3D Printing in Schools

FDM machines
The most common technology used in schools is Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM). An extruder rather like a hot glue gun squirts softened polymer onto a base.

Two techniques are used to keep the model warm. Stratasys were the first to market with an FDM machine and patented a heated chamber kept a few degrees below the glass transition temperature of the polymer.

Heating the table is another method of keeping the model warm but can suffer from temperature drop as the build gets taller. FDM machines that aren’t enclosed are also susceptible to changes in room temperature and draughts from doors and windows.

When the material doesn’t bond properly It weakens the model and may ruin the build completely!

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