3D Printing and rapid prototyping

Question 1

What materials do 3D printers use?

Answer 1

PLA (Polylactic acid), ABS (Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene), PETG (Polyethylene terephthalate glycol).

Question 2

What are the benefits of rapid prototyping

Answer 2

• Allows designers to add improvements and refine their product
• Any potential issues with the design will be identified
• Improves ergonomics
• You can show these designs to a user and gather feedback
• test ideas at a low cost ahead of production

Question 3

What are the advantages and disadvantages of 3D printing?

Answer 3

Advantages
- CAM is accurate
- Quick to manufacture prototypes
- Plastic is a cost effective material and has desirable properties
- You can make improvements to a design very easily
- Minimal time physically making so you can spend all your time designing the product
- You will end up with a product that is exactly the same as the design
Disadvantages
- Expensive to set up
- The machine or computer could break and need to be fixed
- You can only use a set amount of materials that may not suit the needs of the customer
- You need to be skilled to operate a 3D printer and the software that comes with it