3D Printing

The 3D Printing Process

As you move into the production of your digital designs using your 3D printer, it is important to have an understanding of the workflow involved in the fabrication of digital objects. To help visualize this process, I created several flowcharts and graphics that illustrate the essential parts of this process. The first one, linked here and shown below provides an overview of the major steps involved in the production of physical objects from digital designs using 3D printing, or additive manufacturing processes. The slicing and printing steps of this process will be highly variable depending on which slicing engine and 3D printer combination are being utilized. It is my hope that this graphic helps orient users as they move through the various steps of the 3D printing process.

Infill

3D printed objects typically are not solid, but instead use internal support structures called “infill” to support external surfaces. Depending on how to the 3D printed objects will be used, a fabricator needs to decide which percentage of infill to use. Lower infill percentages lead to faster print times and lighter objects, while higher infill percentages will produce more solid objects that tend to be stronger, but take longer to print.

Support Types

When setting up a 3D print, a user needs to decide when to use a raft, a brim or a skirt for the first layers of the 3D print and also whether to include supports for a 3D print job. Rafts are ideal for narrow, tall parts or prints that have limited contact with the print bed. Rafts add a few layers of print material to print bed before an object is produced. This increased the surface area of contact between the object and the print bed and can help stabilize an object and provide maximum bed adhesion. Objects are separated from the raft by a small air gap so they can be removed from the raft when the print is complete. Brims add layers of material to the edges of the points of contact between the print and the print bed. They tend to print a little faster than rafts and add some stability and surface area to the bottom layers of the print, but not quite as much as a raft. Skirts create a loop or series of loops around an object being printed. Skirts can help ensure smooth flow of filament from the extruder nozzle before the object is produced and multiple skirt loops can affect airflow around and object and therefore cooling rates, which can affect bed adhesion of prints.

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