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Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM)
works by extruding a thermoplastic material and depositing
it layer-by-layer and fusing it to the layer beneath it, to
form a
3D
model.
A plastic filament is unwound from a coil and
supplies material to an extrusion nozzle. The nozzle is
heated to melt the
material and can be moved in both horizontal and vertical
directions.
The
entire system is contained within a chamber which is held at
a temperature just below the melting point of the plastic.
FDM prototyping creates accurate, functional prototypes
using high-performance engineering materials like ABS.
Many FDM techniques use two materials in the
course of constructing parts. The first material is the part
material and the second is the support material (to support
overhanging features during construction). The support
material is later removed by heat or dissolved away with a
solvent or water. |