Solid freeform fabrication (SFF) is a technique for manufacturing solid objects by the sequential delivery of energy and/or material to specified points in space to produce that solid. SFF is sometimes referred to as rapid prototyping, rapid manufacturing, layered manufacturing and additive fabrication.
Techniques
- Electron Beam Melting
- Fully fused void-free solid metal parts from powder stock
- Electron Beam Freeform Fabrication
- Fully fused void-free solid metal parts from wire feedstock
- Fused deposition modeling
- Fused deposition modeling extrudes hot plastic through a nozzle, building up a model.
- Laminated object manufacturing
- Sheets of paper or plastic film are attached to previous layers by either sprayed glue, heating, or embedded adhesive, and then the desired outline of the layer is cut by laser or knife. Finished product typically looks and acts like wood.
- Laser engineered net shaping
- A laser is used to melt metal powder and deposit it on the part directly. This has the advantage that the part is fully solid (unlike SLS) and the metal alloy composition can be dynamically changed over the volume of the part.
- Selective laser sintering
- Selective laser sintering uses a laser to fuse powdered nylon, elastomer, or metal. Additional processing is necessary to produce fully dense metal part.
- Shape deposition manufacturing
- Part and support material are deposited by a printhead and then machined to near-final shape.
- Solid ground curing
- Shines a UV light on an electrostatic mask to cure a layer of photopolymers, uses solid wax for support.
- Stereolithography
- Stereolithography uses a laser to cure liquid photopolymers.
- Three-dimensional printing
- This label encompasses many technologies, all of which use inkjet-like printheads to deposit material in layers. Commonly, this includes thermal phase change inkjets and photopolymer phase change inkjets.
- Robocasting
- Robocasting refers to depositing material from a robotically controlled syringe or extrusion head.
| Method | Accuracy (mm/mm)[1] | Maximum part size (mm)[2] | Process time (hh:mm)[3] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fused deposition modelling | 0.005 | 254 x 254 x 254 (Stratasys)[4] | 12:39 |
| Laminated object modeling | 0.01 | 812 x 558 x 508 (Cubic Technologies) | 11:02 |
| Selective laser sintering | 0.005 | 381 x 330 x 457 (3D Systems) | 4:55 |
| Solid ground curing | 0.006 | 508 x 355 x 508 (Cubital) | 11:21 |
| Stereolithography | 0.003 | 990 x 787 x 508 (Sony) | 7:03 |
| Robocasting | 0.1 (Fab@Home) | 240 x 240 X 240 (Fab@Home) | TBD |
- ^ As of March 2000. Wright, 2001, p. 154.
- ^ Grenda, 2006, retrieved June 13, 2006.
- ^ As of June 1992. Wright, 2001, p.153.
- ^ Wright, 2001, p.153
See also
- 3D microfabrication
- The TCT Magazine: Bi Monthly Magazine covering Rapid Prototyping
References
- Grenda, E. (2006). The Most Important Commercial Rapid Prototyping Technologies at a Glance.
- Wright, Paul K. (2001). 21st Century manufacturing. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall Inc.
