3D Printing Process
Using CAD Drawings to Build Physical Parts
3D printers or “3D Printing” uses CAD drawings to build physical parts. FDM uses the patented fused deposition modeling (FDM) system, and produces prototypes with strong, durable ABS plastic, providing functional plastic prototypes to prove your design.
3D printers deposit a thin bead of melted ABS plastic on a flat, modeling surface which prints a cross-sectional layer of the part. Additional layers are deposited on top of the preceding layer until the 3D rapid prototype is complete.
The 3D printer’s prototype tolerances* are .010" (0.25mm) along the X and Y axis and 0.010" (0.25mm) per inch (25.4mm) along the Z axis.
Time and Cost Savings
Rapid Prototyping and 3D Printing are widely used to reduce the time to develop new products and reduce errors by testing parts before creating tooling. By identifying problems before tooling has been created, costly and time-consuming tooling changes can be avoided, resulting in products reaching the market faster and significantly cheaper.
* Certain geometries can reduce the accuracy of the 3D printing process.
