First experimental set-ups and early machine concept developments in Additive Manufacturing go back to the 60s and 70s of the 20th century. The Additive Manufacturing market landscape has changed over the last decades. It all started with the invention of the Stereolithography process by Charles Hull. This Invention can be declared as the point of origin for the polymer AM market as well as the entire AM market.
Material Jetting, sold under the brand name of PolyJet, allows high accuracy and detail. This process enables the combination of separate materials with different characteristics in one process.
Pellet based Material Extrusion is a modification of Filament based Material Extrusion. The two technologies only differ regarding the used feedstock form and the extrusion principle. These differences also affect the potential uses of the technologies. While filament is generally used for small and medium size parts, Pellet based ME can output higher volumes of 10x or 100x or more to create large parts. But not only the higher throughput and speed are a decision factors, also the pellet feedstock is considerably lower in cost than filament.
Continuous Fiber Material Extrusion is a modification of Filament Based Material Extrusion. In addition to the use of thermoplastic material a continuous fiber is used to increase the mechanical properties of the produced part. This technology nowadays supplied by several suppliers such as MARKFORGED, ANISOPRINT and DESKTOP METAL.
Material Extrusion, also known as Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) or Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF), was developed and patented by STRATASYS in the early days of Additive Manufacturing. After the patent expired in 2009, this technology played a major role in the development of the consumer 3D printing market as well as the expansive adoption of Additive Manufacturing in the industry.
Area-wise Vat Polymerization, known also as Digital Light Processing or DLP, is a modification of Vat Polymerization. Instead of selective curing of a photopolymer by laser, a UV projector is used that cures an entire layer at once. This technology was first introduced by ENVISIONTEC and its founder Al Siblani.
Nowadays this process is especially popular in the medial sector. Dental aligners, hearing aids and other customized products are produced via this technology in high numbers and take advantage of the accuracy and speed of this technology.
Vat Polymerization also known as Stereolithography (SLA) is the origin of the 3D printing technology. Variations of the process have been developed over the last 40 Years to increase the efficiency and the accuracy of the process. Especially the medical sector is taking advantage of the various polymerization processes.
