dental braces or medical helmets, the healthcare industry has extremely stringent requirements for the quality, safety and performance of its parts. Within the additive manufacturing market, there are a number of post-processing methods that provide the smooth finishes necessary for applications in these areas. However, the real challenge lies in the treatment of the internal channels of the part. In fact, these channels remain exposed and bacteria can latch onto them and contaminate the production process. To solve this problem, AMT is offering an automated post-treatment system called "Vapor Smoothing" that provides a smooth and sealed surface finish for 3D printed parts. Thanks to this post-processing method, parts can pass different tests and prove their compliance with standards and regulations for industrial applications in multiple fields.
How Steam Smoothing Post-treatment Works
To understand how vapor smoothing post-processing enables 3D printed parts to meet standards in the most demanding industries such as medical, dental and automotive, it is first necessary to understand how the technology works.The vapor smoothing method developed by AMT involves suspending batches of parts in a sealed processing chamber where a proprietary solvent mixture is introduced in a closed-loop system in the form of vapor. The steam comes into contact with the parts, enveloping them and eliminating irregularities in their surfaces. By eliminating crack initiation sites, the steam smoothing process completely covers the surface of the part, thereby increasing elongation at break without loss of ultimate tensile strength. The vapor smoothing process can be used in additive manufacturing technologies such as selective laser sintering (SLS), multi-jet fusion (MJF), selective absorption fusion (SAF) and fused deposition modeling (FDM) to help achieve the desired surface roughness in the parts created. In terms of materials, AMT's solutions are compatible with a wide range of polymers, including polyamides (PA12, PA11 and PA6), flexible materials such as TPU, and more standard materials such as ABS.
In addition to being highly controllable and repeatable, AMT's vapor smoothing system allows complex geometries to be smoothed without compromising mechanical properties. In addition, it has many benefits that allow users to unlock additional applications for 3D printed parts for advanced industries. For example, it allows sealing surfaces to prevent the entry of liquids and gases. This prevents bacteria buildup, which increases the sterilization of the part. This surface smoothing has other benefits, notably, it is important for parts that come in contact with skin, such as prosthetics, nasal swabs, dental applications, etc. In addition to the benefits of smoothing, this technology also improves the mechanical properties of the parts, making them more durable, practical and resistant to wear and tear, thus extending their service life. This simultaneously improves the overall aesthetics of the part without affecting the final weight or dimensional changes.
Standards and Qualification Testing for 3D Printed Parts
3D printed parts for applications in industry need to be evaluated to ensure that these components are compatible and safe for their given application. In this case, to prove the success of this post-processing method, researchers tested the compatibility of 3D printed parts completed using AMT vapor smoothing technology. In the medical and dental fields, these components successfully passed various certifications related to skin contact, cytotoxicity and antimicrobial testing. These performance tests are demanding and complex, requiring multiple levels of certification to ensure patient safety. In addition, industries such as automotive and food have also tested parts that have undergone vapor smoothing treatments. In particular, the automotive industry has successfully passed flammability tests on parts made of PA12 material. Importantly, AMT's reprocessing systems meet all safety and industrial hygiene standards for demanding applications ranging from medical and dental to consumer and food. In addition, they do not use corrosive and explosive acid mixtures in the machine, thus minimizing any other potential hazards.
The use of standard highly controlled parts remains the focus of many industries that still deny the potential of 3D printing. Now, AMT's vapor smoothing technology makes it possible for 3D printed parts to be used in the most demanding industries by meeting the certifications of the most demanding industries.
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Introduction: In the medical field, carrying out those complex surgeries related to the brain or skull is a very difficult thing to do even under the best medical conditions. However, when the surgical subjects involve infants and children, especially newborns, the difficulty of the operation increases exponentially.
On August 13, 2022, in a recent surgical case abroad, doctors used 3D printing technology to successfully help save a newborn baby with a similar condition. The newborn reportedly needed surgery immediately after birth to repair an occipital defect in his skull, as it had not developed properly. To address this challenge, Polish deep tech company Sygnis SA (which recently acquired Zmorph) used additive manufacturing technology to create a 3D printed model that was critical to the success of the newborn baby's neurosurgery.
In addition to being used in prosthetic and orthotic manufacturing, another major way 3D printing is being used in the medical field is for training and preparation prior to surgical procedures. Doctors can do this by printing an exact replica of the area to be surgically treated, in the case of this article, a model of the patient's skull made from a scan of the patient. Surgeons are able to practice before surgery, thereby reducing mortality, especially for complex procedures like this one. To help save this particular baby girl, Pawel Ozga, a medical image segmentation specialist and volunteer with the Polish e-Nable Foundation led by Dr. Kryzstof Grandys, approached Sygnis to create the model as soon as possible and in as much detail as possible to increase the likelihood of survival. This child was diagnosed with an occipital defect immediately after birth, which also meant that part of her brain was exposed, a dangerous condition that can be fatal if left untreated.
Creating a 3D printed model of the skull
The creation of the pre-surgical skull model took place in February 2022. After the baby was born, she was diagnosed at the University Children's Hospital in Krakow. the 3D printed skull was a key part of the pre-surgical plan as a way to practice with an accurate model of the baby's skull in a short period of time. In fact, Sygnis actually created two models, one using SLA and the other using SLS. they turned to these two different technologies to take advantage of the benefits of both.
For the model created using SLA, it was done on a SygnisFlashforge 8.9s 3D printer. the benefit of SLA is that the doctor is able to get a more detailed and accurate reproduction of the skull based on MRI and CT scans. However, the material used is not as strong. That's where SLS comes in, this model was created on a Sinterit Lisa Pro 3D printer. SLS also produces highly detailed and accurate parts, but they are much stronger due to the use of PA12. This means that doctors are able to actually practice with their tools before surgery. In addition, because SLS 3D printing does not require a support structure, but rather a powder blank to fill this role, doctors were able to perfectly reproduce geometrically complex bone structures. By being able to practice with both models beforehand, the doctors were able to prepare quickly and efficiently for this difficult procedure.
In addition to the ability to perfectly reproduce the baby girl's skull from the scan alone, the doctors chose 3D printing technology because of its ability to create this 1:1 scale 3D printed model of the skull at an efficient manufacturing speed. Since the defect was not diagnosed during the pregnancy, time was of the essence to complete the procedure in the shortest possible time. In fact, according to Sygnis' case study, they only had 96 hours to create the model, deliver it, and have the surgeon perform pre-surgical testing. Thankfully, the skull printed with SLA was completed in just eight hours, while the skull made with SLS was completed in 24 hours.
The surgery was successfully completed on February 28 and the little girl was able to be discharged from the hospital. Professor Lukasz Krakowczyk, the surgeon in charge of the operation, concluded: "Imaging studies are useful to identify cranial defects. However, they don't exactly match the skin defects, which is why printing the model is so important. 3D printing will also be essential at the stage of reconstructing the cranial defects, when the bone reconstruction needs to be perfectly aligned and planned."
Although the final outcome cannot be known, as this child will need more treatment in the future, it is clear that this surgery was able to be successful thanks to the intervention of 3D printing. sygnis also expects more such collaborations, as they further use hand preoperative models to improve the success rate after surgery.
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By 2020, additive manufacturing has finally become a mature technology that can be used in more and more areas of production. Over the past decade, it has completed the entirety of the technology hype cycle, finally reaching peak productivity.
Custom fixture system produced by Pankl Racing Systems using Formlabs technology
Despite the recent advances in 3D printing technology, many 3D printer owners are still not as profitable as they thought. One of the biggest reasons for this is low equipment utilization: equipment is not used frequently enough. Underutilization can be caused by a lack of applications or inadequate technology, and a serious lack of design skills for additive manufacturing in-house. When designers and engineers don't know how or when to use additive manufacturing, they create expensive parts of poor quality.
In addition, there are three reasons why additive manufacturing is difficult to make profitable.
1. Additive manufacturing processes are still misunderstood
Although 3D printing equipment manufacturers continue to introduce industrial 3D printing equipment with better efficiency and performance, part design will never truly be optimized for 3D printing design (DFAM, design for additive manufacturing ) if users are not familiar with the basics of the additive manufacturing process.
For example, DLP and FDM 3D printing are getting faster and better materials every year. However, neither technology can overcome the need for support materials. By redesigning with the goal of eliminating support materials, Blueprint engineers have a new design that is only 33% of the original cost to produce. While it does not differ in performance from above, it is much faster to produce due to some simple understanding of 3D printing design optimization.
Designs with self-supporting structures are just one way to reduce time and material consumption and can be performed on many technologies including DLP, FDM, DMLS, stereolithography, and more.
Many 3D printing service providers find low return on investment for their machines, frequent print failures, difficulty removing support materials or excess powder, and complaints about the inadequacy of 3D printing technology.
2. Lack of availability of additional design software
The design of complex geometric shapes originates from the world of digital art: concept design, video game design and illustration. The software and engineers used to make these designs are completely different from the engineering CAD software used to make the parts. Additive manufacturing introduces a new design discipline that brings manufacturability to optimal design, breaking the limitations of traditional manufacturing design processes.
To fill this gap, many software companies are faced with the challenge of designing geometrically manufacturable parts. Here are a few examples of these products and their current limitations.
Autodesk Generative Design is a simple tool that generates geometry to connect anchor point features. To this day, it still does not enable 100% manufacturable designs and the output needs to be adjusted or completely redesigned based on the generated results.
Materialize 3-Matic offers a variety of 3D printing design optimization modules ranging from part lightweighting to digital texturing. The process of using it can be complex as it relates to the manufacturability and file integrity of the output mesh file, so it remains a concern.
nTopology introduced nTop, a promising new software that combines the generation of design shapes with easy-to-understand geometric patterns. It is a fairly new software that has not yet been tested for widespread adoption.
Users must accept the fact that there is no perfect design software yet, and we should focus our efforts on selecting the type of software needed to create value and use it.
3. No additive manufacturing mindset
Unless additive manufacturing is introduced at the beginning of the product lifecycle, it will not generate much value. Without support from all departments to embed additive thinking from the beginning of a project, the necessary CAD data, requirements analysis, or design resources are not available, leading to failure and wasted effort.
Thinking about additive manufacturing for prototypes, designers should embrace the "agile" nature of additive manufacturing at all stages of product development, assuming that each part needs to be 3D printed twice: once for testing and once for use.
Additive manufacturing is often seen as too expensive or too fragile for fixtures and tools. Adding auxiliary parts to increase strength and reduce material use is a way to improve design performance and economy.
Additive manufacturing thinking must drive two things in the design of production 3D printed parts: guaranteeing functionality (including surface quality, mechanical loading, and economy), and goals (weight reduction, cost reduction, and improved functionality). Designers should abandon traditional manufacturing assumptions and start anew with these two considerations.
3D printing requires new thinking and collaboration across multiple departments. While traditional manufacturing methods have tied designers to manufacturability, the flexibility of additive manufacturing liberates designers in ways never before possible. And, while 3D printing shifts control from the manufacturing process to the engineer, it can make designers miserable due to waste (whether it's time, materials or iterations).
This is why 3D printing optimizes design skills and is so important to achieving the desired benefits.
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