Materials Team
Medical Applications for 3D Printing in Modern Medicine
The medical sector has been a pioneer in adopting 3D printing technology, with the first 3D printed dental implants and custom prosthetics manufactured in the 1990s. Over the years, 3D printing has captured the attention of the medical field and is projected to be worth $3.5 billion by 2025. Below, we discuss some of the…
Read More
Top Additive Manufacturing Materials by Industry
Some of the first materials used for 3D printing were photopolymers hardened with UV light, as demonstrated by the Japanese inventor Hideo Kodama in 1981. The range of available additive manufacturing materials has significantly broadened over the past 40 years. These advanced materials have enabled the fabrication of many complex products in a range of…
Read More
Using Lattice Structures in Additive Manufacturing Software
Additive manufacturing is increasingly leveraged for enhancing or improving product performance. Lattice structures are one common design technique. A lattice structure is a microarchitecture designed with a network of repeating crosshatch sections to create a specific pattern. Lattice structures are difficult to create with traditional manufacturing methods, making them unique to additive manufacturing. Using lattice…
Read More
Hybrid Additive Manufacturing Approaches
Hybrid additive manufacturing combines additive and subtractive manufacturing to produce a finished product. Additive manufacturing, or 3D printing, builds structures by adding material in layers. Conversely, subtractive manufacturing, such as CNC machining, removes material from a raw block through cutting, drilling, boring, and grinding to fabricate a product. The following provides examples of how hybrid…
Read More
What Types of Materials Are Used in 3D Printing?
Many manufacturers’ first exposure to 3D printing was through fused deposition modeling, in which plastic filaments extrude through a nozzle during printing. Materials used in 3D printing were formerly confined to plastics and weak metal alloys that could be extruded at low temperatures. The scope of 3D-printable materials has grown considerably to include various metals, polymers, organic materials, ceramics, and even biological materials.
Read More