3D printing in manufacturing involves building three-dimensional objects by layering two-dimensional cross-sections sequentially. This additive manufacturing process solidifies or binds liquid or powder materials at specific points. Engineers use computer-aided design (CAD) programs to create a three-dimensional model, which is then sliced into two-dimensional layers with instructions for the printer. The materials used include plastic, metal, and biological substances. While 3D printing facilitates rapid prototyping and customization, it has limitations in production speed, precision, material range, and part size.

How does 3D printing work in manufacturing?

3D printing in manufacturing involves building three-dimensional objects by layering two-dimensional cross-sections sequentially. This additive manufacturing process solidifies or binds liquid or powder materials based on digital instructions. Engineers use computer-aided design (CAD) to create a digital model, which is then sliced into two-dimensional layers. The printer follows these instructions to solidify each layer, repeating the process until the object is complete. Materials like plastic or metal powder are dispensed and fused using methods such as selective laser sintering (SLS) or direct metal laser sintering (DMLS). 3D printing facilitates rapid prototyping and customization but has limitations in production speed, precision, material range, and part size. It is used for creating prototypes and increasingly for final products like machine parts and surgical implants.

What materials can be used in 3D printing?

3D printing uses various materials to create three-dimensional objects by layering two-dimensional cross-sections. The materials include plastic, metal, and biological substances, often starting as a fine powder. The process involves computer-aided design (CAD) to create a digital model, which is then sliced into two-dimensional layers with instructions for the printer. Techniques such as selective laser sintering (SLS) and direct metal laser sintering (DMLS) use lasers to fuse powder particles or create solid metal parts. Other methods like stereolithography (SLA) use polymer liquid solidified by an ultraviolet laser. 3D printing is also applied in bioprinting, using "bioink" (living cells and cell growth medium) to produce biological entities like tissues and organs.

What are some advantages of using 3D printing in manufacturing?

3D printing in manufacturing involves building three-dimensional objects by layering two-dimensional cross-sections sequentially. This additive manufacturing approach offers several advantages, including reduced waste and the ability to produce complex, customized parts quickly. Unlike traditional methods, 3D printing doesn't require expensive tooling, making it ideal for rapid prototyping and creating parts on short notice. 3D printing utilizes materials like plastic, metal, and biological substances, solidifying or binding them to form structures based on digital designs. Engineers use computer-aided design (CAD) to create models, which are then sliced into two-dimensional sections to guide the printer. This process allows for the creation of unique and intricate parts efficiently.

How has 3D printing changed traditional manufacturing methods?

3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing, has brought significant changes to traditional manufacturing by providing an alternative method for creating three-dimensional objects. Unlike conventional methods that involve cutting away material from a solid block, 3D printing builds objects layer by layer, reducing waste and enabling the creation of complex, customized parts with computer-aided design. The advantages of 3D printing include eliminating the need for expensive tooling, producing parts quickly, and reducing material waste. However, it also has limitations such as lower production rates, less precision, a limited range of materials, and size constraints. Despite these limitations, 3D printing is mainly used for rapid prototyping but is making its way into creating final products.

What are some challenges or limitations of using 3D printing in the manufacturing industry?

While 3D printing offers customization and rapid prototyping, it has limitations in manufacturing. The size and quality of parts can be restricted, and mass production is typically achieved through traditional manufacturing processes.

3D printing

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Diagram showing three stages of the selective laser sintering (SLS) 3D printing process: a roller spreads powder in the work area, a laser fuses selected areas to form the workpiece, and new powder layers are added to build up the object.

How 3D printing is changing manufacturing

Know about the development of titanium 3D-printed prosthetic jaw

Assorted handguns made from or modified with colorful 3D-printed parts, each tagged for identification, displayed on a brown surface at the ATF National Services Center.

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In full:: three-dimensional printing

Related Topics:: How do 3D printers work?; manufacturing; xograph; computer-aided design

On the Web:: IOPscience - IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering - 3D printing. An alternative for small projects? (Oct. 24, 2026)

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3D printing

manufacturing

Also known as: three-dimensional printing

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Last updated

Nov. 12, 2026 •History

News •

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Norck Strengthens Engineering-First Manufacturing Approach to Help Companies Reduce Production Risks • Oct. 30, 2026, 8:04 AM ET (Des Moines Register)

19-year-old started a 3D-printing side hustle in his parents’ basement—now his business brings in $808K a year • Oct. 14, 2026, 11:25 AM ET (CNBC)

Top Questions

What is 3D printing?
3D printing in manufacturing involves building three-dimensional objects by layering two-dimensional cross-sections sequentially. This additive manufacturing process solidifies or binds liquid or powder materials at specific points. Engineers use computer-aided design (CAD) programs to create a three-dimensional model, which is then sliced into two-dimensional layers with instructions for the printer. The materials used include plastic, metal, and biological substances. While 3D printing facilitates rapid prototyping and customization, it has limitations in production speed, precision, material range, and part size.
2 Britannica Sources
1. 3D printing
2. How Do 3D Printers Work?
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
How does 3D printing work in manufacturing?
3D printing in manufacturing involves building three-dimensional objects by layering two-dimensional cross-sections sequentially. This additive manufacturing process solidifies or binds liquid or powder materials based on digital instructions.

Engineers use computer-aided design (CAD) to create a digital model, which is then sliced into two-dimensional layers. The printer follows these instructions to solidify each layer, repeating the process until the object is complete. Materials like plastic or metal powder are dispensed and fused using methods such as selective laser sintering (SLS) or direct metal laser sintering (DMLS).

3D printing facilitates rapid prototyping and customization but has limitations in production speed, precision, material range, and part size. It is used for creating prototypes and increasingly for final products like machine parts and surgical implants.
3 Britannica Sources
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
What materials can be used in 3D printing?
3D printing uses various materials to create three-dimensional objects by layering two-dimensional cross-sections. The materials include plastic, metal, and biological substances, often starting as a fine powder.

The process involves computer-aided design (CAD) to create a digital model, which is then sliced into two-dimensional layers with instructions for the printer. Techniques such as selective laser sintering (SLS) and direct metal laser sintering (DMLS) use lasers to fuse powder particles or create solid metal parts. Other methods like stereolithography (SLA) use polymer liquid solidified by an ultraviolet laser.

3D printing is also applied in bioprinting, using "bioink" (living cells and cell growth medium) to produce biological entities like tissues and organs.
2 Britannica Sources
1. 3D printing
2. How Do 3D Printers Work?
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
What are some advantages of using 3D printing in manufacturing?
3D printing in manufacturing involves building three-dimensional objects by layering two-dimensional cross-sections sequentially. This additive manufacturing approach offers several advantages, including reduced waste and the ability to produce complex, customized parts quickly. Unlike traditional methods, 3D printing doesn't require expensive tooling, making it ideal for rapid prototyping and creating parts on short notice.

3D printing utilizes materials like plastic, metal, and biological substances, solidifying or binding them to form structures based on digital designs. Engineers use computer-aided design (CAD) to create models, which are then sliced into two-dimensional sections to guide the printer. This process allows for the creation of unique and intricate parts efficiently.
4 Britannica Sources
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
How has 3D printing changed traditional manufacturing methods?
3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing, has brought significant changes to traditional manufacturing by providing an alternative method for creating three-dimensional objects. Unlike conventional methods that involve cutting away material from a solid block, 3D printing builds objects layer by layer, reducing waste and enabling the creation of complex, customized parts with computer-aided design.

The advantages of 3D printing include eliminating the need for expensive tooling, producing parts quickly, and reducing material waste. However, it also has limitations such as lower production rates, less precision, a limited range of materials, and size constraints. Despite these limitations, 3D printing is mainly used for rapid prototyping but is making its way into creating final products.
3 Britannica Sources
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
What are some challenges or limitations of using 3D printing in the manufacturing industry?
While 3D printing offers customization and rapid prototyping, it has limitations in manufacturing. The size and quality of parts can be restricted, and mass production is typically achieved through traditional manufacturing processes.
1 Britannica Source
1. How Do 3D Printers Work?
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

3D printing, in manufacturing, any of several processes for fabricating three-dimensional objects by layering two-dimensional cross sections sequentially, one on top of another. The process is analogous to the fusing of ink or toner onto paper in a printer (hence the term printing) but is actually the solidifying or binding of a liquid or powder at each spot in the horizontal cross section where solid material is desired. In the case of 3D printing, the layering is repeated hundreds or thousands of times until the entire object has been finished throughout its vertical dimension. Frequently, 3D printing is employed in quickly turning out plastic or metal prototypes during the design of new parts, though it also can be put to use in making final products for sale to customers. Objects made in 3D printing range from plastic figurines and mold patterns to steel machine parts and titanium surgical implants. An entire 3D printing apparatus can be enclosed in a cabinet roughly the size of a large kitchen stove or refrigerator.

The term 3D printing originally designated a specific process patented as 3DP by scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1993 and licensed to several manufacturers. Today the term is used as a generic label for a number of related processes. Central to all of them is computer-aided design, or CAD. Using CAD programs, engineers develop a three-dimensional computer model of the object to be built up. This model is translated into a series of two-dimensional “slices” of the object and then into instructions that tell the printer exactly where to solidify the starting material on each successive slice.

In most processes the starting material is a fine plastic or metal powder. Typically, the powder is stored in cartridges or beds from which it is dispensed in small amounts and spread by a roller or blade in an extremely thin layer (commonly only the thickness of the powder grains, which can be as small as 20 micrometres, or 0.0008 inch) over the bed where the part is being built up. In MIT’s 3DP process this layer is passed over by a device similar to the head of an ink-jet printer. An array of nozzles sprays a binding agent in a pattern determined by the computer program, then a fresh layer of powder is spread over the entire build-up area, and the process is repeated. At each repetition the build-up bed is lowered by precisely the thickness of the new layer of powder. When the process is complete, the built-up part, embedded in unconsolidated powder, is pulled out, cleaned, and sometimes put through some post-processing finishing steps.

A modern printing press that uses UV technology

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printing: Three-dimensional printing (1960s)

The original 3DP process made mainly rough mock-ups out of plastic, ceramic, and even plaster, but later variations employed metal powder as well and produced more-precise and more-durable parts. A related process is called selective laser sintering (SLS); here the nozzle head and liquid binder are replaced by precisely guided lasers that heat the powder so that it sinters, or partially melts and fuses, in the desired areas. Typically, SLS works with either plastic powder or a combined metal-binder powder; in the latter case the built-up object may have to be heated in a furnace for further solidification and then machined and polished. These post-processing steps can be minimized in direct metal laser sintering (DMLS), in which a high-power laser fuses a fine metal powder into a more-solid and finished part without the use of binder material. Yet another variation is electron beam melting (EBM); here the laser apparatus is replaced by an electron gun, which focuses a powerful electrically charged beam onto the powder under vacuum conditions. The most-advanced DMLS and EBM processes can make final products of advanced steel, titanium, and cobalt-chromium alloys.

Many other processes work on the building-up principle of 3DP, SLS, DMLS, and EBM. Some use nozzle arrangements to direct the starting material (either powder or liquid) only to the designated build-up areas, so that the object is not immersed in a bed of the material. On the other hand, in a process known as stereolithography (SLA), a thin layer of polymer liquid rather than powder is spread over the build area, and the designated part areas are consolidated by an ultraviolet laser beam. The built-up plastic part is retrieved and put through post-processing steps.

All 3D printing processes are so-called additive manufacturing, or additive fabrication, processes—ones that build up objects sequentially, as opposed to casting or molding them in a single step (a consolidation process) or cutting and machining them out of a solid block (a subtractive process). As such, they are considered to have several advantages over traditional fabrication, chief among them being an absence of the expensive tooling used in foundry and milling processes; the ability to produce complicated, customized parts on short notice; and the generating of less waste. On the other hand, they also have several disadvantages; these include low production rates, less precision and surface polish than machined parts, a relatively limited range of materials that can be processed, and severe limitations on the size of parts that can be made inexpensively and without distortion. For this reason, the principal market of 3D printing is in so-called rapid prototyping—that is, the quick production of parts that eventually will be mass-produced in traditional manufacturing processes. Nevertheless, commercial 3D printers continue to improve their processes and make inroads into markets for final products, and researchers continue to experiment with 3D printing, producing objects as disparate as automobile bodies, concrete blocks, and edible food products.

The term 3D bioprinting is used to describe the application of 3D printing concepts to the production of biological entities, such as tissues and organs. Bioprinting is based largely on existing printing technologies, such as ink-jet or laser printing, but makes use of “bioink” (suspensions of living cells and cell growth medium), which may be prepared in micropipettes or similar tools that serve as printer cartridges. Printing is then controlled via computer, with cells being deposited in specific patterns onto culture plates or similar sterile surfaces. Valve-based printing, which enables fine control over cell deposition and improved preservation of cell viability, has been used to print human embryonic stem cells in preprogrammed patterns that facilitate the cells’ aggregation into spheroid structures. Such human tissue models generated through 3D bioprinting are of particular use in the field of regenerative medicine.