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Additive manufacturing and 3D printing for prototype design of PCB and electronic products
If you say the word "3D printing" to most people, it will remind people of using a machine that looks nothing like a desktop printer to deposit plastic spool images. This technology has a history of about 30 years, but with the passage of time, the range of systems and useful materials has gradually expanded.
After being adopted by the industry, 3D printing now forms the cornerstone of a larger field of additive manufacturing, and some distinction must be made between the two. The following will introduce in detail the additive manufacturing and printing. 3D, and how these processes can be combined to achieve faster prototype design of PCB and electronic products.
Additive manufacturing and 3D printing: are there differences?
3D printing and additive manufacturing are often considered synonymous. These two terms refer to the process of creating components through additive manufacturing process. Usually (but not always) materials are added selectively, one layer at a time. This is in sharp contrast to the traditional reduction manufacturing process, in which the components are manufactured by removing materials from the workpiece or injecting materials into the mold.
Despite semantic disputes, there are some differences between 3D printing and additive manufacturing. 3D printing involves depositing material onto the substrate or as a separate component. With PCB, each layer is mapped from the EDA model.
Additive manufacturing includes 3D printing as the core process, but it needs other processes to supplement 3D printing for manufacturing a wider range of products.
Manufacturing engineers who are considering supplementing or replacing traditional manufacturing processes should understand the current additive manufacturing processes and the range of products they can be used for manufacturing. If you are building a prototype for a new product, selecting the appropriate additive manufacturing system and process can produce components that closely match the components produced by traditional processes in a shorter time and at a competitive cost.