In short: it’s fast and relatively cheap. Why use 3D Printers for Rapid Prototyping? Using 3D printers for these purposes is called rapid prototyping.

– reconstructing evidence in forensic pathologyĬompanies have used 3D printers in their design process to create prototypes since the late seventies.

– architectural scale models & maquettes.

– industrial products (manufacturing tools, prototypes, functional end-use parts).

– consumer products (eyewear, footwear, design, furniture).

It’s important to see it as a cluster of diverse industries with a myriad of different applications. Examples of 3D PrintingģD printing encompasses many forms of technologies and materials as 3D printing is being used in almost all industries you could think of. Acumen Research and Consulting forecasts the global 3D printing market to reach $41 billion by 2026.Īs it evolves, 3D printing technology is destined to transform almost every major industry and change the way we live, work, and play in the future. Most of the current demand for 3D printing is industrial in nature. Where 3D printing was only suitable for prototyping and one-off manufacturing in the early stages, it is now rapidly transforming into a production technology. 3D Printing IndustryĪdoption of 3D printing has reached critical mass as those who have yet to integrate additive manufacturing somewhere in their supply chain are now part of an ever-shrinking minority.

Your sliced file is now ready to be 3D printed layer by layer. Feeding the file to your printer can be done via USB, SD or Wi-Fi. When your file is sliced, it’s ready for your 3D printer.

Slicing basically means slicing up a 3D model into hundreds or thousands of layers and is done with slicing software. Slicing: From printable file to 3D Printer Now that you have a printable file, the next step is to prepare it for your 3D printer. Tinkercad offers beginner lessons and has a built-in feature to export your model as a printable file e.g. Tinkercad is free and works in your browser, you don’t have to install it on your computer. We often recommend beginners to start with Tinkercad. We’ve created an overview on our 3D software page. There are many different software tools available. You can opt to create one from the ground up or download it from a 3D library.

Welding table 3d print file .stl