Three Demensional Printing
As our society is advancing at an accelerated rate.
Technology has advanced from phones that were 5 inch wide
but in just 10 years, it is now thinner than 1 centimeter.
Three demensional printing started off as small plastic objects
being printed off but now, there are three demensional objects
that could be made of metal.
How it works: Metal 3D Printing is a laser-based technology that uses powdered metals.
A high-powered laser selectively binds together particles
on the powder bed while the machine distributes even layers of metallic powder.
Support structures are automatically generated and built simultaneously in the same material,
and are later manually removed. Once complete, the part undergoes heat treatment.
What 3D printing is doing for us today: It allows for the direct
manufacturing of complex end-use parts and facilitates tooling for conventional
manufacturing technologies, reducing costs and lead times. This technology is
also known as Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS) and Selective Laser Melting (SLM).
Companies such as GE are already making turbines with 3D printing with metal which
is about the same quality as typical production.
One area of growth in the 3-D printing arena is replacement parts production.
Need a new screw for your laptop? A new gear for your heirloom grandfather clock? A new
piston for your car?
Instead of trying to track down the part, pay for shipping, and waiting weeks for its arrival,
you’ll just be able to print it out and go. Mechanics will keep specs for every part of every car
ever sold in a database and print out whatever they need immediately with no difficulty.
While it would save time and money for any part, it’s a particular boon for restoration
jobs of all kinds where the original parts are extremely difficult to find or may not
even exist anymore.
