What is large format AM?
Currently available 3D printers are designed for making smaller parts used in automobiles, jewellery, aerospace etc. However, in the past few years, we’ve seen the advent of large-scale 3D printing of parts more than the one-meter size to tens of meters. Large-format additive manufacturing is one of the technologies to overcome the manufacturer's constraints regarding the production of large-size components. Parts of considerable size such as space rockets are large, heavy and complex in design and needed large manufacturing toolings and holding fixtures for production. Resulting in longer manufacturing lead times and higher production costs.
Additive manufacturing could come to the rescue of the manufacturers while producing large-size components at much lesser cost & faster lead time. The key advantage of additive manufacturing is that it can easily create objects of complex geometrical designs without the additional requirements of extra fixtures and tooling leading to lightweight structures, simplifying the assembly process and improving product performance.
Various large-format printers
BAAM (Big Area Additive Manufacturing)
BAAM system is one of the early AM machines available commercially developed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory in partnership with Cincinnati Inc USA. It's an FDM/FFF type 3D printer capable of printing large-size (up to 6x2.4x2m) objects in thermoplastics like ABS, PLA, polycarbonate, PEEK etc and at a faster rate. It has an extruder mounted on a large gantry which locates the extruder nozzle in x, y & z directions. Automotive parts, furniture items, cement casting molds and other large-scale public art could be created with this printer.
LSAM (Large Scale Additive Manufacturing)
LSAM is another polymer-based large format additive manufacturing system offered by thermwood based on FFF/FDM type extrusion process. It creates part in near net shape which can be machined to its final desired s
3D SculpLab