Date
5 Jun 2021
Webinar on 3D Printing Technology
Resource Person : Dr.Raghaveendra K
Date : 5th June 2021
Participants : IV ECE, III ECE and II ECE Students
Outcome of the Program :
The webinar on “3 D Printing Technology” was conducted by Dr.Raghaveendra. Dr.Raghaveendra currently working as an associate professor in jyothi institute of technology and is in charge of CIIRC which is a research incubation center.
3D printing or additive manufacturing is a process of making three dimensional solid objects from a digital file. The creation of a 3D printed object is achieved using additive processes. In an additive process an object is created by laying down successive layers of material until the object is created. Each of these layers can be seen as a thinly sliced cross-section of the object. 3D printing is the opposite of subtractive manufacturing which is cutting out / hollowing out a piece of metal or plastic with for instance a milling machine. 3D printing enables you to produce complex shapes using less material than traditional manufacturing methods. It all starts with a 3D model. You can opt to create one from the ground up or download it from a 3D library. There are many different software tools available. The most recommended software for beginners is Tinker cad. Tinkercad is free and works in your browser, you don’t have to install it on your computer. Tinkercad offers beginner lessons and has a built-in feature to export your model as a printable file e.g .STL or .OBJ. Now that you have a printable file, the next step is to prepare it for your 3D printer. This is called slicing. Slicing basically means slicing up a 3D model into hundreds or thousands of layers and is done with slicing software. Adoption of 3D printing has reached critical mass as those who have yet to integrate additive manufacturing somewhere in their supply chain are now part of an ever-shrinking minority. Where 3D printing was only suitable for prototyping and one-off manufacturing in the early stages, it is now rapidly transforming into a production technology. As it evolves, 3D printing technology is destined to transform almost every major industry and change the way we live, work, and play in the future.
3D printing encompasses many forms of technologies and materials as 3D printing is being used in almost all industries you could think of. It’s important to see it as a cluster of diverse industries with a myriad of different applications.
A few examples:
- – consumer products (eyewear, footwear, design, furniture)
- – industrial products (manufacturing tools, prototypes, functional end-use parts)
- – dental products
- – prosthetics
- – architectural scale models & maquettes
- – reconstructing fossils
- – replicating ancient artefacts
- – reconstructing evidence in forensic pathology
- – movie props
From the above discussion we can easily identify the immense possibilities available for 3 D printing technology scenario in our country. The speaker also welcomed the students to visit their incubation center to obtain an in-depth working knowledge of the technology. The webinar session was followed by a Q and A session where the students interacted with the speaker.