As the name suggests, the 3D printing process (also called additive manufacturing) involves the use of specialist CAD software and printer which deposits material over a number of layers to create a desired, 3D shape.
3D printing is commonly used in rapid prototyping to test designs as it can quickly “bring designs to life”
Like most normal ink printers, 3D printers use a variety of technologies and come in various shapes and sizes; but they all begin with the creation of a CAD (Computer Aided Design) part which can programmed and sent to the printer to control the movements and deposition layers of the printer.
Simply put, a plastic/polymer (like the ink in a traditional printer) is deposited down (printed) in layers to generate the shape required.
This is the most common type of 3D printing, where a thermoplastic polymer; in a filament form, is heated and deposited through a nozzle, layer by layer, to form the complete shape.
These two processes use photosensitive resins in liquid form, which are then heated with a laser or under UV light, which cures the material into a solid at each point the laser of light hits
This process uses a bed of powdered polymer material, which is then hit by a laser to melt the powder particles and fuse them together to form the solid object.
