How Things Work: Inside Out

How Things Work: Inside Out — page 9
JUST THE FACTS Layer Up A 3 D printer looks like an overgrown sibling to the inkjet printer you may have in your house And it works in a remarkably remarkably similar way It has a nozzle that moves back and forth putting layer on top of layer of material to create its print Each layer is fused or joined to the layer below it 3 D printers often build with a type of plastic but they can also use other materials including rubber paper ceramics glass metal and even food Depending on how complex the design is printing can take several minutes hours or even days MIT scientist Skylar Tibbits a National Geographic Emerging Explorer is taking 3 0 printing to the next dimension 4 D PRINTING He prints materials that are programmed to build themselves or transform from one shape to another on their own AFTER BEFORE Addition Not Subtraction Creating a 3 D object by building it up one layer at a time is an additive process and it's not the way most things are made Instead a lot of things are assembled put together by joining individual parts Many other objects are made by cutting materials into a desired shape That way of making things is called subtractive manufacturing A NEW BEAK was 3 D printed for an injured bald eagle FUN FACT LOCAL MOTORS AN ARIZONA BASED CARMAKER IS WORKING TO 3 D PRINT CUSTOM ELECTRIC CARS IT PRINTED ITS FIRST VEHICLE THE STRATI IN 44 HOURS AT A TECHNOLOGY SHOW IN 2015