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What is Additive Manufacturing?

What is 3D printing or additive manufacturing? Watch professor Brecht Van Hooreweder explain more.

Most probably you have heard about 3D printing technology or additive manufacturing technology before. But what is 3D printing exactly? And what is additive manufacturing? And how are they different from traditional manufacturing technologies?

Additive manufacturing (AM) is defined as “a process of joining materials to make objects from 3D model data, usually layer upon layer”. Additive manufacturing is also called by different names such as 3D printing, rapid prototyping, rapid manufacturing, freeform fabrication, additive fabrication, etc. In this course we will mainly use the term Additive Manufacturing and 3D printing, but keep in mind that they both mean the same.

In the video, professor Brecht Van Hooreweder illustrates the difference between additive manufacturing and the more traditional subtractive manufacturing technologies.

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Introduction to Metal Additive Manufacturing (AM) Technology

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