An Overview
However with the introduction of Stereolithography (SLI) it has been made commercially available. In SLI a laser is used to harden a liquid resin which is held in a movable tray. The tray is lowered after creation of every object till the object is created. Then came the Fused Deposition Method (FDS) in which the object was created by melting and forcing each layer of the object through small nozzles. This method was followed by Selective Layer Sintering (SLS) in which a laser was used to fuse powder instead of resin.
The development of these methods has made 3D printing easier these days. The growth of its use in various fields to create parts of products has fairly good chances. Recently the need for 3D printers was also felt by NASA to create spaceship parts .Then in medical science through its use the surgeons can have a preview of a bone, limb or any other organ to study the case details prior to making any surgeries. It can also be used for implantation of human parts and replacement of dental crown. Army is also looking at it as an option for reproducing broken parts of tanks and other army equipment that is used in the warfare. It also gives options to the architects to design multiple design concepts efficiently. 3D printers enable one to find the drawbacks in the initial stages leading to the perfect design and saving the time of the users.
It is the fastest growing part of prototyping industry which had revenues of $809 million in 2005 which was considerably higher than $705 which was an estimated figure in 2004. It is an ideal way for producing complex, multi dimensional objects and the cost estimation depends on the size of the object. Roughly it can be taken from $2 to $3 per cubic inch of material used. The usage of 3D printing is rapidly taking pace with the fall in the cost and acknowledgment of the multiple benefits being derived from its use. They will no longer be large, costly machines found only in big corporations.
