3 December 2023 | 3 December is International 3D Printing Day. Time to take a brief look back at how far the technology has come since its humble beginnings as a prototyping process.
Forty years have passed since the invention of 3D printing. Since then, additive manufacturing has not only changed manufacturing processes, but also enabled innovative solutions in areas such as medicine, architecture, aerospace and the food industry. From the production of cores in iron casting to the supply of spare parts for ships and topology optimisation in lightweight construction, 3D printing has become a mainstay in industrial practice.
The beginnings
The foundations of 3D printing were laid by various researchers in the 1980s. Charles (Chuck) Hull is considered the “father of 3D printing”. He invented stereolithography (SLA), the oldest patented additive manufacturing process, in 1983. In this process, liquid resins, also known as resins, are cured using UV light. Hull later founded the company 3D Systems, which launched the first commercially available SLA printer in 1987.
Also developed in the 1980s were fused deposition modelling (FDM) – a technology in which plastic layers are melted with a heatable nozzle and applied layer by layer to a preheated work surface (hotbed) – and selective laser sintering (SLS). In the SLS process, powder material is applied to a working plate and heated and melted in layers using laser optics to form the desired object.
Further significant developments followed in the 1990s, including binder jetting and electron beam melting (EBM). These technologies expanded the choice of materials and enabled the use of metals and other materials.
The diverse applications of 3D printing
Originally limited to prototyping, modern high-performance materials now open up a wide range of applications for 3D printing. For example, 3D-printed components can have internal cavities and complex cooling channels that would be difficult or impossible to realise using conventional casting processes. Another area of application is the foundries themselves. GF Casting Solutions has had its own innovation centre at the Leipzig iron casting site since 2018, with a team of experts developing additive manufacturing and its application for sand cores in iron casting.
Additive manufacturing is very popular for the rapid production of spare parts. The two industrial companies thyssenkrupp and Wilhelmsen announced the launch of their joint venture “Pelagus 3D” in September of this year. The digital platform will be used to offer spare parts for the shipping industry in future. The Danish container ship giant Maersk investigated the possibilities of 3D printing on board merchant ships back in 2014. However, it was found at the time that the overall costs of 3D-printed parts were not yet competitive with conventionally manufactured spare parts.
3D printing has great potential when used in conjunction with topology optimisation. In TO, designers use software to determine the ideal material distribution in a component so that the component retains its structural integrity while simultaneously reducing weight. One driver of such developments is the automotive industry, which is focussing on lightweight construction in its search for environmentally friendly and resource-saving solutions. Thanks to 3D printing, it is now possible to produce complex designs and lightweight structures that would be impossible or costly to realise using other processes, including honeycomb structures and overhanging geometries.
Fraunhofer IGD is conducting research into 3D multi-material printing, for example. With multiphase topology optimisation, different materials and properties can be positioned so that components with varying porosity can be produced for 3D printing.
And in the medical field, 3D printing enables the production of customised implants and prostheses. These solutions improve patient care and increase the chances of success in complex interventions.
Additive manufacturing soon in series production?
Since the 2000s, there has been a significant development in 3D printing technologies and materials that enable the use of 3D printing in series production. BMW, for example, announced the construction of the first fully automated 3D printing production line for automotive series production. Every year, around 50,000 components can be manufactured cost-effectively in the production of identical parts and more than 10,000 individual and spare parts using the Laser Powder Bed Fusion process (LPBF).
It is probably only a matter of time before additive manufacturing processes become established in series production. 3D printing has now established itself as a mainstay in industrial practice.
And finally, to take our minds off the snow and cold, a preview of the next Summer Olympics – where 3D printing will (of course) also play a role.