3D Printing
The method of 3D printing is one of the best ways to make 3D models in the true sense of the word ” tangible”. With an appropriate printer models can be quickly and easily in any desired color and many measures produced.
Die three-dimensional objects are built up from certain liquid or powdered materials by melting and hardening in layers in the predetermined shape. The thickness of each layer can be from some ten micrometers up to a quarter of a millimeter.
The most important techniques of 3D printing include:
- Electron beam melting and selective laser melting of metals
- Selective laser sintering of ceramics, polymers and metals
- Digital Light Processing and stereolithography for liquid resins
- the Fused Deposition Modeling and Polyjet Modeling for plastics and partly synthetic resins.
3D printers were initially developed for model creation and for the production of prototypes, but the technology has matured and now it also allows the multiple and multi-color 3D printing. Since a long time, the application is no longer confined to the industrial and military affairs. More and more artists create 3D works of art such as sculptures and let these take shape by 3D printers.
