Abstract Code: PP20

Theme: Product Design and Development

Additive Manufacturing in Plastic Industry
(3D Printing: Manufacturing Beyond the Mould)
Anish Kumar, Arunav Banerjee, Manoj Singh Chouhan, Ravi Pratap Singh
M.Tech, CIPET, Lucknow.

*Sumita Srivastava*
anish83007@yahoo.com, arunavjoel@gmail.com, sumitas77@gmail.com
Abstract
This review paper concerns with Additive Manufacturing well known as 3D printing, of plastics and other
materials at present as well as in future. Additive manufacturing extrudes objects in a succession of layers
and is opposite of traditional subtractive manufacturing processes. In this report we envision a future world
where interactive devices can be printed rather than assembled. 3D printing is an expanding technology
which may soon start an industry in which everyone has the possibility of being a manufacturer.
Keywords: Additive manufacturing, 3D printing, Direct Digital Manufacturing, Manufacture on Demand,
Processing Structure Property.
1. INTRODUCTION
In the era we live in, industrialization plays a vital role in the development of a nation. Manufacturing can
be regarded as the backbone of industrialization. Manufacturing involves the conversion of the raw materials
into consumable products and a huge portion of this conversion involves machining which can be regarded
as subtractive manufacturing. In subtractive manufacturing, the material is removed to obtain a product and
up to 80% material is leaved up on the factory floor as waste. To improvise on the minimization of waste,
energy consumption, labour cost, tools and machining cost an alternative method of manufacturing can be
introduced as Additive Manufacturing well known as 3D printing.
Additive manufacturing produce objects in a succession of layers from the bottom to up1. This is the
opposite of traditional subtractive manufacturing processes, which produce objects by cutting material away
from a block to create the shape desired. 3D printing is the process of creating an object using a machine that
puts down material layer by layer in three dimensions until the desired object is formed. A 3D printer
extrudes melted plastic lament or other material, building objects based on specications that come from
modelling software or from scanning of an existing object.
3D printing has changed the calculus of manufacturing and will be the future of manufacturing2 as single
printer can produce a vast range of products, sometimes already assembled. 3D printing is a digital
technology, not just a manufacturing technology2. With its open and democratic properties, 3D printing sets
the stage for innovation. It has lowered the barrier to entry for manufacturing, igniting the creativity of the
masses. Although 3D printing has been applied mainly to low-volume production, the products can be far
superior and cheaper than if created with traditional manufacturing processes. That is because 3Dprinting
can control, exactly how materials are deposited, which reduces the waste also development cost and time
can be cut by eliminating the need for tooling used in traditional manufacturing.
3D printing started with plastics, mostly used in Fused Deposition Modelling(FDM) process, and for
prototyping but nowadays there is growing range of printable materials that includes ceramics, glass,
sandstones, sterling silver and even steels, and not just limited only to prototyping, but also found its wide
variety of applications from biomedical implants to space exploration. Since its early days, FDM
Technology has been identified by industrial thermoplastics and the process was originally known for ABS3.
3D printing with thermoplastics is widely practiced because majority of todays consumer products and
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many commercial ones are composed of thermoplastics and also when designing a new product, engineers
can best predict its end performance by prototyping with a material as similar to it as possible. Materials for
FDM have advanced and evolved. Today, there are five versions of ABS, each mechanically superior to the
original ABS formulation. FDM material family has expanded to include ten options, including two
engineered thermoplastics.
We envision a future world where interactive devices can be printed rather than assembled; a world where
a device with active components is created as a single object, rather than individually assembled parts. The
continuing emergence and accessibility of 3D printing technology, we believe 3D printed elements will
become an important part of future interactive devices. Current 3D printing technology is good enough to
serve markets that previously had no manufacturing capability at all. However, the technology is not
expected to flourish in traditional manufacturing markets for a number of years, so it is unlikely that an
entire commercial passenger airplane will be 3D printed any time soon.
2. HOW DOES 3D PRINTER WORKS
3D printing, alias Additive Manufacturing (AM) or Direct Digital Manufacturing (DDM), makes it
possible to create an object by creating a digital file7. This digital blueprint is created by using computeraided design (CAD) software or by scanning an existing object with a 3D scanner, is sliced into 2dimensional representations. The specications are then sent to an extrusion printer, where plastic lament
or other material is used to create the three-dimensional model one layer at a time. This makes very complex
parts easy to produce as the material is extruded from the nozzle of the printer; the software controlling the
machine moves either the platform or the nozzle itself such that the material is deposited in a succession of
layers to create the object. Often, the completed object is a single colour, but printers are now available with
two nozzles for dual-colour prints. Printing can take a few minutes for a small object the size of a keychain
or several hours for larger, more complicated objects.
There are different 3D printing techniques exist. They differ in the way layers are deposited to create
parts and in the materials that can be used4. The first commercial 3D print technology, Stereolithography,
was invented in 1984 by Charles Hull. Several other techniques have emerged since, including Fused
Deposition Modelling (FDM), Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) and Laminated Object Manufacturing
(LOM). Some of these techniques involve melting or softening layers of material, others involve binding
powdered materials and yet others involve jetting or selectively-hardening liquid materials.

Figure (a)

Figure (b)

Figure (c)

Figure I: (a) Fused Deposition Modelling, (b) Selective Laser Sintering, (c) Laminated Object Manufacturing.

2.1 3D Printing In Manufacturing World

Since the Industrial Revolution, manufacturing has been synonymous with factories, machine tools,
production lines and economies of scale. So it is startling to think about manufacturing without tooling,
assembly lines or supply chains. But introduction of 3 dimensional printing in prototyping has granted a new
freedom to design complex structures without moulds, tools and dies with higher speed of operation, greater
precision and reliability. There are certain challenges that we face in traditional manufacturing for example,
making complex shapes, wastage of materials, tooling costs, energy consumption etc. These drawbacks can
be reduces to a considerable extent by the use of 3D printing. As compared to 3D Printing, traditional
manufacturing processes generally use a subtractive approach that includes a combination of moulding,
cutting, grinding, forging, welding, gluing and assembling. By contrast, a 3D printer can produce the product
in a single operation, layer by layer; there is no need for moulding, and other machining operations. The
economics of manufacturing also change. Manufacturing is less labour intensive, uses less material,
produces less waste, reduced transportation costs and can use new materials that are light and strong.
Depending on the material used, products made with 3D printing techniques can be up to 65% lighter but
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just as strong as traditionally manufactured products. The product comes out of the printer fully assembled,
including all its moving parts. After some post-production work such as cleaning, baking, finishing etc.
depending on the material, the product is ready for use. These post-production works are done in Finishing
Touch Smoothing Station (FTSS) which is integrated in printing machine.

Figure II: Low-cost 3D printing enables anyone with a digital design to bypass the traditional supply chain and manufacture a
product themselves.
Table I: Cost & Time Comparison.
Part/Tool
End of Arm
Robot
Automated
Turntable
Steel Plates

FDM
$600 & 24 hours

Alternative Method
$10,000 & 4 Weeks

$8800 & 2 Weeks

$50000 & 8 Weeks

$20 & 2 Hours

$200 & 2 Weeks

Table I: Development cost and time can be cut by

eliminating the need for tooling used in traditional
manufacturing.
Source: Stratasys Inc.

2.2 Current Materials Used

For production of finished goods, there are no shortcuts. Material stability and long-term performance is
paramount3. Therefore, it requires careful consideration on the mechanical, thermal, electrical and chemical
properties and any changes that result from aging or environmental exposure of products. Materials
characterize manufacturing processes. In turn, manufacturing processes influence the material properties of
the final product. The technologies are identified by the materials they use, and the quality of the output is
controlled by the processing methods. In 3D printing plastic, materials which widely used are thermoplastics
such as ABS. Table shows the different types of materials and techniques used in 3D printing;
Table II: Materials and Printing Techniques
3D Printing Methods
Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM)

Materials Used
Thermoplastics (e.g. PLA, ABS), HDPE, E
utectic metals, Modelling clay, RTV
silicone, Porcelain, Metal clay

Electron Beam Freeform

Fabrication(EBF)/ Direct Metal Laser
Sintering (DMLS)
Electron Beam Melting (EBM)
Selective Laser Melting (SLM)
Selective Heat Sintering (SHS)
Plaster Based 3D Printing (PP)
Laminated Object
Manufacturing (LOM)
Stereolithography (SLA)/ Digital Light
Processing (DLP)
Selective Laser Sintering (SLS)

Almost any metal alloy

Titanium alloys
Titanium alloys, Cobalt Chrome
alloys, Stainless Steel, Aluminium
Thermoplastic powder
Plaster
Paper, metal foil, plastic film
Photopolymer

Table III: FDM Thermoplastics3

Materials
Key Characteristics
ABS-M30,
Versatile, Tough
ABS Plus
Electrostatic
ABS-ESD7 discharge
resistant
ABS-M30i
Biocompatible
ABSi
Translucent
PC
Strong(tension)
PC-ABS
Strong (impact)
PC-ISO
Biocompatible
ULTEM
Mechanically well9085
rounded. FST
PPSF
Resistant
(thermal/chemical)

Thermoplastics, metal powders, ceramic

powders

2.3 Recent Trends and Applications

Additive manufacturing is a fast-moving industry that is currently generating significant attention in the
popular media and it will be the future of manufacturing. A number of recent trends indicate that the field is
still rapidly developing with new markets emerging, patents expiring, and international interest growing.
Newer devices print at higher resolutions and have become progressively cheaper. At the same time, 3D
media has moved beyond plastic into polycarbonate, rubber, resins, and even chocolate and metals. In some
industries, 3D printing has shifted from prototypes to direct part production, also known as direct digital
manufacturing, the technology is being applied to short production runs. Much of the work already done, 3D
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printing is focused on creating robotics, and this eld will no doubt profit enormously from 3D printing
because inventors can rene parts over several iterations in inexpensive media.
The most inspiring use of 3D printing is in the healthcare industry; where 3D printing has the potential to
save lives or dramatically improve them. 3D printing could create an exact model of a scanned tumour or an
injured joint so doctors could more easily consider how to address such problems before surgery. 3D
printing in healthcare still has some years to go before mass adoption, but early developments to create
tissue, organs, bones and prosthetic devices provide a glimpse of how lives may be improved.
In the future, it may be possible for the military to print replacement parts on the battlefield instead of
relying on limited spares or the supply chain2. While this will still some time away. Like many industries,
aerospace is leveraging 3D printing to improve the performance of assets, reducing maintenance
requirements, consolidating components and saving fuel costs with lighter parts. For years, major automotive
manufacturers have been using 3D printing for prototyping. However, the automotive industry is poised to
begin applying the process to more than just prototypes of small custom parts such as fuel injectors, nozzles.
2.4 Challenges of 3D Printing
Despite significant progress in the field of 3D printing, a number of technical challenges remain. Issues
such as material characterization, achieving better material properties and availability, among many others,
have been identified by various groups as areas for improvement. Engineers and designers cannot design
without fully understanding the properties of the materials used to manufacture the parts being designed. If
the properties for AM materials are not available, designers will not consider additive manufacturing as a
method of manufacturing5.
To move from an imagined item to a completed 3D model using this technology might require modelling
software and its knowledge which are quite expensive, which could present an obstacle for some users. The
technology might also raise new questions about intellectual property6 and safety because explosives and
weapons can also made by this techniques without any license. The ability to duplicate and distribute
electronic specications for commercial products could create a market for pirated specs. Just as digital
content creates broad opportunities for copyright violations, 3D printing could open the door to patent
infringement.
3. CONCLUSION
Over the past three decades, additive manufacturing has emerged from its early days as a prototyping
process into a set of advanced processes that are becoming increasingly accessible to businesses, government
organizations, and individual consumers. Although the industry has grown significantly in recent years,
opportunities remain for advancing the state of additive manufacturing especially in advancement in
materials that can be used in 3D printing. Though a wide range of homogenous and heterogeneous material
mixtures have been employed in additive manufacturing, there is still a need for developing additional
materials. This includes a better understanding of the processing-structure-property relationships of materials
that are already in use to help understand their limitations and benefits. Furthermore, there is demand for
developing testing procedures and methods of qualification to help expand the variety of materials available.
4. REFERENCES
1. 3D printing with FDM: How it Works by Joe Hiemenz, Stratasys, Inc.
2. 3D printing and the future of manufacturing by Vivek Srinivasan & Jarrod Bassan, CSC LEF.
3. Thermoplastics: The best choice for 3D printing by Fred Fischer, Stratasys, Inc.
4. Additive Manufacturing or 3D printing: www.wikipedia.org
5. Additive Manufacturing: Status and Opportunities, March 2012, Science and Technology Policy Institute.
6. Intellectual Property Magazine, April 2013.
7. 3D printing and the future of stuff by Catherine Jewell, WIPO.
8. Enhancing the Design Process with 3D Printing, Dimension white paper, Stratasys, Inc.
9. 3D Polymer Printing with Desktop Inkjet Technology by S. Karsten Bleech, Marisa Santos.
10. Printed Optics: 3D Printing of Embedded Optical Elements for Interactive Devices by Karl D.D. Willis,
Eric Brockmeyer, Scott E. Hudson, Ivan Poupyrev.