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Metal 3D Printer｜Glossary｜Advanced Manufacturing Business Unit and Next Generation Project Division, Nikon Corporation
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In contrast to a regular inkjet printer, which ejects ink onto paper creating an image in two dimensions, a metal 3D printer creates objects by layering metal powder and other materials in three dimensions based on computer-aided-design (CAD) data.</div> <div class="sec__text">A key advantage of metal 3D printers (also called 3D metal printers) is that they can create three-dimensional objects having structures that cannot be easily made using other manufacturing methods.</div> <div class="sec__text">There are a variety of methods used in metal 3D printing. Some common methods are Powder Bed Fusion (PBF), whereby a fine layer of metal powder is spread and then irradiated with thermal energy from a laser or electron beam to melt and solidify it; Direct Energy Deposition (DED), whereby metal powder is injected through a nozzle and layered while irradiating with thermal energy; and Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) or Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF), whereby a filament made of metal powder mixed with resin is extruded through a nozzle.</div> <div class="sec__text">Since accuracy and cost differ depending on the particular method used, it is necessary to understand the characteristics of each method and select the most appropriate one for the three-dimensional object to be modeled.</div> <h3 class="glossary__h3">Synonym</h3> <div class="sec__text">3D Metal Printer / Metal 3D Printing</div> <h3 class="glossary__h3">Related terms</h3> <div class="sec__text">Industrial 3D Printer / <a class="link-glossary" href="/en/glossary/additive-manufacturing.html">Additive Manufacturing</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="sec other"> <h2 class="sec__h2">Related solutions</h2><a class="overview__panel" href="/en/additive-manufacturing/overview.html"><img class="overview__panel-img overview__panel-img--pc object-fit" src="/img/solution/mm/overview_mm.png" alt="Additive manufacturing"><img class="overview__panel-img overview__panel-img--tb object-fit" src="/img/solution/mm/overview_mm.png" alt="Additive manufacturing"> <div class="overview__panel-detail"> <div class="overview__panel-title">Flexible manufacturing using light</div> <div class="overview__panel-text">Nikon has realized additive manufacturing using a laser with the con…</div> <div class="overview__panel-btn"><span>See Details</span></div> </div></a> </div> <div class="sec other"> <h2 class="sec__h2">Related cases</h2> <div class="case__card"> <div class="other__card-item -text"><a href="/en/additive-manufacturing/repair.html"> <div class="case__card-title -flex"><img class="case__card-title-icon" src="/img/common/icon_link.svg" alt="">Repair of existing part</div></a></div> <div class="other__card-item -text"><a href="/en/additive-manufacturing/laminated-modeling.html"> <div class="case__card-title -flex"><img class="case__card-title-icon" src="/img/common/icon_link.svg" alt="">Additive manufacturing on existing part</div></a></div> <div class="other__card-item -text"><a href="/en/additive-manufacturing/function-imparting-modeling.html"> <div class="case__card-title -flex"><img class="case__card-title-icon" src="/img/common/icon_link.svg" alt="">Function-adding modeling</div></a></div> </div> </div> <div class="sec other"> <h2 class="other__title">Related products</h2> <div class="other__card"> <div class="other__card-item"><a href="/en/product/laser-processing-machine/lasermeister100a.html"><img class="other__card-img" src="/img/product/img_100a.png" alt="Metal Additive Manufacturing System Lasermeister 100A series"> <div class="other__card-txetaria"> <div class="other__card-title -flex"> <img class="other__card-title-icon" src="/img/common/icon_link.svg" alt="">Metal Additive Manufacturing System Lasermeister 100A series</div> </div></a></div> </div> </div> <div class="share"> <div class="share-inner"> <div class="share__text">Share this page</div> <div class="share__link"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https://ngpd.nikon.com/en/glossary/metal-3d-printer.html" target="_blank"><img src="/img/common/share_fb.svg" alt="facebook"></a><a href="https://twitter.com/share?url=https://ngpd.nikon.com/en/glossary/metal-3d-printer.html" target="_blank"><img src="/img/common/share_tw.svg" alt="Twitter"></a><a href="http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://ngpd.nikon.com/en/glossary/metal-3d-printer.html" target="_blank"><img src="/img/common/share_in.svg" alt="linkedin"></a></div> </div> </div> <div class="sec"> <ul class="index-list index-list--alphabet"> <li 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