3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing, is a method of fabrication, where layers of material are built on top of each other to form three-dimensional objects. The two most commonly available forms of 3D printing are Fused Deposition Modeling and Stereolithography, with each method utilizing different materials and technology. Over the course of the past decade, 3D printing technology has tremendously improved in quality, cost and availability, allowing homes, schools, small businesses and laboratories to adopt it, radically changing how people and businesses work.

FDM stands for Fused Deposition Modeling. In FDM printers, thermoplastic material in rolls of filament is melted to create 3D objects. During printing, the thermoplastic filament is fed through a hot extruder where it gets soft and pliable enough that it can be precisely 'drawn' by the print head in the X, Y and Z axes in the print area to build objects from the bottom up, with each new melted layer fusing on top of the previous cooled layer. This type of 3D printing technology has made advancements and has become more affordable and available, with new thermoplastic materials having been developed for a widening range of applications in engineering, prototyping and design. Check out our range of FDM printers sutiable for homes, professionals and businesses here.

SLA stands for StereoLithogrAphy. Like FDM, models are built layer by layer. SLA, however, uses curable photopolymer resins that are hardened by applying focused light (this process is called curing). As each layer is cured, the build platform lifts the model upwards, out of the resin and lowers it back for the next layer to be cured. The focused light source is either a laser or a Digital Light Processor (DLP). Lasers 'draw' the layers similarly to FDM printers. For DLP printers, an entire slice of a two-dimensional layer of the model is projected at once through the resin and onto the build platform, drastically shortening printing times. Like its FDM cousins, SLA printing technology has improved in cost and availability, as well as print efficiency, volume and accuracy. Advancements in photopolymers have also increased the range of applications with which more fields and industries can utilize. Check out our range of SLA printers sutiable for professionals and businesses here.

3D printers can either have proprietary systems which are calibrated to work only with their manufacturers' materials, or open systems which can be calibrated to work with materials from most if not all manufacturers which offer compatible materials. Materials commonly used for design, prototyping and engineering are PolyLactic Acid (PLA) and Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS), commonly available in thermoplastic filament, although recent breakthroughs in photopolymers have created PLA and ABS-like materials for SLA printers. For casting, there are castable photopolymers with wax-like properties which can be used for casting jewelry pieces and dental wax-ups. In the field of dentistry, there are photopolymer resins for dental models usedfor thermoforming aligners, as well as bio-compatible resins which can be used for crowns, splints, dentures, and mouthguards. There are even specialized photopolymers with elastic or ceramic properties, as well as thermoplastic blends with wood, metal, nylon and even carbon fiber. Check out our range of thermoplastics for FDM printers and photopolymers for SLA printers.