ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces the realities of working with 3D printing for product designers, specifically from their point of view. Drawing on the authors’ hands-on experience with 3D printing (aka additive manufacturing) over a cumulative 40+ years, this chapter untangles the confusion between the different additive technologies, re-framing them specifically for product designers with recommendations on how to approach learning about them and integrating them into practice in a structured way. The approach described here challenges conventional learning on the topic, with new recommendations on which technologies to start working with, and how to progress this learning from those with fewest constraints and wide end-use possibilities, to those that have many design rules and can be complex systems to manage. It includes practical advice on differentiating between part samples from different processes and introduces how to approach their evaluation, including features that are good examples of design for process. It also details technical qualities of 3D printing file types (such as STL, OBJ, VRML, 3MF, and AMF), as well as the digital workflows to go from CAD to 3D print, and strategies to repair and slice files appropriately.
This chapter outlines hands-on experience in working with high-end selective laser sintering (SLS) to help to demystify this process, and it includes the key steps from preheating a SLS machine through to the final post-processing of printed parts. Behind-the-scenes photos not commonly shown in glossy sales brochures or publications help explain these processes. Lastly, the chapter provides a case study of metal 3D printing (selective laser melting, SLM) of a bespoke product, including details of the labour-intensive and manual processes after a metal part is printed, and examples of pushing the boundaries with this technology. These help to explain the realities of working with high-end polymer and metal printing that are likely to be encountered in manufacturing environments, with details often invisible when relying on service bureaus, and they provide a basis for designing for process in the later chapters.
