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The 3D printing technology used by the printer.

Nowadays, the most widely used technologies are Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM/FFF), Plastic Inkjet Printing (PJP), Colour Inkjet Printing (CJP), Multi-Jet Modeling (MJM), Digital Light Processing (DLP), Stereolithography (SLA), and selective thermal sintering (SHS). Here is a more detailed description for each of them:

— Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM/FFF). The most common 3D printing technology so far. The principle of such printing is as follows: the working material (thermoplastic) in the form of a thread is fed into the extruder, where it melts due to heating and is printed through a special nozzle of small diameter. If necessary, lines within one layer are laid side by side, forming a continuous surface of the required area; for overhung elements, temporary supports made of the same plastic that are removed manually after the end of the process. The popularity of this type is primarily due to the low cost of both the printers and their consumables, which allows such printing to be used in almost all areas — from domestic use to industrial production. In addition, many types of thermoplastics can be used for FDM/FFF, as well as the wide variety of colours. The disadvantages of this technology include less accuracy than that of “photopolymer” SLA and DLP, but this po...int is not critical in most cases.
Note that the common designation for this technology "FDM" is a trademark; to circumvent restrictions of use, individual manufacturers use the “FFF” label, which generally has the same meaning.

— Plastic Inkjet Printing (PJP). In fact, that is another name for the FDM technology described above, used by 3D Systems and some other manufacturers. There are no fundamental differences.

— Colour Inkjet Printing (CJP). A type of inkjet 3D printing that allows you to create multi-colour products; proprietary development of 3D Systems. The general principle of inkjet 3D printing is as follows: a thin (about 0.1 mm) layer of powder material is applied to the working platform, and then a liquid binder is applied to this material through the nozzle of the print head (as a similar process in an inkjet printer). Then the platform is lowered by the thickness of the layer and the cycle is repeated until the product is ready. Print heads with multiple nozzles and binders of different colours are used for colour inkjet printing, which allows you to create products of a wide variety of shades. This printing method is highly accurate both in terms of shapes and colours; it is used even in puppet animation. On the other hand, CJP printers are expensive, so their use is mostly limited to professional applications.

— Stereolithography (SLA). One of the types of 3D printing based on the use of photopolymer resins — liquid materials that solidify when exposed to light. The light source in this case is a laser, and printing is carried out as follows. There is a movable platform with the container filled with photopolymer. At the beginning of the process, the platform surface is at a depth of one layer (about 0.1 mm ± 0.05 mm). The laser traces the contours of this layer on the surface of the resin, causing the material to solidify; the platform is then lowers to the depth of another layer, and the process is repeated until the product is finished. (The platform can also move up, but the general scheme of work remains the same). The main advantage of SLA is the highest precision, which makes it possible to use this technology even in dentistry and jewelry. At the same time, the speed of such printing is quite high, and modern photopolymers are very diverse, in finished form they can imitate various materials (plastic, rubber, etc.). On the other hand, both the printers and their consumables are very expensive.

— Digital Light Processing (DLP). Another type of 3D printing using photopolymers. The principle of operation is similar to the SLA described above: the product is formed in layers from a special resin that solidifies under the light. The difference lies in the fact that instead of laser emitters, DLP printers use LED-based projectors. This made it possible to significantly reduce the cost of such equipment while keeping all the main advantages of photopolymer 3D printing — high accuracy, good speed and a variety of materials (in terms of colours and properties). The low spread of this technology is mainly due to the fact that it appeared relatively recently.

— Multi-Jet Modeling (MJM). 3D printing technology based on the use of a print head with numerous nozzles (tens or even hundreds). Print media may vary; in modern models, photopolymers are most often used (like so in SLA and DLP), as well as low-melting wax, although it is also possible to work with thermoplastics (as in FDM/FFF). Anyway, the materials are applied in layers; when working with photopolymers, each layer is fixed using UV light. It is possible to print simultaneously with several materials — this facilitates work with overhung elements and supports for them: wax can be used for supports, which is then easily melted out of the finished product. Generally, MJM printers have high accuracy (comparable to SLA) with less material consumption, while they are excellent for even fairly large parts. On the other hand, the cost of such devices and consumables for them (photopolymers) turns out to be quite high, besides, MJM printers are difficult to maintain and repair. Therefore, the main scope of their application is professional prototyping in industry.

— Selective Heat Sintering (SHS). A technology that is similar to the CJP described above. A special powder (thermoplastic or fusible metal) is used as a consumable. At the beginning of the process, the powder is applied with a roller to the working platform with the thickness of one layer; then the heat emitter processes the material along the given shapes, the platform is lowered down to the thickness of the next layer, and the cycle is repeated until the complete model is formed. In fact, SHS is a simplification of the SLS technology, where a laser was used for sintering: the use of a thermal head instead of a laser head made it possible to significantly simplify and reduce the cost of the printer design. Also note that for the overhung elements, it is not necessary to print additional supports — the unused powder plays the role of these supports. The disadvantages of SHS include the limited choice of materials: a thermal emitter is not as efficient as a laser one, which requires the use of fusible materials. Metal products printed on such a printer may require additional processing to give the desired durability and heat resistance.

 

File format for 3D models that the printer can handle.

Projects of 3D models are created using special programs (CAD — computer-aided design systems), while such programs can use different file formats, often incompatible with each other. This information can be useful both for selecting CAD for a specific printer model, and for assessing whether ready-made projects are suitable for printing on the selected model.

Among the most common file extensions nowadays (in alphabetical order) are — .3ds, .amf, .ctl, .dae, .fbx, .gcode, .obj, .slc, .stl, .ply, .vrml, .zrp.

Software for building models which the printer is optimally compatible with. The software used for 3D printing includes both CAD (automatic design systems for creating models) and slicers (software that break a three-dimensional model into separate layers, preparing it for printing). Therefore, this paragraph often indicates a whole list of software products.

Note that the degree of optimization in this case may be different: some models are compatible only with the claimed programs, but many printers are able to work with third-party CAD systems. However, it is best to choose software directly claimed by the manufacturer: this will maximize the capabilities of the printer and minimize the chance of failures and “inconsistencies” during operation.

The maximum dimensions of a product that can be printed on a 3D printer in one cycle.

The larger the dimensions of the model, the wider the choice for the user, the greater the variety of sizes available for printing. On the other hand, "large-sized" printers take a lot of space, and this parameter significantly affects the cost of the device. In addition, while printing a large model with FDM/FFF (see "Printing Technology"), larger nozzles and higher print speeds are desirable — and these features negatively affect detailing and the print quality of tiny objects. Therefore, while choosing, you should not aim the utmost maximum sizes — you should realistically assess the dimensions of the objects that you're going to print, and proceed from these data (plus a small margin in case of unexpected moments). In addition, we note that a large product can be printed in parts, and then piece these parts together.

As for the specific values of each size, all three main dimensions have the same division into nominal categories (small size, medium, above average and large): — height — less than 150 mm, 151 – 200 mm, 201 – 250 mm, more than 250 mm ; — width — less than 150 mm, 151 – 200 mm, 201 – 250 mm, more than 250 mm ; — depth — less than 150 mm, 151 – 200 mm, 201 – 250 mm, more than 250 mm.

The largest volume of an object that can be printed on a printer. This indicator directly depends on the maximum dimensions (see above) — usually, it corresponds to these dimensions multiplied by each other. For example, dimensions of 230x240x270 mm will correspond to a volume of 23*24*27 = 14,904 cm³, that is, 14.9 litres.

The exact meaning of this indicator depends on the printing technology used (see above). These data are fundamental for photopolymer technologies SLA and DLP, as well as for powder SHS: the volume of the model corresponds to the amount of photopolymer/powder that needs to be loaded into the printer to print the product to the maximum height. If the size is smaller, this amount may decrease proportionally (for example, printing a model at half the maximum height will require half the volume), however, some printers require a full load regardless of the size of the product. In turn, for FDM/FFF and other similar technologies, the volume of the model is more of a reference value: the actual material consumption there will depend on the configuration of the printed product.

As for specific figures, the volume up to 5 litres can be considered as small, from 5 to 10 litres — medium, more than 10 litres — large.

The smallest thickness of a single layer of material that can be applied with a printer.

In photopolymer devices of SLA and DLP formats (see "Print Technology") the meaning of this parameter is simple: it is the smallest height of a one pass cycle of the working platform. The smaller this height, the better detailing can be achieved on the device; however, in such models, this height is usually small — most often less than 50 µm. But in devices based on FDM/FFF and similar technologies using nozzles, there are also higher rates — 51 – 100 µm and even more. Here it is worth noting the fact that a small minimum layer thickness allows efficient use of small nozzles and achieves better detail. On the other hand, increasing detailing reduces productivity, and to compensate this fact, it is necessary to increase the print speed by increasing power (both heating and blowing), which, in turn, affects the cost. Therefore, choosing one should proceed from real needs: for objects with relatively low detail, there is no need to look for a printer with a small layer thickness.

It is worth noting that in FDM/FFF printers, the optimal layer thickness depends on the nozzle diameter (see below) and the specifics of printing — for example, for a “in one line” perimeter without filling, you can use the minimum layer thickness, while for filling it is not recommended. Det...ailed recommendations on the optimal layer thickness for different situations can be found in special guides.

The print speed provided by an FDM/FFF type 3D printer (see "Print Technology").

The print speed in this case is the maximum amount of material that can pass through a regular nozzle per second. The higher this value (150 mm/s, 180 mm/s , 200 mm/s and above), the faster the printer is able to cope with a particular task. Of course, the actual production time will depend on the configuration of the printing model and the print settings, but other things being equal, a printer with a higher speed will operate faster. On the other hand, an increase in speed requires an increase in heating power (because the extruder has time to melt the required volume of material), blowing power (otherwise the plastic will not have time to solidify normally), as well as stricter control of the movement of the extruder (to compensate for inertia from fast movements). So, generally, this spec strongly depends on the price category and specialization of the device, and it’s worth looking specifically for a “fast” model in cases where the speed of production is critical. Otherwise, a 100 mm/s model or 120 mm/s is sufficient, or even less.

The diameter of the regular working nozzle in a printer operating with the FDM/FFF or PJP technology (see "Printing Technology").

This is one of the key parameters that determine the capabilities of the printer. The width of separate lines in each layer and the optimal thickness of the layer itself are directly related to the nozzle diameter. So, with a small nozzle, these width and thickness will also be small, which allows the better detail, but reduces the actual print speed (as well as the durability of the completed product due to the increase in the number of joints). And large nozzles are better suited for high-volume tasks where print performance and design reliability are more important than high precision.

More detailed recommendations on choosing a diameter for a specific task and layer thickness can be found in special sources. It is also worth considering that many modern 3D printers allow you to change nozzles, and for more or less serious 3D printing, it is directly recommended to have several replacement nozzles in stock. Therefore, some models with several nozzles of different diameters are provided in one package.