TABLE 1.
Summaries of seven types of 3D printing technologies (Hubs, 2018; Additive Manufacturing Research Group, 2019; Carew and Erlrrickson, 2020).
| Categories | Typical technologies | Description | Typical materials | Characteristics | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Advantages | Disadvantages | ||||
| Material extrusion | Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) | The material is melted, and deposited via a heated nozzle | Thermoplastics | Common material Low cost | Rough surface, Warping |
| Powder bed fusion | Selective laser sintering (SLS) | The powder of material is fused by a high energy source | Thermoplastics, metal powders, caramic powders | No support Scalable | Higher cost |
| Vat photopolymerization | Stereolithography (SLA) | Liquid photopolymer material is selectively cured using a light source | Liquid resin | Relatively quick Fine details | Require supports UV sensitive |
| Material jetting | Material jetting (MJ) | The droplets of liquid photosensitive fusing agent are deposited on a powder bed and cured by light | Liquid photopolymer material | High accuracy Multiple material | High cost Brittle |
| Binder jetting | Binder jetting (BJ) | The liquid binding agent is deposited on a bed of powder material, which is later sintered together | Liquid bonding agent | No support No warping or shrinking | Post processing |
| Sheet lamination | Laminated object manufacturing (LOM) | The sheets of material are cut to shape and laminated together | Paper, metal, plastic | Multi-material layers Fast | Limited materials |
| Direct energy deposition | Direct energy deposition (DED) | The material is fused simultaneously deposited | Polymer, ceramic, metal | Range of materials Larger parts | High cost Poor surface |