What is 3D printing?
What is 3D printing?
3D printing is the process of making a real 3D object from a digital file, which is in CAD form. 3D printing refers to a lot of different types of processes and software that essentially come together to turn the CAD representation into the 3D object.
3D printing encompasses additive manufacturing (AM) processes, material is built up from nothing to create a part. This compares to traditional subtractive processes like milling where you start with a block and remove material to leave the final part.
What happens during 3D printing?
Layer by layer, material is added and fused to make up the object as per the CAD design. But the important note with 3D printing is that this is done on an extremely small scale of sub millimetres. This allows highly accurate parts.
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