Understanding Fused Deposition Modeling

ByFacfox

Over the past few years, the manufacturing process has undergone immense development enabling mass production in less time. We are precisely talking of 3D printing which is an extensively implemented technology across multiple industries. One such popular 3D printing process is fused deposition modeling or FDM. It is often called fused filament fabrication or FFF.

FDM 3D printing service is widely employed in the rapid prototyping and manufacture of end products. These products are commonly used in engineering and research and development. It is one of the cheapest 3D printing technologies where thermoplastics and other bizarre materials like pastes, chocolate, wood and metal-infused thermoplastics.

Fused Deposition Modeling: The Process

Like all other 3D printing techniques, FDM is also a form of the additive manufacturing process. It implies the product is created layer by layer. Normally, thermoplastics are used in FDM that can be easily melted and fused.

In FDM 3D printing, the thermoplastic material is squeezed from the nozzle on the build platform. This nozzle can move in both directions- vertically and horizontally. The object is then formed layer by layer till the final design is achieved. Upon completion, the support structures are removed and the object is removed from the printer.

FDM printing service is fast and it also enables the fabrication of specialized tools and small parts as intricate detailing is possible. Therefore from delicate parts to large prototypes, anything is achievable through FDM.

The most commonly used material in FDM is Polylactic Acid (PLA). Other forms of thermoplastics applied are Polyether ether ketone (PEEK), Polyetherimide (PEI), Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), and Polyethylene terephthalate glycol (PETG). Thus, a wide variety of thermoplastics are used in FDM 3D printing.

Fused Deposition Modeling: The Advantages   

The expansive popularity of FDM comes from the extended benefits of the process. These are:

  • A very prominent advantage of fused deposition modeling is scalability. It means there is no restriction on the size of the product. The object can be effortlessly scaled to any size and shape at any given point.
  • The versatility of material selection is another major benefit of FDM. Various types of thermoplastics are used in the process that possesses diverse chemical and mechanical properties suitable to the relative fields.
  • The cost of production is much less when compared to any other 3D printing technology. The prime reason behind this is the benefit of scalability affecting the cost-to-size ratio.

Conclusion

The ideal FDM 3D printing service assists in the production of fully-functional prototypes, end parts, and customized products applied in industries like automobile, aerospace, medical, architecture, mechanical, art and entertainment. Thus, it is one of the most reliable 3D printing technologies for rapid production.

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