The development and application of 3D printing technology

Abstract

3D printing technology is known as the pioneer of the new rapid prototyping technology in the 21st century, and extensive attention has been received from all over the world. In just 30 years or so, 3D printing companies like 3Dsystems have emerged one after another, trying to get a share of this technology that can subvert traditional industries and bring more possibilities to future technology. In this paper, the development process of 3D printing in the world were introduced, from the invention of FDM，SLA, SLS technologies, to the skilled application of various technologies in different fields. Subsequently, this article combined the development and situation of 3D printing in the author's country, China, to make an analysis and a simple comparison. It was found that there is still a certain gap in the world level, and the reasons were also found out. As an advanced additive manufacturing technology, 3D printing has had a very significant impact on industrial manufacturing, biological engineering, educational services, artistic creation, architectural design, aerospace and many other fields. Especially in biological medicine, taking the COVID19 as an example, the application of 3D printing in clinical medicine in China was introduced. As well as aerospace, China has achieved surpassing and leading level in some aspects.

Based on macroscopic 3D printing, combined with the author's own understanding, the principle analysis and 3D printing technology process dismantling were carried out, and the comparison with the traditional manufacturing industry were carried out. Based on microscopic 3D printing, many classifications were involved. This paper picked out three of the most common 3D printing technologies, their working principles, printing equipment and materials were briefly explained, their pros and cons were discussed , and the key structures of FDM commercial printers were analyzed. At the same time, according to the data of authoritative websites, the development speed and general trend of different countries were compared to analyze the overall economic benefits of the 3D printing industry and find out the possible development direction and market in the future. Through the SWOT analysis method, the application of 3D printing technology in different fields, the advantages and opportunities of 3D printing, possible problems and threats to the society were introduced, a long-term plan for the future development of the 3D printing industry were made, and constructive suggestions were proposed.