3D Printing Equipment

Three-dimensional printing, also known as additive manufacturing (AM), employs a print deposition process to fabricate a solid object from a digital software file. A 3D printer processes the computer-aided drafting (CAD) graphics file, dividing it into "slices" that the printer uses to build the object onto a platform, or scaffold, from the bottom-up. These layers are applied using different methods and materials, including UV-cured photopolymer thermoplastics, metal laser sintering, powders, liquids, foods, biologics and textiles.

Until recently, this technology was primarily used to create stereolithography apparatus (SLA) prototypes for manufacturers: product samples, machine tooling, jigs and fixtures. It's a relatively inexpensive way for engineers to quickly evaluate and test a single conceptual model that closely represents the finished, mass-produced, product. Today, 3D printing is used for an ever-growing list of items in the fields of medicine, dentistry, aerospace/defense, entertainment, architecture and academia. Products are being created for direct applications, as in prosthetic limbs, as well as research purposes such as organs used for pharmaceutical drug investigations.

The products below were selected with these unique applications in mind. Filtered work stations and platforms maintain dust-free and vibration-free environments to safeguard workers, as well as the 3D-printing processes. See Terra's selection of vacuum and desiccator solutions for moisture-sensitive materials. Store works-in-progress, and heat-seal with nitrogen purge for maximum protection. Printed compounds requiring drying cycles may require a high-precision laboratory oven. Find personal protective garb and cleaning supplies to attend to particle generation.