Additive manufacturing
Additive manufacturing (AM), also known as 3D printing, is the process of building parts by adding materials (often plastics or metals) using AM machines, sometimes called 3D printers. AM is different to subtractive manufacturing processes, such as milling and drilling, which produce parts by removing material from a piece of stock.
Fusion supports a range of AM technologies, including:
- Fused filament fabrication (FFF)
- Stereolithography (SLA) / Digital light processing (DLP)
- Multi-jet fusion (MJF)
- Selective laser sintering (SLS)
- Metal powder bed fusion (MPBF)
- Binder jetting
- Directed energy deposition (DED)
Workflow
Use Fusion to prepare CAD models for AM. The workflow in Fusion depends on the AM technology that you are using, but typically involves:
Designing a model of the part.
Creating a setup with a certain type of machine and print setting.
Positioning and orienting the part within the machine's build volume.
Adding support structures to hold the part in place.
Simulating the layer-by-layer build process of the part.
Exporting the build to a file for manufacturing on a machine.
For more information on the workflows for different AM technologies, see Workflow: Preparing parts for additive manufacturing.
The Additive tab
The Additive tab on the Manufacture workspace toolbar contains the tools that you need for AM. The available tools on the Additive tab update when you create a setup.
