Without the open source 3D printing hardware and software community, the consumer 3D printing ecosystem would not exist in its current form. We appreciate that we can learn a lot from seeing the projects everyone has created at makers events, large and small.
It is amazing how much the 3Dprinting industry has changed since the first edition of this book was published in 2014. Apart from the amazing sense of what might be possible, surprisingly few things have remained the same since then. That sense is now in formed by a more sober reality about the challenges that remain and more realistic ideas about good applications.
About the Book
In this document, we want to provide a road map for getting started with 3D printing and enough insight to get you a considerable distance along the path to using 3D printing to make useful things.
In this book, we want to provide a road map for getting started with 3D printing and enough insight to get you a considerable distance along the path to using 3Dprinting to make useful things. 3Dprinting is not yet a straight forward process, and we want to provide you with enough in sight to get started with 3Dprinting and enough in sight to get you a considerable distance along the path to using 3Dprinting to make useful things. 3Dprinting is not yet a straight forward process.
In this book, we have tried to strike a balance to help you get started with 3D printing without drowning you in details or providing enough information. For example, we have kept step-by-step screen shots to a minimum, as they quickly become out dated. Instead, we included a few examples to illustrate what we do and why, so that whatever system you’re using, you can do the same.
Currently, a large part of 3Dprinting is a materials game. Whether you want to build with metal or plastic, and the mechanical properties of your final product, will determine the type of printer (filament, resin, powder) and the price point. Innovation in printer hardware design continues. However, materials are expected to evolve quickly enough to allow 3Dprinters to seamlessly create prototypes and first production runs, and then move on to injection molding of mass-produced parts. Dentistry is emerging as a major early adopter, along with general product prototyping and mold and fixture creation.