Chapter 9: Sticking in 3D

3D printing is exciting, fascinating and is not ready to take over the world. Whichever method you choose, the adhesion challenges are similar. If you take your time as you create each bit of the structure, you can get strong bonds and high resolution – but throughput is unacceptable. If you create a structure at high speed, it is likely to be weak (obviously weak or with built-in weak points) and low resolution. In some cases you can create a weak structure relatively quickly then strengthen it via a post cure in UV light or via a thermal baking cycle. A theme throughout the book that particles can be loosely joined then “sintered” together at a temperature well below their melting point is discussed in more detail because sintering is at the heart of making “real” parts to be used in challenging environments such as turbines. Because everyone wants 3D printing, new techniques emerge regularly. We are beginning to be able to print parts for our own bodies. Whatever the technique, adhesion is a property of the system and a 3D print is a complex system which needs to be considered as a whole.