Component Replication using 3D Printing Technology

In our daily life, the safety plays a vital role to safeguard many important things, which include money, gold, documents, etc. The most common form of security is the age old lock and key system. The diversity that exists in the world today among peoples professions raises the need for multiple duplicate keys. 3D printing, a rapidly growing innovative methodology of Additive Manufacturing Technology, allows the mass production of required profiles in a fast and cost-effective manner. MakerBot Replicator 2X Experimental 3D printer uses the Fused Deposition Melting (FDM) method to produce components with Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) material. This paper presents an innovative methodology to create an accurate duplicate of a key. This methodology can be extended to print any component. (C) 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license.