Objects can be 3D printed with light by projecting 2D computerized tomography (CT) scans onto rotating cylinders of resin, which solidify upon exposure.

Computed tomography scans use X-rays to create 3D internal images

Just as shadows can reveal the shape of obstacles blocking visible light, the donut-shaped CT scanner measures how X-rays are blocked, revealing the shape of bones, organs, tissue, and other matter along a cross-section. As it rotates, the scanner combines these cross-sections to build a model of the internal structure.

Stereolithography uses light to fabricate objects in layers via chemical reactions

Specific locations in a tank of light-sensitive liquid resin are exposed to projected light, causing them to cure onto a build platform. The resulting cross-section of hardened plastic is moved slightly away from the light source, exposing it to resin once more, and the process repeats to produce successive layers.

Medical imaging allows 3D printers to create patient-matched devices

With imaging data on a person's anatomy, external prostheses and implants, such as cranial plates or hip joints, can be custom-printed to better match a patient's body. Fabrication of porous structures can promote bone growth, leading to longer-lasting implants.

3D printers can create nearly any object that can be digitally designed

Limited only by the size of the printer and the properties of the materials used for printing, fabrications, including household items, toys, props, cases, prototypes, and models, can take anywhere from fractions of an hour to several days to make, depending on design complexity, size, color changes, and printer settings.

The most common type of 3D printer fabricates objects using plastic

At the consumer level, the most common printing method is fused deposition modeling, which builds objects by melting an extruding thermoplastic filament that is deposited in layers. For industrial applications, selective laser sintering, which uses a laser to fuse particles of polymer powder (e.g., nylon), is preferred.

The first 3D printing patent was filed in 1967

Wyn Swainson, an English literature graduate student, filed a patent in Denmark for a system that scans an object and uses the scanning data to rebuild it using lasers that harden light-sensitive plastic. However, he never developed a working prototype. The idea originated from wanting to produce recreations of sculptures.

Chip-based 3D printers can be pocket-sized and involve no moving parts

Researchers have demonstrated a proof-of-concept version of a chip-based 3D printer that emits visible light onto light-sensitive resin to construct solid shapes. The technology may provide a portable, low-cost solution for future, small-scale fabrication needs.

Massive 3D printers have been used to build homes by stacking layers of 'concrete toothpaste,' a fire-resistant material that effectively insulates against outside noise.

Explore a library of data files for 3D printing

Data files are organized by category, including gadgets, learning, and fashion, with most available in .stl format, which is native to computer-aided design software, and presliced. Some files are also available in .3mf, an open-source file format developed as a universal standard for high-fidelity 3D printing.

Additive manufacturing consists of seven different process categories

Although 3D printing has become synonymous with the term, objects can be fabricated without filaments of hot plastic or light-sensitive powders. For example, during sheet lamination, ultrasonic waves—high-frequency vibrations—can join metal sheets by creating molecular bonds through friction.

In 2015, the FDA approved the first 3D-printed prescription tablet

Spritam, an epilepsy medication, had been too large and difficult to swallow, particularly due to its inability to dissolve easily. The new pill was designed with porous layers to enhance its dissolvability, paving the way for future 3D printing of drugs.

Watch Apple Watch cases be 3D printed from titanium powder

Apple Watch Ultra 3 cases are 3D printed entirely from recycled, aerospace-grade titanium powder using lasers to fuse particles. Over 400 metric tons of raw titanium were saved in 2025, with two watches fabricated from the same amount of raw material that would have previously been used to make one.

Holograms are produced by shining light through recordings of interference patterns

When one half of a split laser beam that was reflected off the surface of an object recombines with its other, unreflected half, the two produce an interference pattern that becomes etched onto holographic film. When light shines through the back of the film, it reacts with the pattern to create the reflected light, projecting the original object.

Digital twins create real-time 3D models of smart cities

These re-creations allow city planners to track changes and manage infrastructure more easily by testing strategies in virtual environments. Geospatial technologies, such as mobile mapping and satellite imaging, help cities assess urban layouts, plan for disasters, and manage resources more efficiently.

This is a link to a project that Cincinnati Inc. did on 3d printing a full size, functional Shelby Cobra.

Shelby Cobra ORNL and CI 3D printed a Shelby Cobra vehicle on the BAAM and showcased it at the North America International Auto Show in 2015. Learn more about what we can do for you! Schedule a Consultation

Lichtenberg figures capture lightning-like patterns within insulators

When high-energy electrons from particle accelerators are fired into materials like acrylic, they form a charged plane before discharging into scarred patterns within the material. By evenly charging a cylindrical bottle through rotation during the irradiation process, a 3D figure of lightning in a bottle can be created.

Turning 2D illustrations into 3D models with AR

Coloring books capture the imagination of children and provide them with one of their earliest opportunities for creative expression. This two-minute video shows an augmented reality coloring book app in which children color characters in a printed coloring book, their drawing is detected and tracked, and the video stream is augmented with an animated 3-D version of the character that is textured according to the child’s coloring.

Flip through centuries-old artifacts in this 3D library

Archaeology is hands-on work, giving researchers the ability to analyze artifacts from as many sides as possible to find marks left by those that came before us. While looking at pictures of artifacts gives you some insight, you're limited to...

Watch the iterative process of successfully printing a slice of vegan cheesecake

3D printing food requires integrating ingredients with a variety of properties, which may not all resist the physical stress of stacking. This means successful 3D printing of food may require rethinking how ingredients are layered and modifying ratios of each, potentially sacrificing taste for structural integrity.

Artificial coral reefs have been 3D printed from nontoxic, biodegradable terracotta clay, which coral polyps have used as a foundation for rebuilding marine ecosystems.

Cyclotrons move particles in spiral paths of increasing radius

After particles are injected into the center of the device, an alternating electric field and a constant magnetic field energize the particles as they spiral outward toward a target. Cyclotrons are common in hospitals that perform molecular imaging, which relies on radioactive components that decay within hours.

According to the physics of black holes, our 4D reality may be a hologram—a projection of information coded on a 2D surface on the edge of the universe.

View 3D renderings of atomic orbitals created with quantum mechanics

Scientists use the Schrödinger equation to determine how a system governed by a wavefunction—an equation that predicts the probability of certain outcomes—evolves with time. Computers can animate atomic structure and behavior by depicting the wavefunction as a fluid that guides a particle, like water moving a speck of dust.

Watch the motion of an individual photon using a high-speed camera

Although light travels over 3 million football fields per second, cameras that capture trillions of frames per second can observe individual particles of light as they interact with atoms in materials they travel through. Such observations can be used to determine the speed of light in different materials.

Explore a gallery of O'Neill cylinder space settlements

The structures consist of a pair of cylinders with a total enclosed land area of 500 square miles and can house several million people. Each is approximately 20 miles long, 4 miles in diameter, and contains three mirrors that open and close to form a day-night cycle inside.

When experiencing turbulence, fluid elements undergo stretching and folding

Simulations show patches of fluid particles, such as splashes of milk, bend under turbulent flow, creating curvature that grows linearly then exponentially. This accelerated deformation enhances folding and mixing faster than other methods, such as stirring or beating.

Corrective vision technologies rely on the bending of light waves

When focusing on an object, muscles change the shape of the lens, which refracts incoming light such that it focuses at the retina. If the cornea is unable to bend light correctly, lenses or contact lenses can provide supplemental refraction to ensure a focused image is produced.

Gravity Probe B verified that rotating objects drag spacetime

The experiment involved attaching four freely floating gyroscopes to a telescope aimed at a distant star for a year. The observed angular shift of the gyroscopes as a result of Earth's rotation pulling on spacetime was approximately 0.0000012 degrees from the amount predicted by general relativity.

Explore the known asteroids, comets, and spacecraft involved in asteroid studies within our solar system with 'Eyes on Asteroids,' a 3D visualization from NASA.

Sony set the standard for cylinder-shaped batteries when it repurposed manufacturing equipment used to make rolls of magnetic recording tape.

Planeterrellas create artificial auroras that mimic the atmospheric displays of light by setting up an electric field between two metal balls in a jar filled with a small amount of air.

After 25 people used virtual reality headsets to practice flying with virtual wings—flapping their arms—their visual cortex responded to the wings almost as if they were real arms, treating them as body parts.

Take a 3D tour of the Hajj, Islam's annual pilgrimage to Mecca, undertaken by more than 1.5 million Muslims each year.

See images of medical cases of firework injuries shared on this 'Instagram for doctors.' (Warning: Graphic content)

The first horror movie is believed to be George Méliès' 1986 short 'The Haunted Castle,' which pioneered the use of special effects

As of 2025, the most cited papers in science include a review of graphene, methods to improve image recognition, streamlining electron density calculations, and optimizing protein studies.

Visualize how CRISPR-Cas9—a type of immune system used by single-celled organisms to attack invasive viruses—targets and makes precise changes to a gene's DNA.

Against his wishes, Albert Einstein's brain was removed before his cremation, and the pathologist responsible stored it for decades in mason jars within a beer cooler.

Venture capital is a form of funding provided to early-stage companies with high growth potential, typically in exchange for an equity (or ownership) stake

In 2025, four executives from large tech companies were given positions in the US Army Reserves—including Palantir Chief Technology Officer Shyam Sankar, which reinforced Palantir's ties with the US military and its role as a leading defense partner.

Planarian flatworms are small, aquatic worms with exceptional regenerative capabilities. When cut, the worms can regenerate multiple bodies in a matter of weeks.

See a 3D reconstruction of Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital that was home to an estimated population of 200,000 to 400,000.

Mid-century modern graphic designers, known for their bright colors and bold lines in advertising, also found success with children's books.

To reduce wrinkles in clothing, research recommends gentle wash cycles with more water and tumble drying with smaller loads and longer times.

Gerrymandering works through two techniques: cracking opposing voters across districts to dilute their power, and packing them into a few to waste their votes in lopsided majorities.

Children are now three times more likely to say they want to be a YouTuber when they grow up than an astronaut, with some even attending 'YouTube camps' that teach kids how to create content for the platform.

In 1984, Operation Smash Hit intentionally crashed a 239-ton train into a nuclear waste canister at 100 miles per hour to prove the canister's safety, which remained completely intact and lost just 0.29 of its 100 pounds of pressure.

Art theft is the third-largest source of criminal revenues worldwide, thanks in part to the subjective nature of valuing a work of art.

Ebola is a filovirus, meaning it resembles a thread under a microscope, though it sometimes twists and can resemble a bowl of spaghetti.

Roughly 43 million US borrowers owe roughly $1.7T in student debt, the second-largest source of consumer debt behind mortgages.