Oriented toward the practitioner, this book presents a clear overview of
additive manufacturing, going from the basics to the properties and
special aspects of industrially available machines. From the generation
of data to the forming method, the complete process chain is shown in a
practical light. In particular, the following additive manufacturing
technologies are discussed extensively: - Polymerization (e.g.,
stereolithography) - Sintering and melting (e.g., laser sintering) -
Layer laminate method (e.g., laminated object manufacturing, LOM) -
Extrusion (e.g., fused deposition modeling, FDM) - 3D printing
Applications for the production of models and prototypes (rapid
prototyping), tools, tool inserts, and forms (rapid tooling) as well as
end products (rapid manufacturing) are covered in detailed chapters with
examples. Questions of efficiency are discussed from a strategic point
of view and also from an operational perspective. This book supports
product developers and people responsible for production who face the
challenges of implementing additive manufacturing not just for
prototypes or one-off parts but for its increasingly important
application in direct production of finished products. The method not
only reduces the demands on industrial infrastructure but also opens up
new perspectives in terms of decentralized production and customer
inclusive individualized production (customization, cyberproduction).
