{"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":"<p>What is 3D\u00a0 Printing? 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 A digital model is a virtual object created using specialized software called \u201ccomputer-aided design\u201d, or CAD, software.\u00a0 In this example, someone has created &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/volksswitch.org\/index.php\/getting-started-with-3d-printing\/what-is-3d-printing\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;What is 3D\u00a0 Printing?&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":2904,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"folder":[],"class_list":["post-2988","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>What is 3D\u00a0 Printing? - Volksswitch<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/volksswitch.org\/index.php\/getting-started-with-3d-printing\/what-is-3d-printing\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What is 3D\u00a0 Printing? - Volksswitch\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"What is 3D\u00a0 Printing? 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 A digital model is a virtual object created using specialized software called \u201ccomputer-aided design\u201d, or CAD, software.\u00a0 In this example, someone has created &hellip; Continue reading &quot;What is 3D\u00a0 Printing?&quot;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/volksswitch.org\/index.php\/getting-started-with-3d-printing\/what-is-3d-printing\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Volksswitch\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-02-03T02:17:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/volksswitch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Bunny.png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/volksswitch.org\\\/index.php\\\/getting-started-with-3d-printing\\\/what-is-3d-printing\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/volksswitch.org\\\/index.php\\\/getting-started-with-3d-printing\\\/what-is-3d-printing\\\/\",\"name\":\"What is 3D\u00a0 Printing? 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