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Q
What is the difference between SLA and FDM?
ASLA : Stereolithography
SLA is a form of additive manufacturing technology used for creating models, prototypes and production parts in a layer by layer fashion using photopolymerization, a process by which light causes chains of molecules to link together forming polymers.
FDM : Fused Deposition Modelling
This is the type of printer that is most common as it is cheap and can be readily made with a few simple parts.
It works by heating up a piece of plastic and forcing it out of a small hole in the same manner as toothpaste.
Imagine drawing a picture with just a tube of toothpaste by squeezing a line out and going forwards, backwards, left and right only.
Let that first picture harden and then do the same again slightly higher with the next layer of the part you wish to build.
The plastic mentioned above is referred to as filament and can come in a variety of materials, textures and colours.
Different materials can be used for different applications.
Wood, plastic, metal and rubber type materials are all used by 3D printers. -
Q
What is Metal 3D Printing?
A3Dprinting is a way to prototype parts rapidly in which a real object is created from a 3D design.
The digital 3D model can be saved in a variety of standard formats including STL and OBJ and then uploaded to a 3D printer for processing. The 3D printer then prints the design layer by layer and forms a real object.