Protocols for 3D-printing pieces by fused deposition modeling for research purposes: from modeling to post-printing treatment

Abstract

Additive manufacturing or 3D-printing is a revolutionary technique for prototyping and building objects for final use. Since the first registers at ~1890 the improved technology has boosted the applications of such technique, decreasing its market price. The most affordable 3D-print technique is Fuse Deposition Modeling (FDM), which is based on a layer-by-layer deposition of a fused polymer on a cooled table. Although FDM has been used by industrials, students and researchers, there are few published protocols dealing with small challenges and daily problems. Here we use a basic object to detail pre- and post-printing steps. This technical note offers the reader tools to model, print and treat the 3D-object. We point out basic challenges, such as positioning the objects on the virtual table of the slicing software, that may lead towards undesirable printed pieces. The protocols described here do not cover the uncountable possibilities of 3D-printing by FDM, but surely help researchers and industrials to start working with it.   DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.30609/JETI.2020-8625