Table 1.
Types of 3D printing technologies.
| Process | Principle |
|---|---|
| Extrusion Printing | |
| Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) [1] | A thermoplastic material is melted and laid on to the build platform in layer-by-layer fashion, until the object is formed. |
| Materials: acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), poly-lactic acid (PLA), nylon. | |
| Bioprinting [2] | Biological materials are extruded through a nozzle under pressure to lay down materials in sequential layers till the scaffold is built. |
| Materials: alginate, chitosan, gelatin, collagen, fibrin. | |
| Material Sintering | |
| Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) [3] | A high-power laser beam fuses the powdered materials in layer-by-layer pattern to form an object. |
| Materials: nylon, polyamide. | |
| Electron Beam Manufacturing (EBM) | EBM is similar to SLS, except for high power electron beam is used to fuse the powdered particles. |
| Materials: titanium, cobalt−chrome alloy. | |
| Stereolithography (SLA) [4] | A UV laser beam selectively hardens the photo-polymer resin in layers. |
| Each layer is solidified and built on top of next until the object is formed. | |
| Materials: photopolymers. | |
| Continuous Liquid Interface Production (CLIP) [3] | CLIP is similar to SLA, except for UV beam is passed through a transparent window at the bottom of the resin and build platform raises upwards holding the 3D printed object. |
| Materials: photopolymers. | |
| Material Binding | |
| Binder Jetting/Inkjet [5] | A liquid binding material is selectively dropped into the powder bed in alternative layers of powder–binding liquid–powder, until the final object is formed. |
| Materials: starch or gypsum (powder bed) and water (binding agent) | |
| Polyjet | Polyjet printing is similar to inkjet, but instead of binding agents, photopolymer liquid is sprayed in layers onto the build platform and is instantaneously cured using UV light. |
| Materials: polypropylene, polystyrene, polycarbonate. | |
| Lamination | |
| Laminated Object Manufacturing (LOM) | Layers of adhesive coated material are successively glued together and cut in required shapes using a laser. |
| Materials: thin sheets of paper, polyvinyl caprolactam (PVC) plastic, or metal laminates | |