Three-dimensional printing, sometimes called 3DP, is an additive manufacturing process that takes a design file and turns it into a physical object. Starting with the base of a model, the printer applies one layer of material at a time until the model is printed. Here are two common types of 3D printers.
- Stereolithography (SLA): An SLA printer layers liquid plastic resin and uses a light source to harden the model.
- Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF): An FFF printer layers heated thermoplastic filament which cools to create the hardened model.
Ember is Autodesk's high-resolution, digital light processing (DLP®) stereolithography 3D printer
3DP has several benefits.
- Rapid prototyping/shorter feedback cycles
- Quicker time to market
- Reduced manufacturing costs for end-use parts
- Complex geometries easier to manufacture
- Mass customization/personalization
- Produce parts that can't be made using traditional manufacturing methods
Samples of 3D printed objects