Technologies
A number of competing technologies are available. They differ in the way layers are built to create parts, and the materials that can be used. Some methods use melting or softening material to produce the layers, e.g. selective laser sintering (SLS) and fused deposition modeling (FDM), while others lay liquid materials that are cured with different technologies, e.g. stereolithography (SLA). In the case of laminated object manufacturing (LOM), thin layers are cut to shape and joined together (e.g. paper, polymer, metal). Each method has its advantages and drawbacks, and consequently some companies offer a choice between powder and polymer as the material from which the object emerges. Generally, the main considerations are speed, cost of the printed prototype, cost of the 3D printer, choice and cost of materials and colour capabilities.
Printers which work directly with metals are expensive. However, in some cases inexpensive printers have been used to make a mould, which is then used as to make a metal part.
| Type | Technologies | Base materials |
|---|---|---|
| Extrusion | Fused deposition modeling (FDM) | Thermoplastics (e.g. PLA, ABS), eutectic metals, edible materials |
| Granular | Direct metal laser sintering (DMLS) | Almost any metal alloy |
| Electron beam melting (EBM) | Titanium alloys | |
| Selective heat sintering (SHS) | Thermoplastic powder | |
| Selective laser sintering (SLS) | Thermoplastics, metal powders, ceramic powders | |
| Powder bed and inkjet head 3d printing, Plaster-based 3D printing (PP) | Plaster | |
| Laminated | Laminated object manufacturing (LOM) | Paper, metal foil, plastic film |
| Light polymerised | Stereolithography (SLA) | photopolymer |
| Digital Light Processing (DLP) | liquid resin |
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