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3D PrintingUnlike making products by cutting into or shaping raw materials, 3D printing creates physical objects from digital designs by stacking material in horizontal layers. Known as additive manufacturing, this method has been utilized for the highly customizable, less wasteful fabrication of objects such as industrial parts, clothing, surgical tools, prosthetics, biological tissue, and houses. 3D printing has reduced labor costs, enabled rapid prototyping, and shifted manufacturing roles toward digital design. The process begins by developing a virtual model within computer-aided design software, which can be facilitated by having data from an existing object's 3D scan. The design is then exported to a slicer—software that cuts the model into horizontal cross-sections, similar to cutting a loaf of bread into slices, and generates printing instructions for each. Some devices print these layers by depositing melted filaments, resembling the construction of a wall from strands of hot glue. Others use light to harden resin or fuse fine particles into a solid structure. Once built, fabrications undergo post-processing, which may include removing printed support structures, rinsing away excess powder, and smoothing surfaces. They may also be painted or chemically treated to impart specific properties, like scratch resistance.Explore 3D Printing

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Watch a time-lapse of 3D printing a Groot figurineThe total printing time on the Prusa i3 MK2 printer was 12 hours and 32 minutes, with the head alone taking nearly 5 hours to print from layering plastic filament. Shawn Gano Artificial coral reef tiles built with 3D printing are helping restore ocean biodiversityIn Hong Kong, nontoxic and biodegradable terracotta clay has been used to create foundational structures resembling brain coral. Natural corals have used these tiles to rebuild water ecosystems, achieving a 98% survival rate. Forbes Asia 3D printing has made musical instruments more accessibleViolins fabricated from durable plastic, rather than being built from wood, can cost hundreds of dollars less, allowing children to try them out without financial pressure. They can be made in colors that appeal to children, sizes tailored to their bodies, and with tactile guides to help visually impaired learners. Strings Magazine Most custom earmolds for in-ear hearing aids are made using 3D printingThe technology has also been utilized for behind-the-ear and receiver-in-canal hearing aids, allowing for the creation of structures tailored to the patient's anatomy for enhanced effectiveness. 3D printing has also been used to print retinal eye cells and custom eyeglass frames. Rendia Multi-material 3D printing produces filament waste if only one nozzle is usedWhen swapping between colors or materials in a fused deposition modeling system, a considerable amount of filament is purged from the nozzle before introducing a new filament. Filament extruders can create new filament from purged elements, but the device combines colors and produces filaments of inconsistent diameter. CNC Kitchen Software subscriptions, licenses, and climate control systems add to 3D printing costsAlthough the sharing of designs and reduced manual labor suggested the fabrication of prosthetics would be facilitated by 3D printing, particularly in developing regions, software and hardware requirements have posed hurdles to achieving this goal. While some insurance companies have refused to cover 3D-printed limbs, they are covered by Medicare. IEEE Spectrum Explore a library of data files for 3D printingData 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. Printables View a timeline of 3D printing technology through 2019The first working 3D printing device was invented in 1983 and utilized stereolithography, a process in which a laser triggers a chemical reaction that hardens liquid resin. Powder-based laser sintering technology was patented in 1987, with metal-based powders first being used for 3D printing in 1997. Mechanical Engineering Magazine The first 3D printing patent was filed in 1967Wyn 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. Guinness World Records Incredible talk on 3D printing (Additive Manufacturing) in a clinical setting presented by the Director of 3D printing at the Mayo Clinic.FDA-CERSI Lecture Series hosted by Yale Univ.-Mayo Clinic CERSI lecture on The Rise of Point of Care Manufacturing: The Mayo Clinic Experience U.S. Food and Drug Administration 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 Cincinnati Incorporated Mosquito necroprinting uses an insect's mouthpart as the printer nozzleMosquitoes are abundant, and their nozzles are 32-100 times cheaper to harvest than to create from scratch out of metal or glass. By coating the organic nozzle to increase its strength, researchers are employing necroprinting to create tiny structures at better resolutions than commercial alternatives. Ars Technica In 2015, the FDA approved the first 3D-printed prescription tabletSpritam, 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. TIME Watch the iterative process of successfully printing a slice of vegan cheesecake3D 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. Columbia Engineering As of 2025, the Factory of the Future 1.0 is the world's largest 3D printerHoused at the University of Maine, the machine incorporates AI and can utilize bio-based materials to construct homes exceeding 3,000 square feet in size. Homes made from these materials are fully recyclable, as their components can be deconstructed, ground up, and reused as raw materials for printing. AP News 3D printers can create nearly any object that can be digitally designedLimited 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. Bambulab The most common type of 3D printer fabricates objects using plasticAt 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. Formlabs As of 2025, perfect synthetic replication of natural organs remains elusiveAdvancements such as 3D printing muscles, performing vaginal reconstruction with colon tissue, and growing organs in a lab have shown promise, but artificial options and transplanting substitutions continue to exhibit functional and performance limitations compared to their natural equivalents. Science Friday Pigments in paint can come from rocks, plants, insects or synthetic sourcesPaint's composition is varied through the combination of pigments with binding agents. In the past, artists created their own paints by mixing pigments with water, oils or egg yolks to bind the colors together. The Conversation Penicillin is considered one of history’s greatest medical breakthroughs Experts widely rank penicillin’s discovery among the most important advances in medicine. It launched the antibiotic era, transformed once-deadly infections into treatable illnesses. Osmosis Blog Additive manufacturing consists of seven different process categoriesAlthough 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. Loughborough University

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