3D PRINTING AND ITS APPLICATIONS

Abstract

3D printing is a form of additive manufacturing which outputs a 3D model of a object through a layer by layer process by taking in input a CAD (computer aided design) file. This technique is fast and saves time involved in basic manufacturing process. In this one has to just design the 3D image of object using CAD, then after selecting the material to be used this information is sent to printer which then prints the object. Depending on the materials used and the procedure employed in forming the object there are various methods of 3D printing such as stereo lithography, fused deposition modeling, selective laser sintering.3D printing finds its applications in every domain from medical, defense, factories, fashion, retail, food, architecture, functional prototyping, concept modeling, end user parts and many more which will be focused in this paper. Moreover its future applications are vast that includes using 3D printing for on demand parts in space, for printing organs and for making complex engine parts.