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Industrial PBF Process Comparison

Scaffold

This MicroSim has been scaffolded from its specification. The interactive implementation has not been built yet.

Learning Objective

Compare SLS, MJF, DMLS, and EBM on energy source, material, atmosphere, and application (Bloom L4: differentiate, compare, contrast).

  • Bloom Level: TBD
  • Bloom Verb: TBD
  • Library: p5.js

Preview

Run MicroSim in Fullscreen

Specification

The full specification below is extracted from Chapter 2: AM Standards, Process Families, and Industrial AM.

Type: interactive-infographic
**sim-id:** industrial-pbf-comparison<br/>
**Library:** p5.js<br/>
**Status:** Specified

**Learning objective:** Compare SLS, MJF, DMLS, and EBM on energy source, material, atmosphere, and application (Bloom L4: differentiate, compare, contrast).

**Description:** A 2 × 2 interactive grid displaying SLS, MJF, DMLS, and EBM as four equal quadrant panels. Each panel shows:
- Process acronym (large, bold) and full name (smaller)
- Energy source icon (laser = yellow beam, IR lamp array = orange wave, electron beam = blue lightning)
- Material icon (polymer powder = yellow granules, metal powder = gray granules)
- Atmosphere icon (inert gas = cloud, vacuum = empty ring)
- One key application example (text)

**Canvas size:** 700 × 480 px, responsive (2 × 2 on wide screens, stacked 1-column on narrow screens).

**Interactions:**
- Clicking any quadrant panel expands it to full-width detail view showing:
  - Full process description (3–4 sentences)
  - Energy source with wattage range
  - Typical materials (bulleted list)
  - Atmosphere requirement
  - Build volume range (example machine)
  - Key advantage and key limitation
  - Representative end-use applications
  - "Back" button to return to grid
- A "Compare Mode" toggle at top: when active, clicking a second panel places both detail views side-by-side for direct comparison.
- Hovering any panel highlights it with a bright border and shows a tooltip with the process's one-sentence definition.

**Color coding:** SLS = green-toned, MJF = blue-toned, DMLS = orange-toned, EBM = purple-toned.