3D Printing For Dummies

✍ Scribed by Kalani Kirk Hausman, Richard Horne

• Publisher: For Dummies
• Year: 2014
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 387
• Edition: 1
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

Get started printing out 3D objects quickly and inexpensively!

3D printing is no longer just a figment of your imagination. This remarkable technology is coming to the masses with the growing availability of 3D printers. 3D printers create 3-dimensional layered models and they allow users to create prototypes that use multiple materials and colors.  This friendly-but-straightforward guide examines each type of 3D printing technology available today and gives artists, entrepreneurs, engineers, and hobbyists insight into the amazing things 3D printing has to offer. You’ll discover methods for the creation of 3D printable objects using software, 3D scanners, and even photographs with the help of this timely For Dummies  guide.

• Includes information on stereolithography, selective sintering, fused deposition, and granular binding techniques
• Covers the potential for the transformation of production and manufacturing, reuse and recycling, intellectual property design controls, and the commoditization of traditional products from magazines to material goods
• Walks you through the process of creating a RepRap printer using open-source designs, software, and hardware
• Addresses the limitations of current 3D printing technologies and provides strategies for improved success

3D Printing For Dummies is the must-have guide to make manufacturing your own dynamic designs a dream come true!

✦ Table of Contents

Contents at a Glance
Table of Contents
Introduction
About This Book
Foolish Assumptions
Icons Used in This Book
How This Book Is Organized
Beyond the Book
Where to Go from Here
Part I: Getting Started with 3D Printing
Chapter 1: Seeing How 3D Printers Fit into Modern Manufacturing.
Embracing Additive Manufacturing
Exploring the Applications of 3D Printing
Working with RepRap
Chapter 2: Exploring the Types of 3D Printing.
Exploring Basic Forms of Additive Manufacturing
Recognizing Specialized Forms of Additive Manufacturing
Seeing the Limitations of Current Technologies
Chapter 3: Exploring Applications of 3D Printing.
Creating Objects Directly Using 3D Printing Today
Fabricating Tomorrow Using 3D Printing
Examining Molding and Casting through 3D Printing
Applying Artistic Touches and Personalization
Deploying Technology to Strategic Locations
Part II: Outlining 3D Printing Resources
Chapter 4: Identifying Available Materials for 3D Printing.
Enumerating Extruded Materials
Identifying Granular Materials
Exploring Photo-Cured Resins
Understanding Bioprinting
Identifying Alternative Materials
Chapter 5: Identifying Sources for 3D-Printable Objects.
Exploring Object Repositories
Designing in the Computer
Scanning Objects
Capturing Structure from Photographs
Preparing Models for Printing
Part III: Exploring the Business Side of 3D Printing
Chapter 6: Commoditizing 3D Printing.
Democratizing Manufacturing
Creating Impossible Objects
Building New Tools
Chapter 7: Understanding 3D Printing’s Effect on Traditional Lines of Business.
Transforming Production
Challenging Intellectual Property Laws
Leveraging Expired Patents
Imposing Ethical Controls
Chapter 8: Reviewing 3D Printing Research.
Building Fundamental Technologies
Creating Functional Designs
Expanding Material Selection
Providing for Long Space Voyages
Creating Medical Opportunities
Part IV: Employing Personal 3D Printing Devices
Chapter 9: Exploring 3D-Printed Artwork.
Adorning the Body
Personalizing Our Environment
Returning to Personal Creation
Visualizing the Abstract
Chapter 10: Considering Consumer-Level 3D Printers.
Examining Cartesian 3D Printers
Exploring Delta Options
Understanding Polar Fabrication
Building Emerging Alternatives
Chapter 11: Deciding on a RepRap of Your Own.
Evaluating Your 3D-Printing Needs
Open, Closed, and Licensing
Selecting a 3D Printer Design
Choosing Print Media
Identifying Components
Part V: Creating a RepRap 3D Printer
Chapter 12: Assembling Structural Elements.
Locating Materials
Obtaining the Printed Parts for Machine Assembly
Understanding the Machine Motion
Building the Frame Structure
Assembling the Prusa i3 Y Axis Frame
Assembling the Moving Axis
Sensing the Home Position
Chapter 13: Understanding RepRap Control Electronics.
Overview of RepRap Electronics
Adding Electronics to Your RepRap 3D Printer
Modular Components, Sensors,and Motors
RepRap Wiring and Connections
Firmware Configuration
Chapter 14: Assembling the RepRap Extruder and RepRap Upgrades
Thermoplastic Extrusion
Prusa i3 Extruder and Hot-End Assembly
Syringe and Paste-Based Extrusion
Multi-Color Printing
Extruder Operation and Upgrades
Chapter 15: Identifying Software and Calibrating Your 3D Printer
3D Design Software and Model Resources
Working with Slic3r
Calibrating Your 3D Printer
3D-Printing Objects
Part VI: The Part of Tens
Chapter 16: Ten Ways That Rapid Prototyping Will Disrupt Traditional Manufacturing.
Reducing Time to Market
Eliminating Mass Manufacturing
Displacing Transportation Industries
Consuming Alternate Materials
Reducing Material Requirements
Going Green
Curtailing Planned Obsolescence
Eliminating One-Size-Fits-Most
Crafting What You Wish
Providing Basic Necessities
Chapter 17: Ten Examples of ­Direct-Digital Manufacturing and Personalization.
Producing 3D-Printed Food
Printing Tissues and Organs
Fashioning Biological Replicas
Crafting Clothing and Footwear
Customizing Artwork
Making Hollywood Spectacular
Creating Structures
Reaching Beyond the Sky
Constructing Robots
Printing 3D Printers
Chapter 18: Ten Impossible Designs Created Using Additive Manufacturing.
Personalized Objects
Medical Implants
Self-Deploying Robots
Printed Aircraft
On-Demand, On-Site Manufacturing
Custom Objects Created in Space
Printed Finger Foods
Locally Fabricated Items
Body Parts
Custom Drugs
Index
About the Authors