Solid freeform fabrication (SFF) is a technique for manufacturing solid objects by the sequential delivery of energy and/or material to specified points in space to produce that solid. SFF is sometimes referred to as rapid prototyping, rapid manufacturing, layered manufacturing and additive fabrication. Manufacturing, a branch of industry which accounts for about one-quarter of the worlds economic activity, is the application of tools and a processing medium to the transformation of raw materials into finished goods for sale. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Rapid manufacturing is a technique for manufacturing solid objects by the sequential delivery of energy and/or material to specified points in space to produce that solid. ...

Techniques

Fused deposition modeling

Fused deposition modeling extrudes hot plastic through a nozzle, building up a model.

Laminated object manufacturing

Sheets of paper or plastic film are attached to previous layers by either sprayed glue, heating, or embedded adhesive, and then the desired outline of the layer is cut by laser or knife. Finished product typically looks and acts like wood.

Laser engineered net shaping

A laser is used to melt metal powder and deposit it on the part directly. This has the advantage that the part is fully solid (unlike SLS) and the metal alloy composition can be dynamically changed over the volume of the part.

Selective laser sintering

Selective laser sintering uses a laser to fuse powdered nylon, elastomer, or metal. Additional processing is necessary to produce fully dense metal part.

Shape deposition manufacturing

Part and support material are deposited by a printhead and then machined to near-final shape.

Solid ground curing

Same as stereolithograpy, uses solid wax for support.

Stereolithography

Stereolithography uses a laser to cure liquid photopolymers.

Three-dimensional printing

This label encompasses many technologies, all of which use inkjet-like printheads to deposit material in layers. Commonly, this includes thermal phase change inkjets and photopolymer phase change inkjets.

1. ^ As of March 2000. Wright, 2001, p. 154.
2. ^ Grenda, 2006, retrieved June 13, 2006.
3. ^ As of June 1992. Wright, 2001, p.153.
4. ^ Wright, 2001, p.153

Fused deposition modeling, which is often referred to by its initials FDM, is a type of rapid prototyping or rapid manufacturing (RP) technology commonly used within engineering design. ... Laser Engineered Net Shaping or LENS® is a technology developed by Sandia National Laboratories for fabricating metal parts directly from a Computer Aided Design (CAD) solid model by using a metal powder injected into a molten pool created by a focused, high-powered laser beam. ... Selective Laser Sintering (SLS®, a registered trademark of 3D Systems, Inc. ... Stereolithography is one of the more commonly used rapid manufacturing and rapid prototyping technologies. ... A photopolymer is a polymer which is cured by exposure to light, often in the ultraviolet spectum. ... Three dimensional printing (more commonly referred to the abbreviation 3DP) is a type of rapid prototyping (RP) system developed by MIT in the late 1980s. ...

References

• Grenda, E. (2006). The Most Important Commercial Rapid Prototyping Technologies at a Glance.
• Wright, Paul K. (2001). 21st Century manufacturing. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall Inc.