Unit 5a Assignment
Advanecment
Additive manufacturing is the process of printing a three-dimensional object layer by layer with the chosen material. This type of manufacturing has advanced tremendously over the years. An issue that additive manufacturing came upon was the amount of time it took to print 3D objects and the production.An advancement in additive manufacturing has solved the high cost of creating a prototype. Another issue the advancement has solved is the amount of time it takes to produce a 3D product. In the beginning it would take a relatively long time to print out one product, now a 3D product can be printed within 5 to 10 minutes.
Many different industries have experienced these problems of not being able to create a mass production quickly and that is cost-effective. The advancement in technology has solved all of these problems for additive manufacturing. The approach to solve this issue was the use of a stereolithography printer or known as SLA printers. These types of printers rely on photopolymer liquid resin. A laser is used to harden the resin and form it into a solid object layer by layer. Being able to use a variety of materials now has allowed for the cost of the 3D printing to become more affordable. Before people only thought they could use one type of material in the 3D printers but now materials such as elastomers and polymers can be used. Some other approaches to solving these problems could be the other types of manufacturing processes such as injection molding, blow molding and thermoforming.
Incorporation
The implementation stage of the design process is where this engineering advancement could possibly be beneficial to my the purpose of my design. This advancement can incorporate into my design by being able to produce a quick and cost effective prototype of my design. While also being able to identify small flaws in my design and being able to make easy changes to my design and produce another printed version of it. I first noticed that this advancement would benefit everyone by being able to use so many different types of materials to produce a 3D object. The ability to choose cheaper materials makes it more cost effective for everyone who uses this type of manufacturing. A challenge could be not being able to print all of the parts of my design. I have learned many things after studying more about advancement, I have learned that there are several different types of additive manufacturing and SLA seems to be most cost effective and quickest. I need to determine what material I would use for my project and the size of my product.
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