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3D printing - What's the big buzz these days?

Did you know?



Nike, the footwear giant, used 3D printing to prototype and manufacture the 2012 Vapor Laser Talon football shoe for players of American football.








Nowadays, companies are printing eyewear with customer’s on-demand custom fit and styling.





In 2014, the Swedish supercar manufacturer, Koenigsegg, announced the One:1 which utilized many components that were 3D printed like side-mirror internals, air ducts, titanium exhaust components, and complete turbocharger assemblies.






Olaf Diegel, a Swedish Professor Develops World’s First 3D-Printed All-Aluminium Electric Guitar and names it ‘Heavy Metal’.






A titanium pelvis was successfully implanted into a British patient, a titanium lower jaw transplanted to a Belgian patient and a plastic tracheal splint into an American infant all of which were 3D printed.

Sounds amazing? Once you know the wide array of applications of 3D printing, you’ll start to realize its potential.

So what exactly is 3D printing?

According to Wikipedia, “3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing (AM), refers to processes used to synthesize a three-dimensional object in which successive layers of material are formed under computer control to create an object.”

Simply put in words, you can print 3D objects with just a simple office printer!
These objects can be created with a computer-aided design (CAD) software, through a 3D scanner, or simply with a plain digital camera and photogrammetry software. The entire process can broadly be classified into 3 steps:
  • Modeling – similar to visualizing and sculpting. A digital model is made on basis of data of the structure to be made.
  • Printing - There are several ways to print the desired object. They mainly differ in the way layers are build to create them. Some methods use melting or softening material to produce the layers. Stereolithography (SLA), Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) and Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) are the most common technologies using this way of 3D printing. 
  • Finishing - All of the commercialized metal 3D printers involve cutting the metal component off the metal substrate after deposition and giving the final touches.            

So why mention 3D printing in a blog dedicated to Aluminium?

Aluminium can be used a variety of objects including functional parts, automobile spare parts, and jewelry. Aluminium is inherently lightweight and durable. Its high strength to weight ratio makes it a suitable material of choice, predominantly in aerospace and automotive industries. It can handle a huge weight without compromising its integrity in its application. Already, Designers have been using the metal to 3D print various objects such as gears and toys, drone parts and tools, such as bottle openers, multi-tools and camera rigs, protective casing for laptops, phones, and sports equipment.

 

The technique used to build a design with aluminium is called Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS). This means that a fine metal powder is used to build the model layer by layer. The roller of the 3D printer spreads out a very fine layer of Aluminium powder. A laser beam then sinters and solidifies the areas that are part of your design. After this, a new layer of powder is rolled out and sintered at the correct spots.

Aluminium 3D printer

Aluminium alloys like AlSi10Mg are relatively strong. They are also hard enough to be used for a variety of components in motor racing, automotive industry and general engineering. Historically, AlSi10Mg has found a niche among lightweight and thin walled casting parts or any casted and geometrically complex components subjected to moderate loads.

With rapid strides in technology, designers and fabricators are already trying to create a value for aluminium in diverse sectors. There’s no limit to the imagination of 3D printing applications in the future with aluminium or other durable metals in the future.


For more on 3D printing, check out these links:
http://3dprinting.com/what-is-3d-printing/
http://alcoa.p1.inter.alcoa.com/global/en/news/news_detail.asp?pageID=20160706000340en&newsYear=2016
http://aluminiuminsider.com/swedish-professor-develops-worlds-first-3d-printed-all-aluminium-electric-guitar/
http://blog.grabcad.com/blog/2016/06/30/3d-printing-high-quality-parts-in-aluminium-alloy/


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