3D Printing: A New Era In Manufacturing Technologies.
Mr. Ashish Sanjay Chache.
T.E. in Mechanical Engineering.
(Annasaheb Dange college of Engineering and Technology, Ashta.
Abstract
3D printing also known as additive
manufacturing is revolutionizing method or technic
which uses computer aided design (CAD) model or
3d drawing to make an object by depositing the
material. This paper is the comprehensive review of
different 3d printing methods [fuse deposition
modeling (FDM), Stereolithography (SLA),
Selective laser sintering (SLS), etc.] with there
working principle, industries where 3D printing
[Automotive and Aerospace, Medical and
Healthcare, Construction and Education] can play an
important role for boosting there productivity. As
well as the materials which can be used in different
3d printing methods are discussed briefly. Overall
this paper gives an overview of 3D printing (Additive
manufacturing) technology.
Introduction [1][2]
3D printing is an additive manufacturing
(AM) technique for fabricating a wide range of
structures and complex geometries from three
dimensional (3D) model data. The process consists
of printing successive layers of materials that are
again printed one over other. This technology has
been developed by Charles Hull in 1986 with first 3d
printing method known as stereolithography (SLA),
which was followed by subsequent developments
such as powder bed fusion, fused deposition
modelling (FDM), inkjet printing and contour
crafting (CC). 3Dprinting involves various methods,
materials and equipment, it has evolved over the
years and has the ability to transform manufacturing
and logistics processes. Additive manufacturing has
been widely applied in different industries, including
construction, prototyping and biomechanical.
Recently this technology is mainly acquired by the
designers and architectures to produce aesthetic and
functional prototypes due to its rapid and cost-
effective prototyping capability. On the other hand,
AM is able to 3D print small quantities of customized
products with relatively low costs. This is
specifically useful in the biomedical field where,
according to patient, customized products are
manufactured. More recently 3d printing is being
used for the fabrication of 500 to 600 square feet
house with in 24 hours and less than the cost of $
10,000 . Based one these concept of 3d printing an
entire house, many startups are coming with this idea
to fulfill the home desire of many people with less
time and money.
Growing demand of the customer forcing
many industries to reduce the lead time of product by
reducing the time consumption in case of design,
manufacturing and testing. So here Additive
manufacturing (3D printing) plays an important role
to reduce the time consumption in designing and
testing process. Hence more and more industries are
taking interest in this technology which may help
them to compete with the market. There are many
materials available for this new technology such as
polymers, metals, ceramics and Composites.
Polylactic acid (PLA) and acrylonitrile butadiene
styrene (ABS) are most commonly used polymers in
3D printing, ceramics are mainly employed in the
additive manufacturing of buildings, metals are
generally used in aerospace sector due to the more
time require in traditional methods and many
different kind of composite materials have
introduced in 3d printing with polymers as base
material, such as carbon fiber, fiberglass, graphite
and Kevlar based polymers having good tensile and
impact strength, ductile property and good
conductivity. AM is capable of fabricating parts of
various sizes from the micro to macro scale.
However, the precision of the printed parts is
dependent on the accuracy of the employed method
and the scale of printing. For instance, micro-scale
3D printing poses challenges with the resolution,
surface finish and layer bonding, which sometimes
require post-processing techniques such as sintering.
On the other hand, the limited materials available for
3D printing presents challenges in utilizing this
technology in various industries. Hence, there is a
need for developing suitable materials that can be
used for 3Dprinting. Further developments are also
needed to enhance the mechanical properties of 3D
printed parts.
To sum up, 3D printing technology has
emerged during recent years as a flexible and
powerful technique in advance manufacturing
industry. This technology has been widely used in
many countries, especially in the manufacturing
industry. Therefore this paper is going to present the
overview of the types of 3D printing technologies,
the application of 3D printing technology and lastly,
the materials used for 3D printing technology in
manufacturing industry.
Methods [1][4]
a) Fuse deposition modeling (FDM)
Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) is a 3D
printing technique pioneered in the 1990s by
Stratasys. In fact, the term ‘FDM’ is the trademark of
Stratasys. FDM is solid based method and in this method
a continuous filament of a thermoplastic polymer , metal,
concrete or fiber are used to 3D print layers of materials
(As shown in Fig.) The filament is heated at the nozzle to
reach a semi-liquid state and then extruded on the
platform or on top of previously printed layers. The layer
thickness, width and orientation of filaments and air gap
(in the same layer or between layers) are the main
processing parameters that affect the mechanical
properties of printed parts . Inter-layer distortion was
found to be the main cause of mechanical weakness.
Low cost, high speed and simplicity of the process
are the main benefits of FDM. On the other hand,
weak mechanical properties, layer-by-layer
appearance, poor surface quality and a limited
number of materials availability are the main
drawbacks of FDM.
Fig. Fused Deposition Modeling.
b) Stereolithography (SLA)
SLA is one of the earliest liquid or resin
based method of additive manufacturing, which was
developed in 1986 . It uses UV light (or electron
beam) to initiate a chain reaction on a layer of resin
or monomer solution. The monomers (mainly acrylic
or epoxy-based) are UV-active and instantly convert
to polymer chains after activation (radicalization).
After polymerization, a pattern inside the resin layer
is solidified in order to hold the subsequent layers .
The unreacted resin is removed after the completion
of printing. A post-process treatment such as heating
or photo-curing may be used for some printed parts
in order to achieve the desired mechanical
performance. SLA prints high-quality parts at a fine
resolution as low as 10 μm. On the other hand, it is
relatively slow, expensive and the range of materials
for printing is very limited. Also, the kinetics of the
reaction and the curing process are complex. The
energy of the light source and exposure are the main
factors controlling the thickness of each layer. SLA
can be effectively used for the additive
manufacturing of complex Nano-composites.
Fig. Stereolithography.
c) Powder bed fusion
Powder bed fusion processes consist of thin
layers of very fine powders, which are spread and
closely packed on a platform. The powders in each
layer are fused together with a laser beam or a binder.
Subsequent layers of powders are rolled on top of
previous layers and fused together until the final 3D
part is built. The excess powder is then removed by
Fig. Selective laser sintering (SLS)
a vacuum and if necessary, further processing and
detailing such as coating, sintering or infiltration are
carried out. Powder size distribution and packing,
which determine the density of the printed part, are
the most crucial factors to the efficiency of this
method. The laser can only be used for powders with
a low melting/sintering temperature, otherwise a
liquid binder should be used. Selective laser sintering
(SLS) can be used for a variety of polymers, metals
and alloy powders while selective laser melting
(SLM) can only be used for certain metals such as
steel and aluminum. Laser scanning in SLS does not
fully melt the powders and the elevated local
temperature on the surface of the grains, results in
fusion of the powders at the molecular level. On the
other hand, the powders are fully melted and fused
together after laser scanning in SLM, which results
in superior mechanical properties. This method is
widely used in various industries for advanced
applications such as scaffolds for tissue engineering,
lattices, aerospace and electronics. The main
advantage of this method is that the powder bed is
used as the support, which overcomes difficulties in
removing supporting material. However, the main
drawbacks of powder bed fusion, which is a slow
process, include high costs and high porosity when
the powder is fused with a binder.
d) Laminated Object manufacturing (LOM)
It is Originally developed by Helisys (now
Cubic Technologies) and it is solid based method ,
the LOM process uses a continuous sheet of build
material which is drawn across the build platform by
a system of feed rollers. For paper and plastic build
material, the sheet may be coated in an adhesive. A
heated roller then passes over the material, melting
the adhesive and pressing the material down onto the
platform. A blade or laser then cuts the desired
pattern into the material and crosshatches the unused
material so it can be removed later.
Fig. Laminated Object Manufacturing.
 A take-up roll winds up the remaining
material. Finally, the build platform drops down the
thickness of one layer, new material is pulled across
the platform and the process is repeated. Only the
outline is cut and no time is spent on building the
interior of the layer therefore printing time is
proportional to its surface area, the material used for
this method are least expensive among all other
methods are some of its advantages. Some
disadvantages of this method are parts are weak in z-
axis , the process is not suitable for making small
intricate parts, it is also not possible to make hollow
parts or parts with narrow interior features due to
difficulties in accessing these interior area for
decubing.
Applications [1][2][3][4][7]
a) Automotive and Aerospace Industry
Each new automobile starts off as a prototype
miniature before it reach into production and then as
a full-scale model. Instead of fabricating each piece
of model individually, 3D metal printing allows
engineers to create a fully functional prototype
directly from their digital design without the
additional fabrication steps that normally fall in the
middle, therefore it allows to test new design in very
fast time. 3D metal printing isn’t just good for
creating whole car prototypes, It can also be used to
create rapid prototypes of tools and replacement
parts that would otherwise take days or weeks to
fabricate. In addition, BMW uses 3D printing
technology to produce hand-tools for automotive
testing and assembly. As well as in 2017, AUDI has
collaborated with SLM Solution Group AG to
produce spare parts and prototypes.
The 3D printing may be the next step in to a
manufacturers to use these printers to create latticed
parts made from aluminum alloys or carbon fiber
composites . These components are as strong and as
safe as their solid aluminum counterparts while
reducing weight by up to 80%. The ultimate goal of
this 3D printing application is to reduce the weight
of many automotive and aerospace components
between 40 and 80%. Doing so doesn't just reduce
weight it also reduces waste and the overall
production cost of the vehicle, making purchasing a
new car or truck much more accessible for the
average driver . Lighter vehicles also use less fuel,
increasing fuel economy and reducing the amount of
carbon dioxide and monoxide released by the
exhaust system. In space astronauts can have
flexibility to generate or manufacturer the desire
product or tool easily without doing any physical
activity that is by using 3D printing and CAD
(computer aided design).
b) Healthcare and medical industry
In case of Cardiovascular diseases 3D printer
utilizes extensive volume of data obtained from the
imaging techniques to produce a replica of the
cardiac structures . The prepared 3D replica model
helps in detailed understanding of the cardiac
anatomy and pathophysiology and accordingly plan
treatment with high degree of precision can be
achieved. The 3D-printing technology allows to
provide to a physical 3D model of the desired patient
anatomy to a surgeon that could be used to accurately
plan the surgical approach along with cross-sectional
imaging or modelling custom prosthetics (or surgical
tool) based on patient-specific anatomy. Improving
medical education: 3D-printed patient-specific
models have demonstrated that they can increase
performance and foster rapid learning while
significantly improving the knowledge,
management, and confidence of the trainees
regardless of the area of expertise. 3D printing
technique(FDM, using MakerBot Replicator was
successfully applied to fabricate erodible capsule of
hydroxypropyl cellulose (HPC) for pulsatile release
of various drug formulations with varying size and
thickness. It can be filled with various solid and
liquid dosage forms such as powders, pellets,
solutions, dispersions and other formulations so here
3d printing ensure definite amount of drug dosage
.With design flexibility, customizability and high
product quality, AM is also adopted in building the
robotic parts for patients born with arthrogryposis
multiplex congenita (AMC). Patients born with
AMC have stiff joints and underdeveloped muscles.
So for these patients 3D printing can be used to
manufacturer the desire part of the body with high
accuracy, light weight (useful for child patients) and
low cost , therefore ability to reprint the parts again
and again over damage of part .
c) Construction
In case of construction of buildings or houses
by traditional methods, no of workers are required
for completion of work which takes 2 to 3 weeks to
complete. On other hand 3D printing is capable of
printing an entire house with in 24 hours and in 2013
a Chinese company Winsun had built the first
additively manufactured residential house. This was
followed in 2016 by the first additively manufactured
office which was built in China and then shipped to
Dubai and is estimated to have had 80% reduced
construction costs, 60% lower labor costs and
produced 60% less waste than a comparable
conventional office building . Winsun builds the
walls using a cement, sand, reinforcing glass fibre
and a proprietary additive mix with a 150 × 10 × 6.6
m machine and then assembles the components
onsite on traditional foundations with additional steel
or cement structural reinforcing. The company has
built a two 1,100 m2 story house that took one day
to build in its factory and two days to assemble onsite
by three workers, with the internal structures placed
in advance. Many architectural projects are rejected
either because of excessive cost or design
complexity, but with the use of 3D printing this may
not be the case. No longer bounded by the form work
capabilities of traditional construction methods, 3D
printing can introduce an array of complex and
difficult designs that are only limited to the
designer’s imagination and the computer design
capabilities and this designs can be easily
programmed and achieved by 3D printing.
d) Education industry
AM enables students to realize their ideas
through the fabrication of the actual physical
product, stimulating, and driving their creativity. The
exposure of this futuristic technology to young
learners in school better prepares them for the
challenges of the future. A larger driving force is
often required to excite students above the age of 11
to learn about design and engineering. The 3D
printing process allows students to see the formation
of their designs and this often amazes them. An
example of the implementation of AM is at
STARBASE Minnesota, a program with curriculum
aligned with national standards. Students have a
fresh take on mathematics, science, design, and
engineering learning in an integrated fashion through
specific missions, such as the launching of a rocket
model. Students are having so much fun in solving
their work without even realizing that they are doing
mathematics and science. Students are tasked to
design rocket fins on CAD systems, 3D print them
and launch the rocket to collect the performance data
before making discussions on how features of their
rocket fins affected the performance. This provides
students with a realistic learning opportunity, as the
process is similar to what real engineers do at work.
Materials used [1[2][5][6]
a) Metals and alloys
Metal 3D printing technology gain many
attentions in aerospace, automobile, medical
application and manufacturing industry because the
advantages existing in this process. The metal have
the excellent physical properties and this material
can be used for complex manufacturer from printing
human organs to aerospace parts. The examples of
this materials are aluminium alloys , cobalt-based
alloys , nickel-based alloys, stainless steels , and
titanium alloys. Cobalt-based alloy is suitable to use
in the 3D printed dental application. This is because,
it has high specific stiffness, resilience, high
recovery capacity, elongation and heat-treated
conditions. Furthermore, 3D printing technology has
capability to produce aerospace parts by using nickel
base alloys. 3D-printed object produces using nickel
base alloys can be used in dangerous environments
because it has high corrosion resistance and the heat
temperature can resistant up to 1200 °C. Lastly, 3D
printing technology also can print out the object by
using titanium alloys. Titanium alloy with have very
exclusive properties, such as ductility, good
corrosion, oxidation resistance and low density. It is
used in high stresses and high operating temperatures
and high stresses, for example in aerospace
components and biomedical industry .
b) Polymers
3D printing technologies are widely used for
the production of polymer components from
prototypes to functional structures with difficult
geometries. By using fused deposition modelling
(FDM), it can form a 3D printed part through the
deposition of successive layers of extruded
thermoplastic filament, such as polylactic acid
(PLA), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS),
polypropylene (PP) or polyethylene (PE) . The
thermoplastics filaments with higher melting
temperatures such as PEEK and PMMA can already
be used as materials for 3D printing technology. 3D
printing polymer materials in liquid state or with low
melting point are widely used in 3D printing industry
due to their low cost, low weight and processing
flexibility. Mostly, the polymer materials played
important role in biomaterials and medical device
products often as inert materials, by contributing to
the efficient functioning of the devices as well as
providing mechanical support in many orthopedic
implants.
c) Ceramics
AM has become an essential method for
manufacturing of advanced ceramics for
biomaterials and tissue engineering e.g. scaffolds for
bones and teeth [126]. Despite the accuracy of
printing, layer-by-layer appearance and a limited
selection of materials are the main challenges for 3D
printing of ceramics [18]. Post-processing of sintered
ceramic parts for forming the desired shape is a time-
consuming and costly àprocess. Therefore, 3D
printing of complex shapes followed by sintering to
produce ceramics with complex shapes has become
very attractive. Moreover, 3D printing of porous
ceramics or lattices introduced numerous benefits by
developing advanced lightweight materials that are
tailored for different applications. Ceramic scaffolds
used in tissue engineering have become more
convenient and faster compared to traditional
methods of casting and sintering. In addition, 3D
printing has the advantage of controlling the porosity
of lattices.
d) Concrete
Additive manufacturing technology has been
expanded to the construction industry. A similar
technology to fuse deposition modeling/printing
called contour crafting, as the main method for the
additive manufacturing of building structures, has
been developed. This method uses larger nozzles and
high pressure to extrude the concrete paste. In order
to have a smooth finish instead of a layer by layer
appearance, a trowel like apparatus has been
designed that is attached to the print head. Currently
3D printing technology for the construction industry
is in its infancy. Therefore the lifecycle performance
of the technology is yet to be determined. A limited
number of recent academic studies on 3D printing
concrete structures have developed different
methods and materials.
e) Composites
Composite materials with the exceptional
versatility, low weight, and tailorable properties have
been revolutionizing high-performance industries.
The examples of composite materials are carbon
fibers reinforced polymer composites and glass
fibers reinforced polymer composite. Carbon fiber
reinforced polymers composite structures are widely
used in aerospace industry because of their high
specific stiffness, strength, good corrosion resistance
and good fatigue performance. At the same time,
glass fibers reinforced polymer composites are
widely used for various applications in 3D printing
application and has great potential applications due
to the cost effectiveness and high-performance.
Fiberglass have a high thermal conductivity and
relatively low coefficient of thermal expansion.
Furthermore, fiberglass cannot burn, and it not
affected by curing temperatures used in Applications”, Elsevier, Procedia Manufacturing,
manufacturing processes, therefore, it is very 2019, 1286-1296.
suitable for use in the 3D printing applicant.

Summary
Recently every industry is trying to utilize the [5] Felix Lederle, “ Improved mechanical properties
3D printing technology due to its own benefits apart of 3D printed parts by Fused Deposition Modeling
from the traditional manufacturing. Some processed under the exclusion of oxygen”, Springer,
Prog Additive Manufacturing, 2016, 1-3.
researchers has said that this technology comes under
industry 4.0 and it could revolutionize every industry [6] Haichang Guo, “Recent advances on 3D printing
including manufacturing industry. The awareness graphene-based composites”, Science Direct, Nano
about this technology has spread over America and Materials science, 2019, 101-115.
Europe but not in India. Hence this paper is the
reviewing 3D printing technology, its applications, [7] K P Karunakaran, “ Rapid Product Development
advantages and material being used. The further and Manufacturing”.
advancement in this technology is at its pace and as
an engineering student we should take interest in this
technology as it has niche market and more
opportunities.

Acknowledgements

I thanks to professor Mr. M. M. Bepari sir and

all the professors of Mechanical Engineering
Department of Annasaheb Dange college of
engineering, Ashta.

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