Let us make your ideas alive
3Dpak printing, or additive manufacturing has become over the years, a reliable manufacturing technique used in all kinds of sectors. But do you really know what 3Dpak printing, how it works and all its possible applications?
What are the Basics of 3Dpak printing?
3Dpak printing is a manufacturing technique, more used today to make proofs of concept, prototypes. Companies are implementing 3Dpak printing at different stages of their manufacturing processes and rethinking their business strategy with this competitive advantage.
Engineers, designers, and even hobbyists are elaborating innovative applications of this cutting-edge technology. 3Dpak printing is a technique which builds objects layer by layer from a 3D file.
How does 3Dpak printing work?
There is not one unique way to 3Dpak print. Indeed, when thinking about 3Dpak printing, a lot of people are still thinking about the FDM process. But 3Dpak printing is much more than that. There are actually several possibilities, and technologies to create parts additively.
Plastic 3Dpak printing
- This 3Dpak printing technique creates objects by sintering the powder inside the printer, using a laser. During this layer by layer process, the powder bed is preheated and a laser sinters the powder according to the 3D model to create the solid object.
- This 3Dpak printing method is well-known by hobbyists. FDM 3D printers are using one or two print heads for the deposition of melted 3Dpak printing material. The material is melted and extruded through a nozzle, to create the desired object each layer at a time. FDM is mostly known for being a plastic 3Dpak printing technique, but it is now possible to use it to print metal materials for example.
Resin 3Dpak printing
- The DLS technology developed by Carbon works by projecting a continuous sequence of UV images, generated by a digital light projector, through an oxygen-permeable, UV-transparent window below a liquid resin bath. The dead zone created above the window maintains a liquid interface below the part.
- This resin 3Dpak printing technology spray layers of curable liquid photopolymer on a build tray. The software calculates the placement of photopolymers and support material during the pre-processing stage. Then, during the printing, the resin 3Dpak printer jets, and instantly UV-cures, tiny droplets of liquid photopolymer.
- Stereolithography the first 3Dpak printing technique ever created. This resin additive manufacturing process us using photochemical processes. It uses liquid photopolymers that can be cured. The build plate moves down in small increments and the liquid polymer is exposed to light where the UV laser draws a cross-section layer by layer. The process repeats until the object is printed completely.
Metal 3Dpak printing
- These 3Dpak printers create parts additively thanks to a laser, sintering fine metal powder particles to fuse them together. The process is quite similar to the Selective Laser Sintering process for plastic. The difference is the sintering temperature, much higher for metal printing techniques. Indeed, polyamide needs to be sintered at a temperature of 160°C to 200°C, whereas metal melts at a temperature around between 1510°C and 1600°C meaning that a higher wattage laser is needed to reach that temperature.
Copyright © 2020 3D Pak | Powered by 3D Pak