The West Japan Railway Company recently unveiled a 3D-printed train station, which it claimed was a world first.

What is 3D printing? 

• 3D printing is a process that uses computer-created design to make three-dimensional objects layer by layer. 
• It is an additive process, in which layers of a material like plastic, composites or bio-materials are built up to construct objects that range in shape, size, rigidity, and colour.
  • Materials used: including thermoplastics such as acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), metals (including powders), resins and ceramics.
• The first 3D printing (additive manufacturing) was used in 1983 by an American inventor, Charles (Chuck) W. Hull.

How is 3D printing done? 

• Essentials: To carry out 3D printing, one needs a personal computer connected to a 3D printer. 
• Similarity with Traditional Printers : The (3D) printer acts generally the same as a traditional inkjet printer in the direct 3D printing process.
  • In it a nozzle moves back and forth while dispensing a wax or plastic-like polymer layer-by-layer, waiting for that layer to dry, then adding the next level. 
• Process: 
  • Design a 3D model of the required object on computer-aid design (CAD) software and press ‘print’. The 3D printer does the rest of the job. 
  • Layering Method : 3D printers construct the desired object by using a layering method, which is the complete opposite of the subtractive manufacturing processes. 
    • 3D printers, on the other hand, build from the bottom up by piling on layer after layer until the object looks exactly like it was envisioned. 
    • It  adds hundreds or thousands of 2D prints on top of one another to make a three-dimensional object.