{"id":2988,"date":"2020-09-29T18:36:01","date_gmt":"2020-09-29T18:36:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/volksswitch.org\/?page_id=2988"},"modified":"2024-02-02T19:17:51","modified_gmt":"2024-02-03T02:17:51","slug":"what-is-3d-printing","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/volksswitch.org\/index.php\/getting-started-with-3d-printing\/what-is-3d-printing\/","title":{"rendered":"What is 3D\u00a0 Printing?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>What is 3D\u00a0 Printing?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The simplest definition of 3D printing that I can think of is: \u201c3D printing takes a digital model and, layer by layer, turns it into a physical object.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A digital model is a virtual object created using specialized software called \u201ccomputer-aided design\u201d, or CAD, software.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In this example, someone has created a virtual rabbit wearing sunglasses:<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #999999;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/volksswitch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Bunny.png?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-3206\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/volksswitch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Bunny.png?resize=525%2C394&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"525\" height=\"394\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/volksswitch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Bunny.png?w=640&amp;ssl=1 640w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/volksswitch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Bunny.png?resize=300%2C225&amp;ssl=1 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 525px) 100vw, 525px\" \/><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p>That digital model is then sliced into a series of horizontal layer by another piece of software called, of all things, a \u201cslicer\u201d program.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/volksswitch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/bunny-layers.png?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-3209\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/volksswitch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/bunny-layers.png?resize=525%2C340&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"525\" height=\"340\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/volksswitch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/bunny-layers.png?w=530&amp;ssl=1 530w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/volksswitch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/bunny-layers.png?resize=300%2C194&amp;ssl=1 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 525px) 100vw, 525px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The slicer then tells a 3D printer to print each layer on top of the previous, starting at the bottom.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"525\" height=\"296\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/z0EUByCJKEU?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<p>A 3D printer uses thermoplastic filament or photo-sensitive resin to create the final physical object.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The instructions can be repeated over and over to create additional copies.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/volksswitch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/printed-bunnies.png?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-3212\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/volksswitch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/printed-bunnies.png?resize=446%2C288&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"446\" height=\"288\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/volksswitch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/printed-bunnies.png?w=446&amp;ssl=1 446w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/volksswitch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/printed-bunnies.png?resize=300%2C194&amp;ssl=1 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 446px) 100vw, 446px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #999999;\"><a style=\"color: #999999;\" href=\"https:\/\/volksswitch.org\/index.php\/getting-started-with-3d-printing\/what-are-the-flavors-of-3d-printing\/\">What are the flavors of 3D printing?<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #999999;\"><a style=\"color: #999999;\" href=\"https:\/\/volksswitch.org\/index.php\/getting-started-with-3d-printing\/who-can-i-turn-to-on-youtube-when-i-want-to-learn-more\/\">Who can I turn to on YouTube when I want to learn more?<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #999999;\"><a style=\"color: #999999;\" href=\"https:\/\/volksswitch.org\/index.php\/getting-started-with-3d-printing\/what-3d-printers-do-you-currently-recommend\/\">What 3D printers do you &#8220;currently&#8221; recommend?<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #999999;\"><a style=\"color: #999999;\" href=\"https:\/\/volksswitch.org\/index.php\/getting-started-with-3d-printing\/what-filaments-do-you-recommend\/\">What filaments do you recommend?<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #999999;\"><a style=\"color: #999999;\" href=\"https:\/\/volksswitch.org\/index.php\/getting-started-with-3d-printing\/how-do-i-obtain-3d-printed-devices-if-i-dont-have-a-3d-printer\/\">How do I obtain 3D-printed devices if I don&#8217;t have a <span style=\"color: #999999;\">3D<\/span> printer?<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #999999;\"><a style=\"color: #999999;\" href=\"https:\/\/volksswitch.org\/index.php\/getting-started-with-3d-printing\/3d-printing-caveats\/\">3D-printing caveats&#8230;<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #999999;\"><a id=\"_idgpn_87\" style=\"color: #999999;\" href=\"https:\/\/volksswitch.org\/index.php\/is-3d-printing-safe\/\">Is 3D-printing safe?<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #999999;\"><a id=\"_idgpn_101\" style=\"color: #999999;\" href=\"https:\/\/volksswitch.org\/index.php\/where-should-i-look-for-things-to-print\/\">Where should I look for things to print?<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #999999;\"><a id=\"_idgpn_103\" style=\"color: #999999;\" href=\"https:\/\/volksswitch.org\/index.php\/how-can-i-start-designing-my-own-3d-objects\/\">How can I start designing my own 3D objects?<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":2904,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"folder":[105],"class_list":["post-2988","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t<!-- All in One SEO 5.0.4 - aioseo.com -->\n\t<meta name=\"description\" content=\"What is 3D Printing? 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In this example, someone has created"},"aioseo_meta_data":{"post_id":"2988","title":null,"description":null,"keywords":[],"keyphrases":{"focus":[],"additional":[]},"primary_term":null,"canonical_url":null,"og_title":null,"og_description":null,"og_object_type":"default","og_image_type":"default","og_image_url":null,"og_image_width":null,"og_image_height":null,"og_image_custom_url":null,"og_image_custom_fields":null,"og_video":"","og_custom_url":null,"og_article_section":null,"og_article_tags":[],"twitter_use_og":false,"twitter_card":"default","twitter_image_type":"default","twitter_image_url":null,"twitter_image_custom_url":null,"twitter_image_custom_fields":null,"twitter_title":null,"twitter_description":null,"schema":{"blockGraphs":[],"customGraphs":[],"default":{"data":{"Article":[],"Course":[],"Dataset":[],"FAQPage":[],"Movie":[],"Person":[],"Product":[],"ProductReview":[],"Car":[],"Recipe":[],"Service":[],"SoftwareApplication":[],"WebPage":[]},"graphName":"WebPage","isEnabled":true},"graphs":[]},"schema_type":"default","schema_type_options":null,"pillar_content":false,"robots_default":true,"robots_noindex":false,"robots_noarchive":false,"robots_nosnippet":false,"robots_nofollow":false,"robots_noimageindex":false,"robots_noodp":false,"robots_notranslate":false,"robots_max_snippet":"-1","robots_max_videopreview":"-1","robots_max_imagepreview":"large","priority":null,"frequency":"default","local_seo":null,"breadcrumb_settings":null,"limit_modified_date":false,"ai":null,"created":"2023-08-01 10:19:07","updated":"2026-08-19 23:12:38","focus_keyword":null,"additional_keywords":null,"truseo_locale":null,"seo_analyzer_scan_date":null},"aioseo_breadcrumb":"<div class=\"aioseo-breadcrumbs\"><span class=\"aioseo-breadcrumb\">\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/volksswitch.org\/\" title=\"Home\">Home<\/a>\n\t\t<\/span><span class=\"aioseo-breadcrumb-separator\">\u00bb<\/span><span class=\"aioseo-breadcrumb\">\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/volksswitch.org\/index.php\/getting-started-with-3d-printing\/\" title=\"Getting Started with 3D Printing\">Getting Started with 3D Printing<\/a>\n\t\t<\/span><span class=\"aioseo-breadcrumb-separator\">\u00bb<\/span><span class=\"aioseo-breadcrumb\">\n\t\t\tWhat is 3D  Printing?\n\t\t<\/span><\/div>","aioseo_breadcrumb_json":[{"label":"Home","link":"https:\/\/volksswitch.org\/"},{"label":"Getting Started with 3D Printing","link":"https:\/\/volksswitch.org\/index.php\/getting-started-with-3d-printing\/"},{"label":"What is 3D\u00a0 Printing?","link":"https:\/\/volksswitch.org\/index.php\/getting-started-with-3d-printing\/what-is-3d-printing\/"}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/P9evBA-Mc","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/volksswitch.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2988","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/volksswitch.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/volksswitch.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/volksswitch.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/volksswitch.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2988"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/volksswitch.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2988\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6702,"href":"https:\/\/volksswitch.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2988\/revisions\/6702"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/volksswitch.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2904"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/volksswitch.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2988"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/volksswitch.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/folder?post=2988"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}