What is 3D Printing?

The 3D printing processes used by 3D Avionics are Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) and Multi-Jet Fusion (MJF).

SLS employs a laser to scan across a uniformly heated bed of white thermoplastic powdered Nylon to fuse it (sintering). Another fine layer of powder is then precision swept on top and the laser scans this too; this is repeated layer upon layer until the build is complete.

MJF similarly uses a heated bed of white powdered Nylon, but instead jets dark fusing and detailing agents that on exposure to an infra-red source fuses the jetted powder together. Layers are then built up in the same repetitive fashion as for SLS.

Each process has unique features that determine which is selected for a given component design.

With either process the powdered Nylon acts as both build and support material. As a result the reproduction tolerances are much tighter than that achieved by cheaper Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) systems and without the drawbacks of other technologies that use materials that can be UV, solvent or temperature intolerant.

The material used for manufactured components is either PA12 or PA2200 Nylon that is then vibro-polished and dyed carbon black.

This gives a finish texture similar to an ‘Extra Strong Mint’ with a tolerance of +/- 0.3 mm, or 0.3% of the dimension, whichever is greater. It’s fuel, oil and UV tolerant and is a UK minor modification approved material for our mounting plates.

As with any layer additive process there can be some horizontal stratification apparent on a given surface, but with careful design this can be minimised and further diminished by vibro-polishing.

Engraved text is infilled using a white polymer providing a durable finish that can be refreshed.

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