Graphics Reference
In-Depth Information
This printer costs about $10,000 USD and is the size of
a microwave oven.
Computers play a critical role in the 3D printing process. Without instruc-
tions from a computer, a printer is paralyzed. A 3D printer comes to life when
it is fed a well-designed electronic blueprint, or design ile, that tells it where
to place the raw material. In fact, a 3D printer without an attached computer
and a good design ile is as useless as an iPod without music.
The way the 3D printing process works is as follows. The 3D printer, guided
by instructions in the design ile, squirts out or solidiies powdered, molten
or liquid material into a speciic lat pattern. After the irst layer solidiies, the
3D “print head” returns and forms another thin layer on top of the irst one.
When the second layer solidiies, the print head returns yet again and deposits
another thin layer on top of that. Eventually, the thin layers build up and a
three-dimensional object forms.
3D printers don't cut or mold things into shape the way humans or tradi-
tional manufacturing machines do. Making objects in layers opens up the
ability to physically output a broader range of digital concepts. If a shape's
design has precise internal hollows or interlocked parts, a 3D printer is the
irst output device that can realize such designs in the physical world.
