A brief history of additive manufacturing
Today millions of users enjoy the benefits of a 3D printer. But, how did this happened?
Additive manufacturing (AM) belongs to 4th industrial revolution’s technologies, it allows to obtain either products or prototypes from 3D digital models. With such an important development the AM has get to domestic environments, it means that more people can involve in the manufacturing of functional products or prototypes models with one process and getting great superficial finished. Because of this, worldwide, 3D printing platforms had been created to allow users download digital models ready to print, they also share their experiences printing and upload tutorials for amateurs with practices and solutions for common problems.
The AM, also known as 3D printing, does not contain only one technology, in fact, it represents a family of technologies that work under the same principle, the one of manufacturing complete products by the deposition of layers successively one on top of the other before, defining its geometry till the piece is completed following the 3D digital model design. There are some differences between the AM technologies, such as the materials that can be used and the time of processing. Currently there is 7 different categories for 3D printing technologies.
The AM start back at the 80’s, even tough some think that 3D printing ideas were present some time before. It was first known as rapid prototyping and further toke the name of additive manufacturing including now functional parts and not just prototypes. The first 3D printing technology developed was stereo-lithography (SLA), in this process thin layers of liquid polymeric resin are solidified using a UV laser, in 1986 Charles Hull creator of this technology, patented its invention and create the company 3D Systems, he saw the need of building a system that allows to obtain design prototypes without using expensive molds that increases the costs and take some time to build, so he found SLA, he also created the STL format, that is still used in AM processes.
Continuing in 1988, Carl Deckard patented the SLS method, here powder resin is used instead of liquid resin, but it is also solidified with laser. In 1989 Scott Crump, co-founder of Stratasys, he invented and patented the FDM technology, using thermoplastic materials in the form of filament to melt and deposit the layers one above the previous over a flat surface following a specific path to form the part. And just like that the tree main AM technologies were created.
In 1991 the manufacturing of products using lamination (LOM) was commercialized by Helisys, in this one, very thin sheets are cut and joined using a laser digitally guided. And in 1993, in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology was invented and patented the 3D printing injection (DSPC). An important progress happened in 1999 thanks to 3D printing, when in Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine implanted modified human organs with artificial implants 3D printed with synthetic covering made with the patient’s cells, in 2002 in this same institute was printed the first functional kidney.
The next challenge thought by Dr. Adrian Bowyer was to democratize 3D printing, that is why he created the RepRap project in 2004, and the main idea was to build a FDM 3D printer that could print their own components, so he expanded the access of this technology to many parts in the world, a red of 3D printing amateurs born in domestic levels because of this, and they connected on digital platforms to share their experiences using this technology.
In the fist decade of 2000 several companies around the world developed AM technologies that involve different types of materials, like metals, ceramics and compounds, they also improved the techniques for production, and even make parts with better properties than before. In 2001, Envisiotec in Germany, developed DLP technology, in which an entire layer can be form instantly using a digital light over a photo-polymer. After in 2006, Arcam developed Electron Beam Melting technology.
In 2009, the FDM patent expire, so the market got bigger to commercialized the technology at lower costs, and since 2010 3D domestic printers expanded considerately, and thanks to the arrive of Makerbot and the creation of Thingiverse, many domestic users were capable of download y upload files ready to print, this has made of Thingiverse the world’s biggest online community for 3D printing currently.
The AM still a field open to innovation and technological development for companies around the world and millions of users are enjoying the advantage of 3D printing. What do you think is coming next ?
Article published and wrote originally by Astrid Hernández Castro in nedraki.com (Spanish version)
