FDM uses thermoplastics, plastics that soften when heated and harden again when cooled. The cable-shaped plastic mentioned above is generally called filament. A print is usually made from a single filament, but with several filaments you can make composite-like objects, or print the supports and the object in different filaments. FDM is also known as Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF), and FDM printers are listed under Fused Filament Fabrication on 3Techs.
The nozzle tip is heated to 100 to 250°C to melt the material, which is stacked layer by layer. Common issues are warping when the plastic cools and visible layer lines on each layer.
Features of FDM (advantages and disadvantages)
Here are the advantages and disadvantages of Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM).
Advantages
Advantage 1: Little post-processing
Resin printing and powder sintering need cleaning with organic solvents, or blasting and polishing with glass beads, after printing. Objects taken out of an FDM printer basically need no post-processing. You may sand them to remove burrs or improve their look, but post-processing is much easier than with other methods.
Advantage 2: Strong parts
Filaments that contain carbon fiber are now available. Carbon-filled materials are very strong, and being able to make such strong parts is one of the features of FDM.
Disadvantages
Disadvantage 1: Anisotropic properties
Parts made by FDM are strong within each layer but weak in the stacking direction (the bond between layers is weak), so the finished part is anisotropic. If you know how the part will be loaded, you need to plan how it is oriented when printed.
Disadvantage 2: Warping
Because the plastic is melted with heat, it warps as it hardens. This can be reduced by adjusting how the part is printed.
Fused Filament Fabrication printers on 3Techs
The Fused Filament Fabrication printers listed on 3Techs, with build size, price and other specs side by side.
See all 557 Fused Filament Fabrication printers