Commercial Applications
FDM, a prominent form of rapid prototyping, is used for prototyping and rapid manufacturing. Rapid prototyping facilitates iterative testing, and for very short runs, rapid manufacturing can be a relatively inexpensive alternative.
FDM uses the thermoplastics ABS, ABSi, polyphenylsulfone (PPSF), polycarbonate (PC), and Ultem 9085, among others. These materials are used for their heat resistance properties. Ultem 9085 also exhibits fire retardancy making it suitable for aerospace and aviation applications.
FDM is also used in prototyping scaffolds for medical tissue engineering applications.
Disney has experimented in using FDM to print internal light guides for illuminated toys.
Read more about this topic: Fused Deposition Modeling
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