What is a 3d printer?

3D printing technology made its technological debut in the year 1986, but did not gain a greater importance until around the 1990s - the technology was not popular with ordinary people, but was primarily used within technical engineering subjects as well as within architecture and design.

There are several types of technologies that are able to perform 3d printing, but the most widespread within hobby printing are categorized by the way the items are built.

SLS (selective laser sintering), FDM (Fused dopostion modeling) and SLA (stereolithography) are the most widespread 3dprinter technologies. SLS and FDM use melting or softening of material to produce the many layers in 3d printing.

Here is a small video of the SLS technology

Here a small video ( Ultimaker 2 ) which is an FDM printer sold at 3deksperten.dk

And finally, a short video about the SLA technology

A little about the resolution

The resolution of a 3d printer is indicated in layer thickness and in XY resolution in dpi. The typical layer thickness is about 100 micrometers (o.1mm). You can compare the XY resolution with the one you see in modern laser printers (0.05-0.1mm in diameter. However, it should be noted that not all 3d printers state the XY resolution in dpi, as this only applies to machines that use a comparable technology, which is seen in, for example, the traditional ink printer or laser printer.

What can you do with a 3d printer?

In 3dprinter circles they say "If you can draw, you can make it!". In the video below, many items that can be made by a 3d printer are shown. However, it should be noted that the more detailed your items are, the more is required of your printer - in some cases hobby printers fall short and you have to choose a professional solution - modern 3d printers can today perform incredible items and can in most cases complete the task.