How does 3D printing actually work?
In: Technology
Imagine painting a shape a thick layer of paint, letting it dry, and then painting another layer on top of it. Soon enough you would have it lifting off the page and making a shape in 3D.
3D printing is basically the same thing, except it uses melted plastic instead of paint. You run the 3D model you want through special software that slices up the model into layers, and then one by one each of those layers are printed on top of each-other.
**Extra info:** Some printers (FDM) print like I described above while some print upside down, where instead of adding each new layer on top, the model is instead lifted out of a bin of liquid resin where each layer is added by a laser solidifying the next layer of resin beneath it (stereolithography). FDM is the more common method though.
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