What is 3D printing?

What is 3D printing? 3D printing is a process of making a three-‐dimensional solid object of virtually any shape from a digital model using an additive process -‐ laying successive layers of material down one layer at a time. 3D printing is distinct from traditional machining techniques, which mostly rely on the removal of material by methods such as cutting or drilling (subtractive processes). [Source: Wikipedia] 3D printers come in a wide variety of sizes from $600 hobbyist printers that might print out a key fob or coffee cup, to larger scale mass-‐production printers used in industrial manufacturing, to huge construction-‐ grade printers large enough to print a house. Staples and Amazon have begun selling the “Cube” consumer-‐ grade 3D printer for $1300. Leapfrog has a $1700 3D printer designed for primary school education. 3D printers can print with a wide variety of materials from plastics and paper, to clay and concrete, to metals, to human cells. Recently 3D printers have begun printing organs, meat, circuit boards and batteries. 3D printing impacts nearly every industry including manufacturing, electronics, architecture, engineering, medicine, healthcare, fashion, art, design, shipping, transportation, and education. 3D printing combined with 3D scanning presents a host of new legal patent-‐related issues, as individuals gain the ability to scan any object to create a duplicate, or a similar but altered copy.

3D printed prosthesis

3D printed fashion

3D printed kidney

3D printed artwork

FSU’s Stacking Layers Symposium is intended to introduce researchers, entrepreneurs, and educators in the State of Florida to 3D printing, and explore opportunities for research, business investment and economic growth. Learn more about 3D printing and FSU’s Stacking Layers Symposium at www.stackinglayers.fsu.edu. FSU Office of Research

Program in Interdisciplinary Computing (PIC)