3D PRINTING

Additive manufacturing or 3D printing is a process of making three dimensional solid objects from a digital model; it is achieved using additive processes, where an object is created by laying down successive layers of material.

Target

3D printing an object... In my case, a spring with variable pitch, curved axe and variable section. The goal is for it to have a balanced behaviour between flexibility and stiffness, but not be too wobbly and weak. The goal is to build a fun mockup of a spring, not a structural piece.

Out of the photo-curing resin printer...

Heat needs to be applied to remove the wax.

Half melted.

Right out of the oven, the spring is very flexible!

Too much!

A second wave of heat...holding while heating shapes it.

Stiffer and more elegant result.

Smaller version with special head and foot.

After the wax melting.

Better stiffness.

Conclusion

An ABS printer would not have worked for printing wire-like elements at this scale. It builds by extruding a bead of plastic, a layer at a time, in a zig-zag pattern on each layer. Small linear elements tend to have gaps in them where the plastic turns around a corner, and end up being quite fragile. A printer using a photo-curing resin can handle this geometry and scale of work much more easily.

Invision si2

More info: (SITE)