ISSN: 2278 – 909X

International Journal of Advanced Research in Electronics and Communication Engineering (IJARECE)

Volume 5, Issue 7, July 2016

A review on 3D Printing
Chandrashekhar Kalnad

 II. BLOCK DIAGRAM AND FLOW CHART:

Abstract— A 3D printer is a machine that uses a CAD
(Computer Aided Design) model to perform rapid prototyping. The block diagram of 3D printer can be explained with
While traditional 2D printers use ink to print digital reference to below fig. 1, which shows the software part,
information onto paper in two dimensions (x and y axes), 3D represented by desktop. The software ‘.stl’ file is written on
printers have the ability to print in three dimensions (x, y, and z Arduino 2560, which is interfaced with the 3 dimension
axis)
motors and the extruder. Depending on the design of output
product, the Arduino 2560 locates the 3 dimension motors
and thereby, locates position of extruder. Finally, the extruder
I. INTRODUCTION
deposits the polymer on the surface. Fig. 2 gives the software
[1]-[2],[4]The processes involved can be categorized as flow chart of the 3D CAD file.
additive manufacturing methods. To gain better
understanding, one may compare 3D printing to milling,
which is a subtractive manufacturing method. Rather than
take away from a model, a 3D printer adds mass to form a
model. Utilizing cutting-edge technology, a 3D printer has
the ability to create a model using many types of materials,
such as plastic, polymer, metal, and composite materials. 3D
printing is currently being used in many professional career
fields, especially those associated with engineering and
biology. 3D printing is changing our life, allowing many
types of products to be designed faster and easier, right where
they need to be. The beginning of 3D printing can be linked
Fig. 1 System Block Diagram
to the studies of photography, sculpting, and landscape
design, taken place in America over a century ago.

II. LITERATURE REVIEW

[3]3D printing was known as “rapid prototyping”. Chuck

Hull, of 3D Systems Corporation, created the first working
3D printer in 1984. Later in the 80’s, Selective Laser
Sintering (SLS) technology was developed by Dr. Deckard at
the University of Texas at Austin during a project sponsored
by Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).
In the 1990s, the technology was further improved with the
development of a method that used ultraviolet light to solidify
photopolymer, a viscous liquid material. Fig. 2 Software Flow Chart
In the late 20th century, 3D printers were extremely
expensive and could only be used to print a limited number of III. PRINTER DESCRIPTION:
products. The majority of the printers were owned by Printer is briefly divided into three sections,
scientists and electronics enthusiasts for research and display.
Although it was still in limited development, the printing Electronics: Includes the Arduino 2560, with
technology was a combination of modeling both science and RAMPS (motor drivers), extruder, stepper motors, their
construction technology, using some of the newest interfacing with drivers and power supply (SMPS). Stepper
technological advancements of the time. Consequently, 3D motors are needed to be precisely interfaced with Arduino
printing began to lead a worldwide manufacturing revolution. 2560, with no delay between any of the 5 motors to prevent
In the past, surface design was mainly dependent on the misalignment of extruder.
production process. However developments in the field of 3D
printing have allowed for the design of products to no longer Mechanics: It consists of the majority portion of the
be limited by complex shapes or colors . project. The chassis is designed by acrylic sheet, which is
handy to design. Entire assembly is supported by a set of
number of guide bars, threaded rods (for levelling in z-axis),
bushings for motion along any single axis (x or y), a belt and
pulley mechanism for controlling position of extruder in

2001
All Rights Reserved © 2016 IJARECE
 ISSN: 2278 – 909X
International Journal of Advanced Research in Electronics and Communication Engineering (IJARECE)
Volume 5, Issue 7, July 2016
x-axis. Other complementary components include washers,
M8 nuts, muff type sleeve couplers, etc.
Software: Consists of CAD design tools and slicer
tool. 3D object designing tool is open source software and
needs no special license for its use and distribution. This
CAD file is not machine readable and thus needs an
intermediate software, slicer. This intermediate software
deals with extruder heating, layer thickness, and calculates
co-ordinates in three axes for the motor ultimately creates a
‘.stl’ file, which is machine readable (Arduino 2560).
The printing technology used is fused deposition
modelling. Scott Crump, the founder of FDM technology,
was instrumental in its development and revolution. The
main material used in FDM technology is thermoplastic,
examples include wax, ABS plastic, and nylon. The entire
procedure can be explained with the help of following fig. 3
and fig. 4. The first step of the FDM process is to heat up the
thermoplastic material until it is at a semi-liquid state (usually
1°C higher than the solidification temperature). Then, the 3D
printer uses digital modeling data from a CAD file to create
the 3D product layer by layer. These layers are created using
software which “slices” the CAD file in to layers that are
fractions of a millimeter. The majority of FDM printers only
print the actual product. This is particularly useful during the
build process when parts have overhang that cannot support
itself. The thermoplastic usually has a filamentous shape
(diameter would be around 0.25 to 0.75mm) which benefits
heat transfer and is easy to move with a print head that moves
in the x and y directions. After each layer is printed, a piston
moves the extruder up (z-axis) the distance of the thickness of
the printed layer. This process repeats itself until the entire
model is printed. There are many benefits of FDM
technology; it is easy to control, use, and fix. In addition, the
cost of the machine and material are relatively low.

Fig. 4 Detailed steps of FDM printing

IV. G-CODE

G-code is a CNC based tooling language that is used to

describe the motions of a tool and the functions of the tool
itself in the production of 3D objects. It is a script-based
language, where each line usually conveys one type of
machine movement or machine setting.In the grand scheme
of 3D printing, G-code is what is created, usually by software,
after analyzing a specific part that is to be made. The G-code
is generated so as to describe movements that will make a
part, including dimensions such as extrusion width, speed, etc.
This code is what is sent to the CNC-mill or 3D printer that
actually handles manufacturing the specified part. Over the
years, more and more devices adopted G-code, and as a result,
Fig. 3 FDM along with sectional view of extruder G-Code evolved. G-code originally only described motions
of a CNC based milling machine, but is now widely used for
3D printing. The production of G-code is also referred to as
"slicing" in 3D printing.
This technology can be implemented to create
anything with great geometrical complexity, with ability to
personalize every product with individual customer needs. It
can produce products which involve great level of
complexity that simply could not be produced physically in
any other way. Additive manufacturing can eliminate the
need for tool production and therefore reduce the costs, lead
time and labor associated with it. Additive Manufacturing use
up to 90% of standard materials and therefore creates less

2002
All Rights Reserved © 2016 IJARECE
 ISSN: 2278 – 909X
International Journal of Advanced Research in Electronics and Communication Engineering (IJARECE)
Volume 5, Issue 7, July 2016
waste. Lighter and stronger products can be printed. Also, then be utilized to print living tissue. Using this method,
production has been brought closer to the end user or leather could be synthesized and eventually even meat.
consumer. Spare parts can be printed on site which will
eliminate shipping cost. Wider adoption of 3D printing would C. REPLICATION
likely cause re-invention of a number of already invented A key idea in the growing field of 3-D printing is the
products. 3D printing can create new industries and ability for printers to replicate themselves, or to create as
completely new professions. Printing 3D organs can many essential components as possible that are necessary to
revolutionize the medical industry. Rapid prototyping causes build a machine. Many consumer 3-D printers now come
faster product development. assembled with parts that were themselves printed in 3-D. As
the technology advances and the industry develops, more and
IV. DISADVANTAGES more essential machine components will be able to be printed.
Soon we will find ourselves able to print all the components
Since the technology is new, limited materials necessary to making things with complex structures, such as
are available for printing. It consumes more time for less houses, cars, and more 3-D printers. This year, a functioning
complicated parts. Size of printable object is limited by the pistol was designed and printed, with the computer
movement of extruder. In additive manufacturing previous automated drawing schematics made readily available online.
layer has to harden before creating next layer. Curved As you can imagine, this has led to a myriad of legal
geometry will not be much accurate while printing. questions and moral debates. How can this industry be
regulated, if the consumers themselves are using these
V. FUTURE SCOPE machines to make anything and everything? The scope of
replication can be daunting, because there is no telling where
In future 3D printers would be available at a very it will end. Soon, we will be printing machines that will be
low cost and can be even used in household applications as it printing machines.
would be affordable and also highly accurate and a multicolor
extruder can be used and also the printers would be made
portable
. D. CARS
VI. APPLICATIONS The automotive industry was one of the earliest adapters of
3D printing is a new and developing technology, and as
3-D printing to produce parts. But we could soon start seeing
with all developing fields the possibilities for improvement
whole cars (or at least their bodies) printed. That's the
and advancement are seemingly boundless.
business model for Urbee ("urban electric"), a startup auto
company that wants to make the greenest car on earth.
A. NASA Stratsys, one of Credit Suisse's top stocks for investing in 3-D
Nothing exudes innovation and progress like our space printing, just signed on as Urbee's sponsor for digital
program. In July 2013, NASA designed, printed, and tested
printing.
rocket engine injectors by exposing them to extreme
pressures and temperatures of over 6,000 degrees Fahrenheit.
The 3-D printed parts actually exceeded those made of E. DEFENSE
traditional materials. A key advantage of printing in 3-D is A company called EOIR Technologies developed a way to
eliminating the need for welded seams in an object, and a mass produce camera gun sights for M1 Abrams tanks and
great project direction would be to identify and print Bradley fighting vehicles using 3-D printing. According to
traditional objects or design components that would normally CSC, that cut the cost of manufacturing the gear by 60%. The
require welded seams. In fall 2014, NASA has planned to Air Force is also in the initial stages of pumping out
launch and deliver a 3-D printer to the International Space components of otherwise highly sensitive and expensive
Station, which will allow astronauts to print replacement systems, like drones, in order to use them in training
tools directly in space. exercises.

B. BIOTECHNOLOGY F. AIRPLANES
There is endless potential to create new products and Boeing now uses 3-D printers to create 300 different parts
designs, it is only a matter of developing new machines that for its products. For instance, according to CSC, Boeing's
have different capabilities and work with different materials. environmental control ducting (basically specialized tubes)
The industry is already trending to smaller scales, with some used to have to be assembled from 20 small parts; now it's
work happening even at the nano-scale. In 2012, an elderly pumped out as a single piece. This reduces inventory and
woman in Belgium received a 3-D printed jawbone, maintenance costs, and also lowers fuel costs since the part is
transplanted and specifically tailored to her facial structure. lighter. Some aerospace manufacturers are also deploying
This year, engineers at Princeton were able to craft an ear on-site printers for certain parts, reducing shipping costs.
imprint, using a culture of animal cells and silver G. BRICK AND MORTAR RETAIL
nanoparticles; the experimental version was able to pick up If some storefront retailers are on the brink, 3-D printing
audio beyond the scope of human levels, making this a may push them over the edge. Thanks to at-home printers - as
“bionic” ear . With this technology, humans now have the well as places like UPS that have begun setting up printers at
ability to actually craft improvements for their bodies. Soon, their stores - you may soon be able to print pretty much any
we will even be able to print food. A sample of animal stem relatively simple consumer good that would fit on your
cells could be cultured and multiplied, forming a type of desktop. We've previously discussed what some of those
“bio-ink” made up of hundreds of living cells, which could objects are. CSC has a great, illustrative story of how
2003
All Rights Reserved © 2016 IJARECE
 ISSN: 2278 – 909X
International Journal of Advanced Research in Electronics and Communication Engineering (IJARECE)
Volume 5, Issue 7, July 2016
at-home 3-D printing could accelerate the decline of
storefronts: "Recently, one of our researchers faced the
prospect of a 14-hour flight holding an ebook reader, with no
time to buy a reader stand before leaving for the flight. After
a few minutes searching on Thingiverse.com [a site offering
3-D printing files], he was able to download a foldable stand
design, print it in 45 minutes, and use it on the flight that
night."

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[12] "What is Stereolithography?," TechMedia Network,
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http://www.livescience.com/38190-stereolithography.html.

Chandrashekhar Kalnad
B.E. E.X.T.C
Winner of 29 National level awards

2004
All Rights Reserved © 2016 IJARECE