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3D printing

Explorer · ages 7 and underAdapted from Wikipedia
The 3D-printed Stoofbrug, a temporary footbridge over the Oudezijds Achterburgwal canal in Amsterdam.

What is 3D printing?

3D printing techniques are ways to make a three-dimensional object. This is also called additive manufacturing. A 3D model on a computer shows what to make. The object is built up bit by bit, usually one layer at a time, under computer control.

How it began

In the 1980s, 3D printing was good for making test models and display pieces. People often called it rapid prototyping. Chuck Hull made a way to build objects in layers. His company, 3D Systems, sold the first 3D printer for businesses.

In 1988, S. Scott Crump developed fused deposition modelling. His company, Stratasys, sold its first machine of this kind in 1992. In 2004, Adrian Bowyer designed plans for a printer that could make many of its own parts. The project was called RepRap.

In the 2020s, printers became cheap enough for most people to buy.

Where it is used

3D printing helps make parts for motor vehicles and aircraft. Scientists are even studying how to make food with it. NASA is looking at this idea to help feed astronauts.

Some companies have used it to make shoes. Nike and New Balance are two examples.

The first 3D-printed steel bridge was shown in Amsterdam.

Quiz time!

3 questions about 3D printing

Question 1 of 3

How does a 3D printer build an object?

Pictures

An 18th-century engraving by Daniel Chodowiecki showing workers in a printing shop, with type cases and ink balls used to print books.
A computer-designed model of a metal casting mold, showing the channels and ceramic filter that guide molten metal into the mold.
A 3D-scanning photo booth at the Doob store in SoHo, New York, where visitors can create a three-dimensional selfie.
A 3D model of Mount St. Helens being sliced into layers in Cura software, which creates the instructions a 3D printer follows to build the mountain.
A close-up of the Stoofbrug in Amsterdam, which opened in 2021 as the world's first bridge made by 3D printing with metal.
A small 3D-printed toy boat called 3DBenchy, made with a 3D printer that mixes colors as it builds the model.
The Audi RSQ, a futuristic concept car that appeared in the movie I, Robot. Its design was shaped with the help of industrial robots.
A jet engine turbine model made on a 3D printer at Howard Community College.
A tiny 3D-printed selfie model, made at 1:20 scale and sprayed with clear varnish to protect it from water, held in a person's palm.
A sign for a 3D printing shop in Windhoek, the capital city of Namibia.
A 3D printed replica of an ancient Egyptian statuette of Pharaoh Merankhre Mentuhotep, who ruled during the Egyptian 16th dynasty.
3D-printed necklace

Keep exploring

Printing press
Computer numerical control
NASA
Steel
Amsterdam

This article is a child-friendly adaptation of the Wikipedia article on 3D printing, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Images from Wikimedia Commons. Tap any image to view credits and license.