3D Printing (FDM / Resin SLA)

3D 打印（FDM / 光固化）Common

Building a part by depositing material layer by layer — the go-to lab tool for fast grippers and mounts.

3D printing is an additive-manufacturing method that builds parts directly, one layer at a time. FDM (fused deposition modeling) heats and extrudes plastic filament — PLA, PETG, nylon — and stacks it layer by layer; it's cheap and good for structural parts. Resin printing (SLA/LCD) cures liquid resin layer by layer with light, giving finer surface detail and higher precision, though the resulting parts tend to be more brittle. Embodied-AI labs commonly use it to quickly make gripper fingertips, camera mounts, handheld data-collection rigs, and parts for open-source robot arms, so a design revision can be printed and tested the same day. Many open-source hardware projects ship printable model files directly, ready to assemble with off-the-shelf servos or motors.

ExampleThe structural parts of LeRobot's SO-100/SO-101 arms and the UMI handheld gripper are both printed on desktop FDM printers.

Also called: Additive Manufacturing, FDM, SLA
Related: Open-Source Hardware (OSHW) · SO-100 / SO-101 Arm · LEAP Hand · Universal Manipulation Interface · Gripper · CAD Software (SolidWorks / Onshape / Fusion 360)
Sources: Wikipedia: 3D printing
Wikipedia: Fused filament fabrication