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Asked by faith to Steve on 9 Mar 2015.
Question: What does a 3D printer do ?
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Steve Cox answered on 9 Mar 2015:
A 3D printer can make 3 dimensional objects by using a process called additive manufacturing.
The printer can print out a very thin (typically 0.1mm) layer of plastic onto a flat bed. Once the first layer of plastic is printed the bed drops by 0.1mm and the next thin layer of plastic is printed on top of the first. This process continues until the object is fully printed out.Even a quite small object can take over 1000 layers of printing to make, but the printer does all the difficult work for you.
You can make things and shapes using a 3D printer that would be very difficult, and in some cases impossible, to make in any other way.
Comments
Alexis commented on :
That sounds really fun!
KieranHesketh commented on :
How do you become a 3d engineer?
Steve commented on :
Be interested in making things and then get to start using one. If your school doesn’t have one then that may be difficult. That’s why my job involves showing schools what they can do so they can see the benefits across all areas of the school – hopefully then they get one so students like yourself can become a 3D expert