3D Printing – The basics

There are many different steps in the 3D printing process, and no matter what some people believe, it’s simply not a case of showing the printer a picture and telling it to go and make it. A 3D printer needs a model to print – a 3D object created as a 3D drawing. The computer recognizes this file type and then ‘slices’ the model into sections, which is printed one on top of another to build the model up from the bottom. For some prototypes or products, there will need to be ‘floating’ sections of a model, and in this case, the printer will build in temporary supports to ensure that even the most complex models can be printed. It’s an extremely clever device and even though 3D printing has lost its novelty factor recently, it’s still an incredible concept and it’s only going to improve over the coming years.