Tasman Machinery Pty Ltd
2/84-‐90 Lakewood Boulevard, Braeside Victoria 3195, Australia
Tel: + 61 3 8587 8200
Selecting a 3D Printer: The Hobbyist vs. Professional Dilemma Dominic Parsonson August 8th, 2014
3D Printing 3D Printing or Additive Manufacturing is a current and valuable tool in the manufacturing and designing arena. 3D Printing often conjures up the image of a nascent technology that still has many hurdles to address before it can become a relevant industrial tool. This is not the case. 3D Printing has been around since the mid-‐1990s as a useable tool, with the first printers developed in the 1980s. The idea that 3D Printers are a new technology was driven by the start of the Open Source movement in the mid-‐2000s and an increase in media exposure over the last 5 years. Initially 3D Printing was promoted for rapid prototyping, and unfortunately this misconception continues to stick, even though technology has advanced to such a stage that 3D Printers are used for the production of end-‐use parts and many other functional applications.
Selecting a 3D Printer When first setting out to choose a 3D Printer you may naturally ask “Which is the best 3D Printer?” Fortunately or unfortunately there is no such thing, and realistically the answer is “It depends”. It depends on what it is that you want to achieve. The same is true if you were to ask “Which is the best 3D Printing Technology?” the answer is also “It depends”. It depends on what it is that you want to achieve. In this article, I will be covering FFF and FDM™ 3D Printers FFF– Fused Filament Fabrication FDM™ – Fused Deposition Modelling
www.tasman3d.com.au
dominic@tasmanmachinery.com.au