Practical 3D Printers: The Science and Art of 3D Printing

Introduction

Wired, The New York Times, The Economist, The Wall Street Journal, BBC, and even The Colbert Report, yes—personal 3D printing is everywhere. 3D printing, sometimes called additive manufacturing or rapid prototyping, is all about building 3D objects using plastic and other materials from a digital design. As a technology, it has actually been around and in use by engineers and designers for more than 25 years. It hasn’t been until the last five years, though, that personal 3D printing has begun to make such an impact—where objects made on a machine that might cost $30,000 in the industry can now be made with nearly the same quality on a machine that fits at home on your desk for less than $2,000.

Better yet, it doesn’t take a trained ...