The CAD file is converted into a standard triangulation language (STL) file.
3 The market for additive manufacturing has grown by 35.2% to $4.1 billion in 2014 and is expected to become a $20.2 billion global industry by the end of the decade. 2 It remained a technology with relatively restricted use until the expiration of a key patent in 2009, but since then there has been a significant increase within the manufacturing industry as well the consumer market because of the ability to easily create unique bespoke one-off objects.
1 Developed in the early 1980s, 3D printing converts computer-assisted design (CAD) into a physical object in a single process ( Fig. Introduction In recent years additive manufacturing, or 3D printing as it is more commonly known, has gained significant interest and has been spoken of as a third industrial revolution.
It discusses current achievements and limitations, and opportunities for advancement to reach 3D printing's full potential. This critical review covers the current state of 3D printing for microfluidics, focusing on the four most frequently used printing approaches: inkjet (i3DP), stereolithography (SLA), two photon polymerisation (2PP) and extrusion printing (focusing on fused deposition modeling). The ability to fabricate a complete microfluidic device in a single step from a computer model has obvious attractions, but it is the ability to create truly three dimensional structures that will provide new microfluidic capability that is challenging, if not impossible to make with existing approaches. 3D printing has the potential to significantly change the field of microfluidics.