3D printers

  3D printing is a process of making three dimensional solid objects from a digital file. The creation of 3D printed object is achieved using additive processes. In an additive process an object is created by laying down successive layers of material until the entire object is created. Each of these layers can be seen as a thinly sliced horizontal cross-section of the eventual project. It all starts with making a virtual design of the object you want to create. This virtual design is made in a CAD (Computer Aided Design) file using a 3D modeling program or with the use of a 3D scanner. A 3D scanner makes a 3D digital copy of an object. To prepare a digital file for printing, the 3D modeling software “slices” the final model into hundreds or thousands of horizontal layers. When the sliced file is uploaded in a 3D printer, the object can be created layer by layer. The 3D printer reads every slice and creates the object, blending each layer with hardly any visible sign of the layers, with as a result the three dimensional object.