An Introduction to 3D Printing

This book is aimed at an audience consisting of two kinds of readers. The first is people who are curious about 3D printing and want more information without necessarily getting deeply into it. For this audience, the first two chapters will be of greatest interest. They provide an overview of 3D print technology. They also serve to take the confusion out of the jargon and make sense out of such shortcuts as SLA, FFM, FFF, FDM, DLP, LOM, SLM, DMLS, SLS, EBM, EBAM, CAD and others. They describe the basic processes, the materials used and the application of the technology in industry, space, medicine, housing, clothing and consumer-oriented products such as jewelry, video game figures, footwear, tools and what must now seem like an infinity of bunnies, eagles and busts of Star Wars and Star Trek figurines in a dazzling array of colors.

This book also addresses the needs of people new to the field who require information in a hurry. Chapter 3 serves as a guide to generating a 3D model by reviewing scanning methodology, the various types of software available to create a model and the steps needed to insure a useful printed object from the 3D model. The chapter has numerous references which, together with the information in the text, will help one find quickly any additional information available on the internet.

Victoria E. Zukas received her bachelor’s degree in Interactive Media and Game Development in 2009 from Worcester Polytechnic Institute. She completed her Masters of Professional Studies in Digital Media in 2013 at Northeastern University. She has spent her time since then working as a Freelance Graphic Designer on a number of projects. Her background is mainly focused on creating 3D models for video games. Her published game BLASTiators can be found on the Google Play store.

Jonas A. Zukas, received his doctorate in engineering mechanics from the University of Arizona. He is widely known for his work in numerical modeling of the behavior of structures and materials at high rates of strain. He has co-authored and edited a number of books and conference proceedings and is the author of the monograph Introduction to Hydrocodes published by Elsevier. He is co-developer of the ZeuS code for the analysis of impact phenomena and was a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, a Senior Member of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and a member of the American Academy of Mechanics

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 An Overview of Three-Dimensional (3D) Printing
Chapter 2 Applications of 3D Printing
Chapter 3 Creating a Three-Dimensional Model: Scanning, Software and Hardware
Chapter 4 3D Printing Without a 3D Printer
Chapter 5 Create Your Own 3D Model