In recent years, advancements in 3D printing technology have reached a new level of maturity. With a diverse range of materials and printers available, the technique has expanded its applications across various industries. This article delves into the common 3D printer types and highlights seven essential considerations you need to understand before purchasing one!
Common Types of 3D Printers
Apart from the high production efficiency, 3D printers are also known for their applications across diverse technological industries, fostering the development of various printer types. Fused deposition modeling (FDM), stereolithography (SLA), digital light processing (DLP), liquid crystal display (LCD), polyjet, selective laser sintering (SLS), selective laser melting (SLM), and multi-jet fusion (MJF) stand out as the most common industrial 3D printing technologies, each offering unique capabilities. Let’s take a closer look at each method now.
Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM)
FDM, or Fused Deposition Modeling, is a 3D printing process that builds objects layer by layer by extruding thermoplastic filament through a heated nozzle.
Application Areas: FDM technology finds extensive applications in manufacturing prototypes, functional components, and customized parts across a variety of industrial sectors, including automotive, aerospace, medical, consumer goods, and tool manufacturing.
Features:
- Affordability: FDM technology generally requires lower equipment and material costs compared to other 3D printing technologies.
- Material Diversity: FDM technology can utilize various thermoplastic materials such as PLA, ABS, PETG, etc., allowing customers to use suitable materials based on different application requirements.
- Larger Printing Capacity: Industrial FDM 3D printers have the ability to print larger objects.
- User-Friendly: FDM printers have relatively lower operational difficulty, allowing the operators to learn the machine operation, modeling, and parameter set-up faster.
Drawbacks:
- Rough Surface Quality: FDM builds parts by stacking the design layer-by-layer, resulting in a relatively rough surface and a grainy texture.
- Post-processing: Due to lower surface quality, some post-processing such as polishing may be needed based on product requirements. Moreover, for products with overhangs or vertical structures, FDM printing may require adding support structures to prevent collapse, which need to be removed afterward.
- Lower Precision: Due to its printing mechanism and technological constraints, FDM-produced parts have lower precision.
Light-cured Printing – SLA/DLP/LCD/Polyjet
Light-cured printing uses UV(ultraviolet) light or other light sources to cure liquid resin or materials to form objects layer-by-layer. During the process, the light energy is converted to chemical energy, solidifying the liquid material. Light-cured printing can be further categorized into common types such as SLA/DLP/LCD/Polyjet.
SLA, or Stereolithography, is a 3D printing process that uses a UV laser to solidify liquid resin layer by layer, creating high-resolution and detailed objects.
Application Areas: SLA technology is widely used in rapid prototyping, jewelry art manufacturing, medical, architecture, aerospace, industrial manufacturing, biomedical, and automotive industries.
Features:
- Exceptional Precision: SLA technology can achieve a precision of 10 microns, the highest precision within the 3D printing industry, making it ideal for industries that require complex and detailed geometries.
- Surface Finish: Benefiting from high-precision technology, objects printed using SLA typically feature smooth surfaces, reducing the need for extensive post-processing.
- Versatile Material Selection: SLA offers a wide range of photosensitive resins with diverse properties, meeting diverse application needs.
- Largest Printing Capacity: Compared to other printing technologies, SLA boasts the largest printable volume, with actual heights or widths exceeding one meter.
Drawbacks:
- Limited Roundness: SLA technology exhibits relatively lower roundness compared to other industrial-grade technologies. For manufacturing curved products, alternative printing methods or certain post-processes may need to be considered.
Digital Light Processing (DLP)
DLP, or Digital Light Processing, is a 3D printing process that uses a digital light projector to selectively cure photopolymer resin layer by layer, enabling rapid and precise production of 3D objects.
Application Areas: DLP is a versatile 3D printing technology, with applications in industries ranging from medical and jewelry to toys.
Features:
- High Efficiency: DLP technology offers fast curing speeds, making it a common method used for mass production.
- High Precision: Similarly to other light-curing technology, DLP also delivers exceptional precision, achieving below 50 microns.
Drawbacks:
- Lower Accuracy Compared to SLA: While DLP offers a certain level of precision(<50 macros), its surface precision is still lower than SLA(<10 macros), requiring more post-processing effort.
- Smaller Printing Capacity: DLP printers tend to deform for large printing demands due to their lower dimensional accuracy.
Liquid Crystal Display (LCD)
LCD 3D printing technology relies on a liquid crystal display (LCD) screen to regulate the passage of light for solidification. The liquid photosensitive resin is positioned beneath the screen, and pixels on the LCD screen govern the solidification process by controlling the light beams.
Application Areas: LCD-based 3D printing technology is commonly used in the production of rapid prototyping, industrial modeling, toys, and consumer goods.
Features:
- High Efficiency: LCD technology offers high-speed printing, making it a common method used for mass production.
- Low Cost: Compared to SLA and DLP, LCD has lower operational costs.
Drawbacks:
- Lower Surface Quality: LCD curing typically leads to slightly lower surface quality compared to SLA and DLP. Some pixelation may also occur under certain conditions.
- Replacement Rate: LCD screens require replacement approximately every 500 hours.
- Smaller Printing Capacity: LCD printers tend to deform for large printing demands due to their lower dimensional accuracy.
PolyJet
PolyJet technology employs multiple nozzles to deposit tiny droplets of photosensitive resin onto a build platform, subsequently cured using ultraviolet (UV) laser beams. This process allows simultaneous utilization of various colors and materials, facilitating multi-material production.
Application Areas: PolyJet technology is widely used for rapid prototyping, model manufacturing, product design, and part component manufacturing.
Features:
- Versatile Material and Color Selection: PolyJet technology can combine multiple materials, enabling the rapid production of complex models with various material properties, textures, and colors.
- High Precision: PolyJet technology can produce products below 100 microns.
Drawbacks:
- Higher Costs: PolyJet technology necessitates photosensitive resin and/or support materials leading to higher production expenses.
- Post process: If the design includes overhanging parts or complex geometries, support structures are required, which increases the post-processing time and workload.
Laser Powder Bed Fusion
Laser powder bed fusion has emerged as an advanced 3D printing technique for producing metal components in recent years. Its versatile applications extend across industries such as manufacturing, aerospace, healthcare, and so on.
Selective Laser Sintering (SLS)
Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) employs a laser beam to heat and fuse fine powder particles. Initially, a layer of powder is evenly spread, and then selectively heated by a high-powered laser beam, binding the contact points together. This layer-by-layer process is iterated to construct the 3D design.
Application Areas: SLS technology is widely used in rapid prototyping, product design, and part manufacturing fields, especially for producing complex geometric parts.
Features:
- Less post-processing: The unfused powder supports the part during the SLS printing process, so support structures are not required. This reduces the post-processing time and makes the process ideal for complex geometries such as interior features and thin walls.
- Versatile Material Selection: SLS technology supports various materials, primarily nylon, and plastics.
Drawbacks:
- Rough Surface Quality: Due to the nature of powder, SLS printed surfaces are typically slightly rougher compared to other industrial printing technologies, possibly requiring post-processing for improved surface quality.
SLM (Selective Laser Melting) printing operates similarly to SLS but specializes in metal fabrication rather than plastics. It utilizes a high-powered laser to selectively fuse metal powders layer by layer, resulting in intricately detailed and structurally robust metal components.
Application Areas: SLM technology is widely used across industries for producing functional metal parts with high strength and wear resistance. For example, aerospace, automotive, medical, and industrial manufacturing fields.
Features:
- Metal Manufacturing: SLM technology employs metal powder, making it highly valuable for industrial manufacturing and specialized applications where precision and durability are essential.
- High Strength and Wear Resistance: The main material of SLM manufactured parts is metal, which tends to exhibit high strength and wear resistance.
Drawbacks:
- High Cost: The operation of SLM technology requires high-power lasers and metal powder, resulting in relatively higher costs.
- Smaller Printing Capacity: Current industrial SLM 3D printers typically have smaller printing volumes.
The Multi Jet Fusion (MJF) technology was introduced by Hewlett-Packard in 2016. MKF technology utilizes multiple nozzles to perform photopolymerization and is known for its high efficiency and precision. During the printing process, one of the nozzles will emit a light beam onto a layer of powder coated with photosensitive agents, and heat it to a molten state. Simultaneously, another nozzle will spray a heat-fusing agent onto the same powder layer, which helps speed up the melting process and improve inter-layer adhesion.
Application Areas: MJF technology is widely used in aerospace, automotive, medical, and industrial manufacturing fields. It is particularly suitable for producing high-strength, high-density functional parts, and engineering prototypes.
Features:
- High Efficiency: MJF technology offers high-speed printing, making it a common method used for mass production.
- High Precision: MJF technology provides high precision, within 22 microns.
Drawbacks:
- Lower Surface Quality: Due to powder characteristics, MJF printing may result in slightly lower surface quality compared to some high-precision technologies, possibly requiring post-processing for improvement.
Comparative Analysis of 3D printing technology
| FDM | Light-cured Printing | Laser Powder Bed Fusion | MJF | |
| PROs | Material diversity
Low cost User friendly |
Large printing capacity
High precision Printing Complex geometries |
Material diversity
High precision Printing Complex geometries |
Material diversity
High precision High efficiency NO support structure needed |
| CONs | Low surface quality
Support structure needed Low precision |
Low efficiency
Post-processing needed |
Limited printing capacity
High cost Post-processing needed |
Limited printing capacity
Mostly used for plastic printing only(no metal) |
At InstaVoxel, we specialize in four primary 3D printing processes: SLA, SLS, SLM, and MJF. Each of these processes offers unique features and advantages, catering to diverse manufacturing needs.
7 Key points to consider when selecting a 3D Printer
Selecting the ideal 3D printer for your product can be overwhelming with so many options available. Here are 7 crucial points to aid you in finding “the one!”
- Application:
Different industries have diverse product needs, so it’s crucial to understand which printing technology best suits your industry requirements. For instance, in the automotive industry, precision in parts with complex geometries may take precedence, while for consumer goods, high-speed production could be the primary focus to meet market needs.
- Production Efficiency:
3D printers can offer higher production efficiency in certain scenarios. Consider how quickly you need to produce parts compared to traditional manufacturing methods and how 3D printing can streamline the process.
- Print Size/Build Volume:
The specific size of each printing area varies significantly across different printers. Industrial printers typically offer larger build volumes to accommodate larger parts and models.
- User-friendliness:
If a printer is easy to use it could potentially boost the efficiency of production to a great extent. When choosing a 3D printer, look for features like intuitive interfaces, automatic calibration, remote monitoring and control capabilities, and seamless integration between hardware and software.
- Accuracy & Resolution:
It is extremely important to ensure that the printer’s accuracy and resolution meet your project’s requirements. However, an increase in precision also requires certain compromises on printing time and cost, which should be taken into consideration when purchasing as well.
- Material Selection:
Some printing technologies may be limited to specific materials. Consider the materials and their properties that meet the project requirement; for example, if the project requires metal to be the material, SLM printers might be a better choice than MJF due to material options.
- Stability & Durability:
Industrial 3D printers often run for extended periods, and sometimes without a monitor. In these cases, durability and stability are crucial to minimize production costs and maintain high yields. Other potential factors like brand reputation, user reviews, warranty services, and product testing periods should also be considered as well.
- User-friendliness:
If a printer is easy to use it could potentially boost the efficiency of production to a great extent. When choosing a 3D printer, look for features like intuitive interfaces, automatic calibration, remote monitoring and control capabilities, and seamless integration between hardware and software.
- Accuracy & Resolution:
It is extremely important to ensure that the printer’s accuracy and resolution meet your project’s requirements. However, an increase in precision also requires certain compromises on printing time and cost, which should be taken into consideration when purchasing as well.
- Material Selection:
Some printing technologies may be limited to specific materials. Consider the materials and their properties that meet the project requirement; for example, if the project requires metal to be the material, SLM printers might be a better choice than MJF due to material options.
- Stability & Durability:
Industrial 3D printers often run for extended periods, and sometimes without a monitor. In these cases, durability and stability are crucial to minimize production costs and maintain high yields. Other potential factors like brand reputation, user reviews, warranty services, and product testing periods should also be considered as well.
After reading this article, we hope you now have a better understanding of how different 3D printers can meet various needs. Find more information about the 3D printing processes we offer here. If you have any further questions or inquiries, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
