A printer is a device that allows printing: stamping or marking a material with graphic characters or letters. The most popular printers are those that connect to a computer (a computer) and are used to print a digital document, such as text or a photograph, on paper.
3D , for its part, refers to the three-dimensional . An element is three-dimensional when it has three dimensions (such as depth, height and width, to name the most common case).
With these ideas clear, we can focus on the definition of a 3D printer . This is the name of the machine that can produce a volumetric part based on a three-dimensional design . These designs, in turn, can be developed with a computer or obtained using a 3D scanner .
3D printers are often used today to manufacture various types of components and parts. One of its most common uses is linked to the production of medical prostheses thanks to the ease of adapting the elements to the particular characteristics of each individual.
Nowadays, 3D printers are increasingly in demand and not only for professional fields but also at a private level. This is because they bring with them a series of notable advantages, among which we can highlight the following:
-They allow you to customize all types of items obtained with them.
-They are very useful when proceeding to shape new jobs and also other forms of business.
-They give the possibility of obtaining the prototype of any element quickly and accurately.
-No less significant is the fact that they greatly facilitate work in certain areas such as, for example, jewelry, since it gives professionals in that sector the opportunity to print their creations in wax and thus already have a mold to carry them out in a more imminent and simple way.
-In the same way, emphasis is placed on the fact that they allow reducing costs in production.
Broadly speaking, these are the main benefits that a 3D printer brings. However, we cannot ignore that it also has its disadvantages. Specifically, among the most significant are the following:
-The cost of this type of peripheral is still very high and, therefore, it is not affordable for everyone.
-A 3D printer can be misused or dangerous. Thus, for example, it can be used to shape any type of weapon.
-Objects can be replicated without respecting copyright.
According to their technology , 3D printers use different processes to print. Among them, the one that stands out is carried out by accumulating layers of powder of various metals, which are fused together with a laser. It can also be printed by compacting powder layers or through polymer injection.
Once the print is complete, the user removes the part created with the 3D printer. The result is a homogeneous product , without traces of the layers that composed it in the preceding stages.