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Title:
3D Printing Technologies & Applications: An Overview
Authors:
Margarita Ntousia, [email protected], Department of Computer Science & Engineering, University of
Ioannina
Ioannis Fudos, [email protected], Department of Computer Science & Engineering, University of Ioannina

Keywords:
Additive manufacturing, 3D printing technologies, Processes, Robustness, Accuracy

DOI: 10.14733/cadconfP.2019.243-248

Introduction:
3D printing has evolved rapidly since the initial concept invented in the late 1970s. The main idea
is to join dierent layers of material using a digital model input from a CAD software to create a
three dimensional object, a process also widely known as Additive Manufacturing (AM) [10],[16],[22].
Nowadays, 3D printing lists a number of dierent applications in several industries such as medicine,
manufacturing, aerospace, automotive, construction, architecture, jewelry, food and more [16],[12],[5].
The possibilities are endless due to the multiplicity of dierent technologies and materials, oering a wide
range of geometrically complex, largely scaled models with high-precision and reliability. In this paper
some of the most commonly used 3D printing technologies will be presented and compared under specic
parameters that aect the nal result in terms of accuracy, functionality and usability. A wide list of
the printing materials is considered, as well as the advantages, disadvantages and dierent applications
of these technologies.
This paper is a rst step in assuring the quality of the printed models with regard to their geometry.
Although the surface of an imported, model considers manifold and non self-intersected in several cases
the printed model lacks consistency and accuracy. For this reason errors such as thin faces, overlaps,
gaps, non-manifold structures and self-intersections may appear in the printed models. This comparative
survey of printing technologies will facilitate, in future work, (i) the identication of geometrical issues
that occur in certain printing technologies and (ii) the characterization of the corresponding frequency of
occurrence.

3D Printing Technologies:
There are several types of 3D printing technologies depending on the processes they adopt for material
deposition in order to create the desired 3D model. Some of them melt the material while others solidify
powders or liquidize materials. The basic processes are Material Extrusion, Powder bed Fusion, Vat
Photopolymerization and Sheet Lamination.
Material extrusion is an AM process which creates layers by mechanically extruding molten thermo-
plastic material on a build platform. In Powder bed Fusion process an electron beam is used to melt
the spread material on a powder bed, while in Vat Photopolymerization process an ultraviolet laser is
used to polymerize the UV resins and create a layer of solidied material. Finally in Sheet Lamination a
controlled laser is used to cut the coated material on a building platform[24].

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Description of Technologies:
In this section the dierent types of 3D printing technologies will be presented and categorized according
to the process they adopt.
Stereolithography (SLA) uses an ultraviolet (UV) laser which is focused on the top surface of the resin
which hardens precisely where the laser hits its surface [15],[7].
Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) uses a continuous lament of a thermoplastic material and builds
a part by heating and extruding this thermoplastic lament through a moving, heated extrusion print
head one layer each time [15],[7].
Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) uses a high power laser to sinter small parts of powdered material
aiming at specic points across a powder bed [15],[7],[16],[13].
Digital Light Processing (DLP) uses a digital projector screen to ash a single image of each layer
across the entire platform at once [7],[20].
In Laminated Object Manufacturing (LOM) technology a laminated sheet of material is spread
through a roller mechanism. A computer controlled laser cuts the coated material to form the desired
shape of the object [7],[15].
In Continuous Liquid Interface Production (CLIP) technology a beam of ultraviolet light is projected
through an oxygen-permeable window into the vat of liquid resin, illuminating the precise cross-section
of the object [19],[21].
In Selective Laser Melting (SLM) the powdered material is spread over the fabrication bed and melted
or sintered by a high powdered optic laser. In this process the metal material can be fully melted [17],[18].
In Powder bed and inkjet head 3D printing (3DP) a thin layer of the powder material is spread onto
the fabrication platform and an inkjet print head moves across the powder bed depositing a liquid binding
material that joins the powders [9],[3].
Electron Beam Melting (EBM) is mainly based on a melting process which uses a metal powder and
an electron beam. The material is spread on the building platform and heated by an electron beam [4].
In Selective Heat Sintering (SHS) the material is fed from the powder deposition tanks (1), heated
to just below its melting point, spread out into a thin layer over the movable building platform (2) and
attened using a roller (3) [2],[11].
Fig. 1 provides a schematic representation of the above 3D printing technologies and in Tab. 1
the corresponding process is presented [16],[22],[24]. The basic processes will be evaluated in terms of
accuracy, surface quality nish and model resistance of the nal model, material variety, printing costs
and other parameters. In Tab. 2, some of these parameters are presented [15],[7],[24].

Processes Technologies
Material Extrusion FDM
Powder bed Fusion 3DP , EBM , SLM , SHS , SLS
Vat Photopolymerization SLA , DLP , CLIP
Sheet Lamination LOM

Tab. 1: 3D Printing processes and technologies.

Materials:
3D printing involves a wide variety of materials, such as polymers, ceramics, metals and more, making it
the most suitable technique to produce a wide range of products faster and with lower cost than traditional
manufacturing processes. This material variety oers excellent prospects in terms of synthetic, free-form,
detailed and with high resolution, resistance, functional models. Some of the materials used in 3D printing
are mentioned in Tab. 3 based on the corresponding processes [15],[16],[7],[12],[24].

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Advantages and disadvantages:

In this section we will present one more specic list for the advantages and disadvantages for 3D print-
ing technologies. The main advantages of adapting these technologies over traditional manufacturing
processes is the ability to construct complex, customized and with high accuracy models. One of the
main disadvantages of 3D printing technologies, still, is the limited potential to build large-scale models.
Although mass production of identical parts is possible with 3D printing technologies a printing speed
and cost remain hindering factors. A comparative list of some of the main 3D printing technologies
advantages and disadvantages are presented in Tab. 4 [15],[23],[7],[12],[24],[3],[1],[6].

Fig. 1: 3D printing technologies: a) SLA [14], b) FDM [14], c) SLS [8], d) DLP [7], e) LOM [7], f) CLIP
[19], g) SLM [17], h) 3DP [3], i) EBM [4], j) SHS [11].

Processes Accuracy Surface quality Material Model Cost

nish variety resistance
Material Extrusion ** Poor Wide Good *
Powdery
Powder bed Fusion ** Wide High ***
/Porosity
Vat Photopoly-
*** Smooth Wide Moderate **
merization
Sheet Lamination * High Limited Good *

Tab. 2: Critical parameters of 3D Printing processes.

Processes Materials
Material Extrusion Thermoplastic polymers, Ceramic slurries, Metal pastes, Eutectic metals
Powder bed Fusion Polyamides, Polymer, Ceramic, Metal, Glass powders, Thermoplastics, Nylon
Vat Photopolymerization Photopolymers, Ceramics, Semi-exible materials, ABS
Sheet Lamination Polymer composites, Ceramics, Paper and metal-lled tapes

Tab. 3: Materials used in 3D Printing processes.

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Applications of technologies:
3D printing technologies are utilized in several industries due to combination of dierent materials and
technologies. Biomedical customized implants, automotive models, prototypes, smart structures are only
few of an extensive list of products. The last years 3D printing has entered the food industry, where it
can be used to customize the nutritional value of meals [5].
In Tab. 5 [15],[7],[5],[12] and Fig. 2 [24],[12] some of the main applications of the 3D printing
technologies are mentioned.

Technologies Advantages Disadvantages

Various colors, Simplicity Requires supports for complex structures
FDM
Weak mechanical properties, Limited
Multi-materials, High speed
resolution, Poor surface nish
Large part size, Variety of materials Post processing required
SLS Customized products, Fast procedure Expensive process
High strength and stiness
Less time consuming Limited materials
SLA Customized coloring, Detailed large prints Possible brittle components, Expensive
High quality, Fine resolution Support structures for parts with overhangs
Reduced manufacturing time Inferior surface quality
LOM Variety of materials , larger structures Post processing required
Reducted tooling cost Limitations for very complex shapes
High accuracy, Fine resolution,Material
Costly process, Post processing required
DLP variety, Fast process

Tab. 4: Advantages and disadvantages of 3D Printing technologies.

Technologies Applications
Prototyping , Biomedical, Toys , Advanced composite parts
FDM
Home use applications , Food technology, Buildings , Construction
SLS , SLM , 3DP Biomedical , Electronics, Aerospace, Lightweight structures, Heat exchangers
Biomedical, Excellent for form testing
SLA
Best process for water resistant material, Prototyping
Paper manufacturing , Foundry industries, Electronics
LOM
Biomedical , Ideal for nonfunctional prototypes, Smart structures

Tab. 5: Applications of 3D Printing Technologies.

Conclusions:
3D printing has signalled new horizons in manufacturing by facilitating a wide range of improved de-
signs, reducing the production time and cost and simplifying complicated procedures. For instance, in
medicine 3D printing has optimized the surgical pre-operative planning procedure and medical education
by producing accurate human phantoms. The presented technologies are suitable for designing almost
every complicated model with a sucient percentage of accuracy.
FDM has a lower production cost and several of these printers are used for home use applications.
The poor surface nish and limited resolution of the nal models are two of the main drawbacks.
With SLS parts with complex interior structure, ne resolution and accuracy can be produced. It is
widely used for customized parts but it is more expensive than other technologies.
SLA on the other hand is one of the most widely used technologies for making prototypes, and
construct high quality and ne resolution models. It is less time consuming than other technologies but
it is also expensive.
LOM might have a lower dimensional accuracy that the powder-bed methods but it is one of the best
choices for larger structures. It uses a variety of materials, reduces manufacturing time and tooling costs.

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Fig. 2: Applications of 3D printing technologies: Medicine, Art, Buildings, Electronics, Food, Construc-
tion, Aerospace.

DLP might be a costly process but this is balanced by the speed and the high accuracy of the
manufacturing.

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