The Big Question—What is 3D Printing? - 3D Printing: Build your Own 3D Printer and Print your own 3D Objects - page 19

the flat work surface and creating a square-shaped object. What do you think will
happen if the hot-end places another layer of plastic over this first layer? What
happens if the hot-end places 10 or 20 or even 50 layers, one on top of each other?
You start to see the beginning of a plastic cube.
A plastic cube might not be much to look at, but if you understand how layers of
plastic are combined to create a three-dimensional object, you are well on your
way to understanding how a 3D printer can be used to create more advanced ob-
jects like those shown in Figure 1.12 .
Figure 1.12 You can use a 3D printer to create objects like these.
A Few Other Items
Most 3D printers have a small circuit board (or controller) that “talks” to the mo-
tors and gives them instructions on how to move (how far, how fast, and so on).
The motors and the circuit board/controller need electricity to work, so you'll also
find that most 3D printers need a power supply. This often comes directly from a
wall outlet, but sometimes it requires an actual power supply box that is attached
to the 3D printer in some manner. You'll see the circuit board later in Chapter 3 .
A 3D printer can print 3D objects, but until you tell it what to print and how to
print, it's just a paperweight. For that reason, you'll be connecting your 3D printer
to a computer. More specifically, you'll be connecting the 3D printer to a com-
puter running specialized software. This software (sometimes a single application,
sometimes more than one) is used to create an object and send data to the 3D print-
er that instructs it on how to print your object using melted plastic.