What is 3D printing?
posted 07 January 2015 at 16:37:38
3D printing is the process of creating a
three-dimensional, solid object of virtually any shape from a digital model
that has been designed on a computer using special 3D software.
3D output is achieved by using an ‘additive
manufacturing process’, where successive layers of a heated material, such as
plastic or metal, are laid down in different shapes.
To print objects, the 3D printer reads virtual
blueprints from a series of cross-sections in a special 3D computer program and
extrudes (via a nozzle on the 3D printer) layers of plastic or other materials
in a particular sequence to build the 3D object. The layers are then joined
together or are automatically fused and cool to create the final physical
shape.
According to the New Scientist, we are slap bang in the middle of the second industrial revolution
and it’s all thanks to 3D printing. Virtually anything that can be designed on
a computer can now be turned into a physical 3D printed object in a matter of
minutes, hours or days.
The technology has been transformed
since its origins in the 1980s, when it was a tool used almost exclusively by
designers and manufacturers to create rapid prototypes, into something that
opens up a whole new world of business opportunities. This is creativity and
manufacturing at the click of a mouse, rather than as a result of laborious
hammering, soldering, cutting and hours of manual labour. And it is enabling
not just companies but individuals to take their own ideas and turn them into
physical, real products.
Pick up a copy of 3D Create & Print and discover the world of 3D printing for yourself.