FDM 3D printers were developed and coined by Stratasys Inc. and consist of a nozzle, a print chamber, and a filament feeding system. The material is guided to an extruder from the feeding system, which is then melted. The nozzle extrudes melted filament onto a build plate in a chamber, creating a 3D-printed model. This process occurs in an isolated chamber that maintains a high temperature. Resulting in a heated build plate in which the material is layered, retaining the material’s mechanical properties and increasing the degree of layer adhesion which helps to reduce warping. The temperature inside a print chamber can be regulated depending on the material used and the device’s operation mode.
In contrast, FFF 3D printers were designed without a print chamber, and budget-friendly FFF printers don’t have a build plate that can be heated. This was done to be as value-engineered and cost-effective as possible. In these devices, the material experiences temperature fluctuations because of exposure to a cold environment during its extrusion onto the build plate. The temperature changes cause the appearance of unwanted residual stresses, reducing its mechanical properties.
As a result, FDM technology has been used to produce high-detail prototypes, whereas hobbyists mainly used FFF-based devices.
This is not the case today.
When the patent expired for FDM in 2009, many brands established themselves by creating machines with the same filament principles that produce high-quality end parts. Some of these brands include Ultimaker, BCN, X,Y or Z, and 3DGence. Today it is possible to find both FDM and FFF machines that produce quality products and are affordable, and these technologies are now considered to be one and the same with no differences.
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