< > [Additive Manufacturing](../) > FFF
## Fused Deposition Modeling
<p> </p>
<div><img src="https://sti-ateliers.epfl.ch/files/content/sites/sti-ateliers/files/afa/images/FDM-Principe.png" alt="" width="500" /></div>
<img src="micro/micro1.jpg" alt="" width="500" />
<p>A spool of thermoplastic filament is first loaded into the printer. Once the nozzle has reached the desired temperature, the filament is fed to the extrusion head and in the nozzle where it was heated to its well above <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glass_transition">glass temperature</a> </span>and around its melting point(click click sound and blobs) . The extrusion head is attached to a 3-axis system that allows it to move in the X, Y and Z directions. The melted material is extruded in thin strands and is deposited layer-by-layer in predetermined locations, where it cools and solidifies. Sometimes the cooling of the material is accelerated through the use of cooling fans attached on the extrusion head. To fill an area, multiple passes are required (similar to coloring a rectangle with a marker). When a layer is finished, the build platform moves down (or in other machine setups, the extrusion head moves up) and a new layer is deposited. This process is repeated until the part is complete.</p>
<p> </p>
#### XYZ Motion Machanism
<ul>
<li>Cartesian</li>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://www.instructables.com/id/Delta-Bot-Perfect-DIY-3D-Printer/">Delta</a></span><br />
<ul>
<li>motor hidden at the bottom instead of being attached to the printhead, faster speed, less chance of machanical parts flexing due to shifts in momentum</li>
<li>
<div class="cue-group style-scope ytd-transcript-body-renderer">
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<div class="cue style-scope ytd-transcript-body-renderer active">inversed kinemaitics required precise length of the arm and distance between carriages and better computation power than Cartesian Printer</div>
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</div>
</div>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.tomsguide.com/us/polar-3d-printer,review-3206.html">Polar</a></span>
<ul>
<li>Small footprint large print volume</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Robotics
<ul>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://robots.iaac.net/">MiniBuilder</a></span></li>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://www.mataerial.com/#firstPage">Mataerial</a> (</span>fast-curing two-component thermosetting polymer, preferably polyurethane required<span style="text-decoration: underline;">)<a href="https://patents.google.com/patent/US20140284832">Patent</a></span></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
#### Failure and Solution Mechanism
<ul>
<li>Warping
<ul>
<li>solution:
<ul>
<li>full enclosure to provide homogeneous temperature within the printer</li>
<li>heated print platform with <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://support.zortrax.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Platform-Maintenance-04-unscrew-perforated-plate.mp4">perforated plate</a></span></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Bad Layer Adhesion
<ul>
<li>on first layer solution:
<ul>
<li>glue stick</li>
<li>z leveling of the plate </li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>not on first layer solution: fine tune cooling fan on extruder head</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Leveling
<ul>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://reprap.org/wiki/Mesh_Bed_Leveling">Mesh Bed Leveling</a></span>: Virtualy create a 3d virtual plate to allow computing compensation of flex and curve on the print platform on the fly, traditional z level adjustment,grid-based adjustment presume print platform to be a perfectly even and sometimes tilted surface, which is engineering wise difficult in reality. <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://youtu.be/X6lnlc-Vu-A?t=2m21s">Manual</a> leveling</span>, <a href="https://shop.prusa3d.com/en/3d-printers/180-original-prusa-i3-mk3-kit.html?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIvon6tbTX2gIVnLjACh1DWQ0vEAAYASAAEgK-S_D_BwE">automated leveling </a>with probe (<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://shop.prusa3d.com/en/3d-printers/180-original-prusa-i3-mk3-kit.html?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIvon6tbTX2gIVnLjACh1DWQ0vEAAYASAAEgK-S_D_BwE">prusa i3 MK3</a></span>)</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Collision<br />
<ul>
<li>extremely vicious for printers with 2 nozzles, especially when z is not leveled. </li>
<li>solution: <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZOHjF2CodA">auto head lift on retraction</a></span> through firmware, spring on extruder head, print head lift switch on <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://ultimaker.com/en/resources/45871-anatomy-of-an-ultimaker-3">Ultimaker 3</a></span></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Curious Fingers</li>
</ul>
#### Fun Things to do:
<ul>
<li>Whole Part with Kinematic linkage (dual nozzle with resolvable filament recommended, <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://youtu.be/wdRswasftfI?t=58s">SLS</a></span> even <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://youtu.be/wdRswasftfI?t=2m48s">better</a></span>) <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://sffsymposium.engr.utexas.edu/sites/default/files/2014-059-Pareek.pdf">clearance</a></span></li>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://www.instructables.com/id/3D-Printing-Make-Water-Tight-and-Air-Tight-Contain/">Air Tight / Water Tight part</a></span><a href="http://www.instructables.com/id/3D-Printing-Make-Water-Tight-and-Air-Tight-Contain/"> </a> (over-extruding)</li>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://rasterweb.net/raster/2018/04/07/bolt-casting-via-3d-printing/">Direct casting on plastic mold</a></span> <span style="text-decoration: underline;">(</span>mechanical lock can be easily formed, destroyable and flexible filament recommended)</li>
</ul>
#### <strong><a href="https://www.3dhubs.com/knowledge-base/fdm-3d-printing-materials-compared">Materials</a></strong>
<p><img src="https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/3dhubs-knowledgebase/intro-fdm-3d-printing/10-thermo-pyramid.png" alt="" width="600" height="407" /></p>
<ul>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://hackaday.com/2017/10/17/3d-prints-and-food/">safety</a></span></li>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.proto-pasta.com/">Interesting CompositePLA :</a></span><br />
<ul>
<li><a href="https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0717/9095/files/SDS_StainlessSteelPLA.pdf?16735024397568583525">Matelfill PLA</a><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.proto-pasta.com/products/magnetic-iron-pla">Rust iron PLA</a></span></li>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.proto-pasta.com/collections/newest-products/products/copper-metal-composite-htpla">Copper</a></span></li>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.proto-pasta.com/collections/new-releases-favorites/products/stainless-steel-pla">Stainless Steel</a></span></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><a href="https://colorfabb.com/woodfill">Woodfill PLA</a></li>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.proto-pasta.com/pages/conductive-pla#CCmade">Conductive PLA</a> (</span>stylus tip<span style="text-decoration: underline;">)</span></li>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.proto-pasta.com/pages/carbon-fiber-pla">Carbon Fiber PLA</a></span> (just for shimmers look and feel)</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>ABS (legos,injection molding, compare to pla: <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.3dhubs.com/knowledge-base/pla-vs-abs-whats-difference">better strength</a></span>, better ductility, higher heat resistance 105°C glass transition. However easier to warp)</li>
<li>PLA (biodegradable, 60°C glass transition)</li>
<li>HIPS & PVA (disolvable support for ABS and PLA)</li>
<li>TPU (flexible, low accuracy)</li>
<li>Nylon(PA) (strenghth, adherance problem)</li>
<li>PETG (food safe)</li>
<li>PEI (fire and chemical resistance)</li>
<li>PEEK (dental, 500°C, 230°C)</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>UnderDevelopment:
<ul>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/101831">Glass</a></span></li>
<li><u>Glass Fiber/ <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2AZ_kfNwZI">Carbon Fiber</a> (</u>Stiffness and weight, here prints were composed with multiple Nylon layers and reinforced with Carbon Fiber layers together, sole Carbon Fiber have extreme layer adherance difficulty, the machanism is when carbon fiber printed out it will melt its way into the part below it. <u>)</u> <a href="https://markforged.com/composites/">Markforged</a> </li>
<li><a href="https://youtu.be/InYfu5hoV7c?t=53s">Metal FDM</a> (In Thermoplastic FDM, printed layers are heated to its glass transition temperature, which makes it soft and fusible when next layer is added. Metal doesn't do that, it is either hard and collide the print head or imaging what happent when you use a soldering gun on solder)</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
#### PostProcessing
<p><img src="https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/3dhubs-knowledgebase/fdm_post_processing/photo1.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="375" /></p>
<ul>
<li>Sanding</li>
<li>Cold Wedling (<strong>Aceton</strong>)</li>
<li>Gap Filling (Cotton swab <strong>Aceton</strong>, fill the gap with epoxy <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.smooth-on.com/product-line/xtc-3d/">XCT-3D</a></span>, autobody filler, Aceton with ABS, and sand)</li>
<li>Polishing Priming & Painting (hang it, airbrush recommended)</li>
<li>Vapor Smoothing (Spray <strong>Aceton Poison</strong>)</li>
<li>Dipping (<strong>Acetone</strong> should be used for dipping ABS, and MEK or THF can be used to dip PLA, matte or glazed spray afterwards)</li>
<li>Epoxy Coating</li>
<li><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://www.mkreplikote.com/">Metal Plating</a></span> (Spray <strong>Acetone</strong>+graphite 1:1, or conductive spray and electro-plate it)</li>
<li>Just Don't Expected them looks like below result, and spend more time with your friends and family and bed, and save the world by using less Acetone, Designers...</li>
</ul>
<p><img src="https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/3dhubs-knowledgebase/fdm_post_processing/photo9.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="187" /><img src="https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/3dhubs-knowledgebase/fdm_post_processing/photo13.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="188" /></p>
<p> </p>
#### Comparison
<div><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/3dhubs-knowledgebase/industrial-vs-desktop-fdm/photo1.jpg">Desktop vs Industrial</a></span></div>
<div><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="micro/index.html">FDM vs SLA</a></span></div>
<div><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><img src="test%20print.jpgvie
" alt="" width="600" height="338" /></span></div>
<div>better minimal clearance, better supported area finish</div>
<div> </div>
#### FDM/FFF Machines:
<div>
<div>
<div><span style="color: #333333;"><em><u>Desktop(honghao's pick):</u></em></span></div>
</div>
</div>
<div> </div>
<div><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://shop.prusa3d.com/en/3d-printers/181-original-prusa-i3-mk3-3d-printer.html">Prusa i3 MK3</a></span></div>
<div><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://youtu.be/oeJLLC2NJQs?t=1m13s">Ultimaker 3 extended</a>,<a href="https://ultimaker.com/en/products/ultimaker-s5">S5</a></span></div>
<div><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://zortrax.com/printers/zortrax-m300/">Zortrax M300</a></span></div>
<div>3dwox</div>
<div> </div>
<div>
<div>
<div><span style="color: #333333;"><em><u>Industrial: </u></em></span></div>
</div>
</div>
<div><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://www.stratasys.com/3d-printers/f123">Demension Elite</a> F123 series</span></div>
<div> </div>
<div>
#### Why not FDM/FFF
<div>You have a lot of $, need better surface finish, better resolution (<a href="http://reprap.org/wiki/Merlin_Hotend">cheap solution on fdm for this two</a>), faster build speed, and things garanteed to be printed out that is not plastic.</div>
</div>
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