3D printing also known as additive manufacturing is the automated process of building a three-dimensional object by adding material rather than taking material away (as in drilling or machining)

To create a 3D printed object, you use an “additive process”. The three-dimensional object is created by laying down successive layers of material until the object is completed.

3D printing has enabled different industries, from the healthcare to the automotive industry, to do things never before possible and bring products to the market much faster. One area where 3D printing excels is the aerospace industry. It gives them the ability to 3D print small jet engine components with complex inner channeling, making the engine more fuel-efficient. This is not possible with the traditional method of CNC machining.

Complex parts that take a long time to assemble can now be 3D printed in one go. This speeds up the assembly line and reduces the cost of the finished product. This also makes mass production in higher numbers possible. 3D printing enables designers to rapid prototype, ultimately saving time in the design process. This allows new or improved products to hit the market much sooner than with conventional means. 3D printing enables designers to rapid prototype, ultimately saving time in the design process. This allows new or improved products to hit the market much sooner than with conventional means.

SLS 3D printing involves a laser beam that fuses powdered material together. The first layer of powdered material is evenly rolled onto the build platform after which the layer of the 3D model is fused together by a laser. Next, the build platform is lowered and the next layer of powder is rolled into position. This process is repeated until the 3D object is completed. Because the object is surrounded by (unused) material throughout the duration of the build, support structures are not necessary.

Stereolithography (SLA) 3D printing is the most common resin 3D printing process that has become vastly popular for its ability to produce high-accuracy, isotropic, and watertight prototypes and end-use parts in a range of advanced materials with fine features and smooth surface finish.

First, 3D models can be made using a 3D modeling software or real life objects which are then 3D scanned and turned into 3D model files with specialized software. After that, the 3D models need to be imported into a 3D slicing program, which turns it into a 3D printing model.

A 3D printing model is a file that a 3D printer can read and interpret. It is used to tell the 3D printer how to make the object. The model file contains geometrical information that will have to be interpreted by a slicing software that turns the geometrical input into commands the printer can process.

STL: This is the most popular 3D model format, all slicing tools support it. OBJ: Also important – and also supported by all major slicing tools – is the OBJ file format. In contrast to STL, OBJ is able to store color and texture profiles; we guess it will become more popular when multicolor printing takes off. PLY: PLY, the Polygon file format, was originally used for storing 3D scanned objects.

We can! We offer 3D scanning and design services through our partner 3Dimensional Scanning and Manufacturing.

That entirely depends on the size and detail of the model being 3D printed as well as the 3D printing technology used. 3D printing in general takes hours, not minutes.

One major benefit of 3D printing compared to injection molding is the cost advantage. Injection molding requires a mold to be manufactured or formed first, which is a costly and delicate process. However, since injection molding costs decrease with increasing production volumes, there usually comes a point where injection molding makes more sense. However, some geometric shapes that are 3D printable simply cannot be manufactured using injection molding.

The major difference between 3D printing and CNC milling is the starting point: With 3D printing, the manufacturing process starts from nothing, objects are built by adding material layer by layer. In CNC milling, the process starts with a block of material and is finished by removing material until the object has been formed.

Yes, we do! Currently we offer 3D printing services via our FormLabs Fuse 1+ 30W SLS printer and Fuse Sift post processing system as well as Form 3BL plus Form Wash L and Form Cure L.

3D scanning and CAD design.

Our minimum order is based on dollar value not parts, and it is only $35.00.You can order one custom part or hundreds. We’re flexible.

Available powder for SLS: Nylon 11, Nylon 12, Nylon 12 GF, Nylon 11 CF, and TPU 90A Powders.
Available resin for SLA: 30+ materials

We accept most standard 3d model file types – STL, STEP, OBJ

We offer a mutual NDA that can be signed by both parties. If you would like us to sign an NDA provided to us, we will need to review it first, which can take several days.