A Beginner's Guide to Understanding - 3D Printing.

3-D Printing. Sounds cool, right? Well, it is a very cool and unique concept, although some people still have no idea what it means. So, in this guide I will be giving you a brief description about 3-D Printing and also explain why it is considered to be the future of advanced technology.

Phew !!! As always Wikipedia does a pretty manageable job of explaining stuff. But don't worry, I've got your back. So, at its core, 3-D Printing is pretty similar to regular printing. The only (major) difference is that instead of printing the output on a piece of paper, this process creates (prints) solid 3-Dimensional objects. And this is achieved using - that's right - a 3-D Printer.

How Does 3-D Printing Work?

Basically, a 3-D printer creates a particular object by laying down successive layers of material, starting from the bottom-most layer. Hence, at first, a Computer Aided Design (CAD) program is used to create a digital model of the desired object. This digital model then needs to be sliced into very thin layers in order to make it 3-D printable. This is done by a process known as 'Slicing' - which is nothing but dividing our digital model into thousands of horizontal layers - using a 'Slicing Software'. Once, the slicing is completed it can be uploaded to a 3-D printer (via USB or WiFi) which will in turn print our 3-D object layer-by-layer. 

Why is it Important?

Time. Money. Quality. 

Needless to say, these are the factors that are extremely crucial for any manufacturing process or industry. And that is exactly what 3-D Printing actually provides for its user. It is considered to be one of the most time-saving, cost-effective and precision-guaranteed additive processes in the industry. And the fact that it still developing at a consistent rate is an indicator for what the future might hold for us. Speaking of which ... 

The Future.

Irrespective of its application, 3-D Printing is being used by multiple disciplines as it can be personalized according to the needs of that particular discipline. Thus,for quite a few years now, it has been considered to be the future of technological advancements. With companies searching for cost reduction techniques via replacement of labor, this additive process could prove to be a special boon for the future of technology. Add to it the fact that 3-D Printing creates localized products which essentially means avoiding transportation altogether, we pretty much have a win-win situation at our hands.

And if that doesn't interest you enough, well, maybe I'll have to buy a house on Mars alone.