Rapid innovation and adoption of new technologies is driving major improvements in the performance of additive manufacturing (AM), also known as 3D printing. It is believed the Fourth industrial revolution has extensive dependency on fast-paced AM systems. Several 3D printing processes have been invented since its inception which is growing at fast-pace and terminology may be misused, thus creating confusion. We have created a comprehensive list of 3D printing and additive manufacturing related acronyms and terminology.
| Acronym | Description |
|---|---|
3D | Three Dimensional |
3DP | 3D - Printing |
4DP | 4D - Printing |
AM | Additive Manufacturing |
AMF | Additive Manufacturing File format |
BJ | Binder Jetting |
CAD | Computer Aided Design |
CAM | Computer Aided Manufacturing |
CDLP | Continuous Direct Light Processing |
CJP | Color Jet Printing |
CLIP | Continuous Liquid Interface Production |
CNC | Computer Numerical Control |
DALM | Directed Energy Deposition |
DED | Directed Energy Deposition |
DLP | Digital Light Processing |
DMD | Direct Metal Deposition |
DMP | Direct Metal Printing |
DMLS | Direct Metal Laser Sintering |
DOD | Drop On Demand |
EBF | Electron Beam Freeform Fabrication |
EBAM | Electron Beam Additive Manufacturing |
EBM | Electron Beam Melting |
EDM | Electrical Discharge Machining |
FDM | Fused Deposition Modeling |
FFF | Fused Filament Fabrication |
FGF | Fused Granular Fabrication |
FPF | Fused Particle Fabrication |
LAM | Liquid Additive Manufacturing |
LDD | Laser Direct Deposition |
LENS | Laser Engineered Net Shaping |
LMD | Laser Metal Deposition |
LPBF | Laser Powder Bed Fusion |
LOM | Laminated Object Manufacturing |
LS | Laser Sintering |
LSR | Liquid Silicone Rubber |
LWC | Lost Wax Casting |
MJ | Material Jetting |
MJF | Multi Jet Fusion |
MJM | Multi Jet Modeling |
MJP | MultiJet Printing |
NPJ | Nano Particle Jetting |
PBF | Powder Bed Fusion |
PJ | PolyJet |
PU | PolyUrethane |
RE | Reverse Engineering |
RepRap | Replicating Rapid Prototypers |
RM | Rapid Manufacturing |
RP | Rapid Prototyping |
RT | Rapid Tooling |
SDL | Selective Deposition Lamination |
SFF | Solid Freeform Fabrication |
SLA | Stereolithography |
SHS | Selective Heat Sintering |
SLM | Selective Laser Melting |
SLS | Selective Laser Sintering |
SM | Subtractive Manufacturing |
SPD | Selective Powder Deposition |
STL | Standard Triangle Language (Stereolithography file format) |
TPE | Thermoplastic Elastomers |
TPU | Thermoplastic Polyurethane |
UAM | Ultrasonic Additive Manufacturing |
VC | Vacuum Casting |
WAAM | Wire Arch Additive Manufacturing |