3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing, is a transformative process that builds three-dimensional objects from a digital design. Imagine creating a physical object directly from a computer file – that’s the essence of 3D printing.
This innovative approach achieves object creation through additive processes. Instead of carving away material like traditional subtractive manufacturing, 3D printing constructs objects layer upon successive layer. Each layer acts as a precise, thinly sliced cross-section of the final three-dimensional shape.
While layer-by-layer construction is the most common method, an emerging technique called volumetric 3D printing presents a fascinating alternative. Volumetric printing has the potential to form entire structures in one go, eliminating the layer-by-layer fabrication process. However, it’s important to note that volumetric technology is currently largely in the research and development phase.
Fundamentally, 3D printing stands in contrast to subtractive manufacturing. Subtractive methods, like milling, involve removing material from a solid block to reveal the desired shape. 3D printing, conversely, adds material precisely where it’s needed.
This additive nature of 3D printing offers significant advantages. It empowers the creation of complex geometries and intricate designs while often using less material compared to conventional manufacturing techniques. This efficiency in material usage can lead to cost savings and reduced waste.
How Does 3D Printing Work? A Step-by-Step Guide
The journey of 3D printing begins with a digital blueprint – a 3D model. You can design your own model from scratch using specialized software or access a vast library of pre-designed 3D models online.
The Role of 3D Software in Design
Numerous 3D software tools cater to varying skill levels and design needs. For beginners, user-friendly options like Tinkercad are excellent starting points. Tinkercad is a free, browser-based platform that provides interactive lessons and seamless export capabilities for 3D printable files in formats like .STL or .OBJ. For more advanced users and professional applications, a wide array of sophisticated 3D modeling software is available, offering greater control and features for complex designs.
Once your 3D model is finalized and saved as a printable file, the next crucial step is preparing it for the 3D printer. This preparation process is known as slicing.
Slicing: Bridging the Gap Between Digital Design and Physical Print
Slicing software acts as the translator between your digital 3D model and the 3D printer. It essentially dissects your 3D model into hundreds or even thousands of horizontal layers. This “sliced” file contains the precise instructions for the 3D printer to build the object layer by layer. Popular slicing software options offer various settings to optimize print quality, speed, and material usage.
After slicing, the file is ready to be sent to the 3D printer. File transfer can be achieved through common methods like USB, SD card, or increasingly, wireless connectivity via Wi-Fi. The 3D printer then interprets the sliced file and begins the additive manufacturing process, meticulously building your object layer by layer according to the digital instructions.
The Expanding 3D Printing Industry: From Prototypes to Production
3D printing has moved beyond its initial niche of rapid prototyping and is rapidly becoming a mainstream production technology. Industries across the board are recognizing the value and versatility of additive manufacturing, leading to widespread adoption. Companies that haven’t yet explored integrating 3D printing into their operations are now in the minority, highlighting the technology’s significant impact.
Initially, 3D printing was primarily utilized for creating prototypes and one-off custom parts. However, its capabilities have expanded dramatically, transforming it into a viable solution for serial production and end-use part manufacturing.
The industrial sector currently drives the majority of demand for 3D printing solutions. Market forecasts from Acumen Research and Consulting project the global 3D printing market to reach a staggering $41 billion by 2026, demonstrating the technology’s immense growth potential and economic impact.
As 3D printing technology continues to advance, it is poised to revolutionize nearly every major industry, reshaping manufacturing processes and product development across diverse sectors.
3D Printing Applications: A Diverse Range of Examples
3D printing is not a monolithic technology but rather a diverse ecosystem encompassing numerous technologies and materials. Its adaptability has led to its adoption in virtually every industry imaginable, showcasing its versatility and broad applicability. It’s crucial to understand 3D printing as a cluster of related industries, each with a wide spectrum of unique applications.
Here are just a few examples illustrating the breadth of 3D printing applications:
- Consumer Products: From customized eyewear and innovative footwear designs to bespoke furniture and personalized design objects, 3D printing is enabling mass customization and unique consumer goods.
- Industrial Products: Manufacturing benefits significantly from 3D printing through the creation of specialized tooling, rapid prototypes for product development, and functional end-use parts for machinery and equipment.
- Dental Products: The dental industry leverages 3D printing for creating precise dental models, surgical guides, aligners, and even directly printed crowns and dentures, enhancing patient care and treatment accuracy.
- Prosthetics: 3D printing is revolutionizing prosthetics by enabling the creation of customized, lightweight, and affordable prosthetic limbs and devices tailored to individual patient needs.
- Architectural Scale Models & Maquettes: Architects and designers utilize 3D printing to create detailed and accurate scale models for presentations, design visualization, and client communication.
- Paleontology and Archaeology: 3D printing aids in reconstructing fragile fossils and replicating ancient artifacts for research, education, and preservation purposes.
- Forensic Pathology: In forensic science, 3D printing assists in reconstructing evidence at crime scenes, providing tangible models for analysis and courtroom presentations.
- Movie Props: The entertainment industry utilizes 3D printing to create intricate and customized movie props, costumes, and set pieces, pushing the boundaries of creative possibilities.
Rapid Prototyping and Rapid Manufacturing: Accelerating Innovation
Companies have been leveraging 3D printers for prototype creation in their design workflows since the late 1970s. This application is known as rapid prototyping, and it remains a cornerstone of product development.
The Advantages of 3D Printing for Rapid Prototyping: Speed and cost-effectiveness are the primary drivers. 3D printing drastically shortens the time from concept to physical prototype, often reducing it from weeks to just days. This accelerated iteration cycle allows for quicker design refinements and faster time-to-market. Furthermore, 3D printing eliminates the need for expensive molds and tooling typically required for traditional prototyping methods, resulting in significant cost savings.
Beyond prototyping, 3D printing is also revolutionizing rapid manufacturing. This emerging manufacturing paradigm involves businesses using 3D printers for short-run, small-batch, and customized manufacturing. Rapid manufacturing is particularly valuable for niche markets, personalized products, and bridging production gaps.
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Automotive Industry: Driving Innovation with Additive Manufacturing
The automotive industry has been an early adopter and enthusiastic user of 3D printing technology. Automotive manufacturers utilize 3D printing for a diverse range of applications, including producing spare parts on demand, creating specialized tools, jigs, and fixtures for assembly lines, and even manufacturing end-use parts for vehicles. 3D printing’s on-demand capabilities reduce reliance on large inventories and accelerate both design and production cycles.
Car enthusiasts worldwide are also embracing 3D printed parts for restoring classic and vintage automobiles. A notable example involves Australian engineers who successfully revived a rare Delage Type-C race car by 3D printing components that had been out of production for decades, demonstrating the power of 3D printing to overcome obsolescence and preserve automotive history.
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A 3D-printed wheel trim, showcasing the application of additive manufacturing in automotive restoration.
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Aviation: Taking Flight with 3D Printed Components
The aviation industry is a strong proponent of additive manufacturing, primarily driven by the promise of creating lightweight yet robust structures. Aviation applications of 3D printing are rapidly expanding, with increasingly critical aircraft components now being manufactured using additive techniques.
Turbine Center Frame Innovation:
A significant achievement in aviation 3D printing is the turbine center frame, a large and complex component printed by GE as part of the EU Clean Sky 2 initiative.
This Advanced Additive Integrated Turbine Centre Frame (TCF) is an impressive 1-meter diameter part constructed from nickel alloy 718. The collaborative effort involved GE and a consortium from Hamburg University of Technology (TUHH), TU Dresden (TUD), and Autodesk. It stands as one of the largest single metal parts ever 3D printed for aviation applications.
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A large 3D-printed turbine center frame, highlighting the scale of additive manufacturing in aerospace.]
Traditionally, components like turbine center frames are manufactured through casting, requiring multiple parts and complex assembly. The 3D-printed version, however, reduces the assembly from 150 parts down to a single, unified piece. This consolidation yields significant benefits, including a 30% reduction in both cost and weight, and a dramatic decrease in lead time from 9 months to just 10 weeks.
Certified Metal Parts for Aircraft:
In a landmark achievement for aviation safety and innovation, Lufthansa Technik and Premium AEROTEC announced the creation of the first load-bearing metal part certified for aviation use in June 2022.
This crucial A-link component was produced using Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) and demonstrated superior tensile strength compared to its traditionally forged counterpart.
Manufacturing took place at Premium AEROTEC’s facility in Varel, Germany, with extensive testing and quality control measures to ensure repeatability and meet stringent aviation certification standards.
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3D-printed titanium A-links, representing a breakthrough in certified metal parts for aviation.]
3D printing this component not only resulted in cost savings but also paved the way for utilizing additive manufacturing for structurally critical metal parts in the future. This achievement also served as a validation of the certification process for load-bearing AM parts in the highly regulated aviation sector.
Hypersonic Fuel Injector Development:
While not intended for flight, a remarkable 3D-printed fuel injector was designed for a ground-breaking purpose: simulating hypersonic flight conditions.
Hypersonic flight, exceeding Mach 5, generates extreme heat and pressure around an aircraft, potentially causing chemical reactions in the air that can impact fuel combustion.
To replicate these challenging conditions for research, Purdue University researchers fabricated a giant burner to simulate the hot, high-pressure environment of hypersonic flight. This innovative approach allows for testing components within the exhaust plume of a rocket nozzle, effectively bringing hypersonic conditions down to Earth.
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3D-printed fuel injectors, designed for hypersonic testing and demonstrating advanced manufacturing capabilities.]
The 3D-printed injectors precisely control the flow of fuel and air into the combustion chamber, creating specific turbulent flow fields and a stable flame.
These injectors were printed using Hastelloy X, a superalloy known for its exceptional temperature resistance. The team rapidly produced and tested multiple injector designs in the burner to identify the optimal performance characteristics.
This research enables the replication of hypersonic flight conditions in a controlled laboratory setting, significantly reducing the cost and risk associated with actual hypersonic flight testing. The findings have implications for advancing scramjet-powered vehicles and space vehicle technologies.
Relativity Space and Large-Scale Rocket Printing:
Relativity Space, a US-based rocket company, is pushing the boundaries of 3D printing scale with its massive metal 3D printer, “Stargate.” The 4th generation Stargate printer can create objects up to 120 feet long and 24 feet in diameter.
This AI-assisted robotic printer achieves impressive print speeds thanks to its innovative multi-wire print head, which feeds multiple metal wires simultaneously, resulting in higher material deposition rates.
Relativity Space achieved a significant milestone in 2023 with the first LEO test flight of their Terran-1 rocket, largely constructed using 3D printing. This achievement highlights the potential of 3D printing to revolutionize aerospace manufacturing and space exploration.
Construction: Building the Future, Layer by Layer
Can 3D printers build walls and even entire houses? The answer is a resounding yes. 3D-printed houses are no longer a futuristic concept; they are commercially available today. Some companies 3D print prefabricated components in factories, while others utilize mobile 3D printers for on-site construction.
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While many concrete 3D printing applications focus on large-scale systems with high flow rates for rapid layer deposition, achieving truly intricate concrete structures requires a more refined approach. Specialized concrete 3D printing systems are emerging that offer greater precision and finer control, enabling the creation of complex architectural details and customized concrete elements.
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A concrete 3D printer in action, showcasing the potential for intricate designs in construction.]
Consumer Products: Mass Customization and Innovative Designs
When 3D printing first gained prominence in the early 2010s, it wasn’t yet ready for large-scale consumer product manufacturing. However, today, numerous examples of end-use 3D-printed consumer goods demonstrate the technology’s maturation and viability for mass production.
Footwear Innovation:
Adidas’ 4D shoe line features a fully 3D-printed midsole, produced in significant volumes. Initially, Adidas released limited quantities, but their production goals and market presence have expanded considerably. These 3D-printed shoes are now widely available globally, showcasing the successful integration of additive manufacturing into mainstream footwear production.
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Eyewear Revolution:
The 3D-printed eyewear market is experiencing rapid growth, projected to reach $3.4 billion by 2028. A significant portion of this growth comes from end-use eyewear frames. 3D printing is ideally suited for eyewear production due to its ability to easily incorporate individual measurements for personalized fit and design.
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3D-printed eyewear, illustrating the customization and design freedom offered by additive manufacturing.]
Beyond frames, 3D printing is also transforming lens manufacturing. Traditional lens production generates significant waste, as lenses are cut from larger blanks. 3D printing offers a more sustainable and efficient approach by directly printing customized lenses, minimizing material waste and inventory needs. Luxexcel’s VisionEngine 3D printer exemplifies this innovation, producing high-quality, custom ophthalmic lenses with minimal post-processing. This technology even allows for customized focal areas within a lens, optimizing vision correction for different distances.
Jewelry Design and Production:
3D printing offers two primary methods for jewelry creation: direct and indirect production. Direct 3D printing involves creating the final jewelry piece directly from the digital design. Indirect methods utilize 3D printing to create patterns or molds for investment casting, a traditional jewelry manufacturing technique. Both approaches expand design possibilities and offer unique advantages for jewelry makers.
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3D-printed jewelry, showcasing intricate designs achievable through additive manufacturing.]
Healthcare: Transforming Medical Solutions
Headlines frequently feature stories about experimental 3D-printed implants, but 3D printing is no longer a fringe technology in healthcare. It’s a mainstream tool with numerous established applications. Over the past decade, GE Additive has 3D-printed over 100,000 hip replacements, demonstrating the technology’s widespread adoption in orthopedics.
The Delta-TT Cup, designed by Dr. Guido Grappiolo and LimaCorporate, is a 3D-printed hip implant made from Trabecular Titanium. This material mimics the structure of natural bone, promoting better biocompatibility and bone ingrowth, leading to improved implant integration and long-term performance. Early Delta-TT implants have shown excellent results, functioning effectively for over a decade.
Another prevalent healthcare application is hearing aids. It’s estimated that 99% of hearing aids are manufactured using additive manufacturing, highlighting its critical role in this sector. 3D printing enables the creation of customized hearing aid shells that are comfortable, discreet, and tailored to individual patient ear anatomy.
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Dental Advancements:
In the dental industry, 3D printing has become indispensable. Molds for clear aligners are potentially the most 3D-printed objects globally. These molds are created using resin-based, powder-based, and material jetting 3D printing processes. Beyond aligner molds, 3D printing is also used to directly produce crowns, dentures, and surgical guides, streamlining dental workflows and enhancing precision.
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3D-printed dental items, demonstrating the precision and customization capabilities for dental applications.]
Bio-printing: The Frontier of Tissue Engineering:
Since the early 2000s, biotechnology companies and researchers have explored 3D printing for tissue engineering, a field known as bio-printing. Bio-printing utilizes inkjet-like techniques to deposit layers of living cells onto a gel medium, gradually building three-dimensional biological structures, potentially including organs and body parts. While still in the early stages of development, bio-printing holds immense promise for regenerative medicine and creating artificial tissues for research and transplantation.
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Food Industry: Culinary Creations with 3D Printing
Additive manufacturing has also entered the food industry, with restaurants like Food Ink and Melisse using 3D food printers as a unique selling point. 3D food printing allows for creating intricate food designs, personalized culinary experiences, and novel food textures. While still a niche market, 3D food printing demonstrates the versatility of additive manufacturing across diverse sectors.
Education: Empowering Learning and Innovation
Educators and students have embraced 3D printers in classrooms and universities. 3D printing provides students with a tangible way to bring their ideas to life quickly and affordably.
While specialized additive manufacturing degrees are relatively new, universities have long integrated 3D printers into various disciplines, including engineering, design, architecture, and art. Educational courses focusing on CAD, 3D design, and additive manufacturing are becoming increasingly common, preparing students for careers in this rapidly growing field. 3D printing also supports project-based learning, allowing students to create prototypes, models, and artistic expressions, fostering innovation and hands-on learning experiences.
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3D printing in education, highlighting its role in hands-on learning and fostering innovation.]
Types of 3D Printing Technologies and Processes
The world of 3D printing encompasses a variety of technologies, each with its own unique process and material capabilities. Here are six major categories of 3D printing technologies:
Vat Photopolymerization: Light-Based Curing
Vat Photopolymerization 3D printing utilizes a liquid photopolymer resin that is selectively cured and solidified by a light source, typically UV light.
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Schematic of Vat Photopolymerization process, illustrating the use of UV light to cure resin.]
Stereolithography (SLA): Precision with Lasers
Stereolithography (SLA), invented in 1986 by Charles Hull, is a pioneering Vat Photopolymerization technology. SLA employs a vat of liquid photopolymer resin and a UV laser to build objects layer by layer with high precision. The laser beam traces the cross-sectional pattern of each layer onto the resin surface, curing and solidifying the resin and fusing it to the layer below. After each layer is completed, the build platform descends, and a fresh layer of resin is recoated before the next layer is traced. SLA often requires support structures to properly build overhanging features, depending on the object’s geometry and print orientation.
Digital Light Processing (DLP): Speed and Efficiency
Digital Light Processing (DLP) is similar to SLA but utilizes a different light source. Instead of a laser, DLP typically employs arc lamps or projectors. DLP projects an image of the entire layer onto the resin vat, curing the entire layer simultaneously, making it generally faster than SLA.
Continuous Liquid Interface Production (CLIP): Continuous Printing
Continuous Liquid Interface Production (CLIP), a proprietary technology by Carbon, offers a unique approach to Vat Photopolymerization. CLIP uses an oxygen-permeable window at the bottom of the resin vat, creating a thin “dead zone” of uncured resin between the window and the printed object. This prevents the object from sticking to the bottom and allows for a continuous printing process, significantly increasing print speeds and enabling the production of parts with unique material properties.
Material Jetting: Droplet-Based Deposition
Material Jetting technology deposits build material in droplets through small nozzles, similar to inkjet paper printers. However, in 3D printing, these droplets are applied layer by layer onto a build platform and then cured or solidified, often using UV light. Material Jetting can achieve high precision and smooth surface finishes and is capable of printing with multiple materials in a single build.
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Material Jetting process
Schematic of Material Jetting process, showing droplet deposition and UV curing.]
Binder Jetting: Powder and Binder Combination
Binder Jetting utilizes two main materials: a powder base material (like metal, ceramic, or sand) and a liquid binder. In the build chamber, powder is spread in thin layers, and the liquid binder is selectively sprayed through jet nozzles to “glue” powder particles together in the desired shape. After printing, excess powder is removed, often recyclable for future prints. Binder Jetting was initially developed at MIT in 1993 and is known for its speed and scalability, particularly for metal and sand casting applications.
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Binder Jetting schematics
Schematic of Binder Jetting process, highlighting powder layering and binder application.]
Material Extrusion: Melted Filament Deposition
Material Extrusion is a widely used 3D printing method where a thermoplastic filament is melted and extruded through a nozzle to build objects layer by layer.
Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM): The Popular Choice
Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM), invented by Scott Crump in the late 1980s and commercialized by Stratasys, is a prominent Material Extrusion technology. FDM uses a plastic filament unwound from a spool and fed into a heated extrusion nozzle. The nozzle melts the filament and deposits it layer by layer, following the sliced path defined by the digital model. The extruded material solidifies quickly after deposition, forming each layer. FDM is known for its affordability, ease of use, and wide range of printable materials.
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fdm process
Schematic of Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM), illustrating filament extrusion and layer-by-layer build.]
Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF): Open Source Alternative
Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) is essentially the same technology as FDM but is the term adopted by the RepRap open-source 3D printing project. The term FFF was coined to be legally unconstrained, allowing for broader use of the technology without patent restrictions. In practice, FDM and FFF are often used interchangeably.
Powder Bed Fusion: Laser or Electron Beam Melting
Powder Bed Fusion technologies use a thermal energy source, such as a laser or electron beam, to selectively fuse or melt powder particles together, layer by layer, within a powder bed.
Selective Laser Sintering (SLS): Laser-Powered Powder Fusion
Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) utilizes a high-power laser to sinter (fuse) powder particles together. The laser scans the cross-section of each layer onto the powder bed, selectively fusing the powder. After each layer, the powder bed lowers, a new layer of powder is spread, and the process repeats until the object is complete. SLS is widely used for producing functional prototypes and end-use parts in various plastics and polymers.
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Schematic of Selective Laser Sintering (SLS), showing laser scanning and powder fusion.]
Multi Jet Fusion (MJF): HP’s High-Throughput Technology
Multi Jet Fusion (MJF), developed by Hewlett Packard, is a Powder Bed Fusion technology known for its speed and scalability. MJF uses a sweeping arm to deposit powder layers and another arm equipped with inkjet nozzles to selectively apply a binder agent and a detailing agent. The binder fuses the powder particles, while the detailing agent enhances surface quality and dimensional accuracy. Finally, a thermal energy burst fuses the layer. MJF is particularly well-suited for producing functional nylon parts with excellent mechanical properties.
Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS) / Selective Laser Melting (SLM): Metal Part Production
Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS) is similar to SLS but uses metal powder instead of polymer powder. Due to the higher melting point of metals, DMLS typically employs a more powerful laser to fully melt the metal powder particles together, often referred to as Selective Laser Melting (SLM). Unused powder in DMLS/SLM acts as support material and can be recycled. These technologies are crucial for producing complex metal parts in industries like aerospace, medical, and automotive.
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Directed Energy Deposition (DED): Additive Manufacturing for Large Metal Parts
Directed Energy Deposition (DED) is primarily used in metal 3D printing, particularly for large-scale and rapid manufacturing applications. DED systems typically involve a multi-axis robotic arm equipped with a nozzle that deposits metal powder or wire onto a surface. A focused energy source, such as a laser, electron beam, or plasma arc, melts the metal material as it’s deposited, creating a solid object. DED is often used for repairing or adding features to existing metal parts, as well as for creating large, near-net-shape metal components.
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DED process
Schematic of Directed Energy Deposition (DED), showing metal powder deposition and laser melting.]
Materials for 3D Printing: A Wide Spectrum of Possibilities
Additive manufacturing is compatible with a diverse range of materials, expanding its applications across industries. These materials include various types of plastics, metals, ceramics, concrete, paper, and even certain food items like chocolate. 3D printing materials are typically available in forms like filament (wire feedstock), powder, or liquid resin, depending on the specific 3D printing technology. The choice of material is crucial and depends on the desired properties of the final printed object, such as strength, flexibility, heat resistance, and biocompatibility.
3D Printing Services: Accessing Additive Manufacturing Expertise
For businesses looking to leverage 3D printing without investing in in-house equipment, 3D printing services provide a valuable solution. These services offer on-demand 3D printing capabilities, allowing you to upload your 3D models and receive printed parts in a variety of materials and technologies. 3D printing services are ideal for prototyping, small-batch production, and accessing specialized 3D printing processes. They provide a cost-effective and convenient way to integrate 3D printing into your product development and manufacturing workflows.
