3D Printing

History & evolution

Additive manufacturing was born in 1983 when American engineer Chuck Hull invented stereolithography (SLA), which cures liquid resin layer by layer using a UV laser. Hull founded 3D Systems in 1986 and patented the STL format (today's universal standard) to describe 3D models.

In 1988, S. Scott Crump invented FDM in his own kitchen by experimenting with a hot glue gun and candle wax. The following year he founded Stratasys, which commercialised the technology for industrial applications at prices of tens of thousands of dollars. Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, 3D printing was exclusively a privilege of aerospace, automotive and high-end medical industries.

The real turning point came in 2005 with the RepRap project, led by British engineer Adrian Bowyer at the University of Bath. His vision was to create a 3D printer capable of replicating itself and releasing the blueprints under an open licence. In 2009, when the original FDM patents expired, the maker movement exploded: MakerBot launched its first kit-build printer and the price dropped from $50,000 to under $1,000.

Open source hardware and platforms like Thingiverse (2008) radically democratised the technology. From 2013 onwards, printers like the Prusa i3 established the standard design (which still dominates today) and created a global ecosystem of community, firmwares and materials. Today, a capable FDM printer costs less than €200.

Best practices

The outcome of an FDM 3D print depends on hundreds of variables. These are the practices that make the difference between a quality model and a useless object:

The first layer is everything. A well-adhered first layer is the foundation of any successful print. The nozzle height (Z-offset) must be calibrated until the filament is slightly squished, creating adhesion through pressure. A first layer too high causes detachment; too low clogs the nozzle.

Orient the model to minimise bridges and overhangs. FDM has limitations when printing in mid-air: overhangs beyond 45° require supports that complicate post-processing. Often, rotating the model 90° eliminates the need for supports altogether.

The material dictates temperature and behaviour. PLA prints well at 200–220 °C and needs no heated bed; it is easy but brittle and heat-sensitive. PETG is tougher and more flexible (230–250 °C). ABS requires a heated bed (90–110 °C) and an enclosed chamber to prevent delamination. Each filament is a different world.

Cooling defines detail quality. Excessively fast cooling can cause layer delamination (especially with ABS/ASA); too slow ruins bridges and fine details (especially with PLA). Models with intricate details benefit from a powerful part-cooling fan.

Calibrate your extruder flow (e-steps). A poorly calibrated extruder produces under-extrusion (porous lines, weak bonds) or over-extrusion (rough surfaces, incorrect dimensions). Measuring and adjusting the steps-per-millimetre of the extruder is essential for precision printing.

Store filament properly. Moisture-absorbing filaments (PETG, Nylon, TPU) degrade when exposed to air and produce noisy, porous prints. The solution: airtight boxes with desiccant, or an active filament dryer.

Use cases

Additive manufacturing has transformed entire industries and continues expanding into new territories:

Rapid prototyping and product design. Companies across all sectors use 3D printing to iterate physically on designs in hours rather than weeks. What previously required an expensive injection mould is now an STL file and a few hours of printing.

Medicine and personalised prosthetics. Cranial implants, surgical guides tailored to the patient's anatomy, functional arm prosthetics for children (cost drops from €20,000 to under €100) and anatomical models for medical training. Bioprinting already allows creating cartilage structures and vascular tissue.

Aerospace and automotive. Boeing, Airbus and SpaceX use 3D-printed parts in their vehicles. Rocket Lab's Rutherford engine is the first 3D-printed rocket engine to reach orbit. Ferrari and Bugatti use metal printing for competition parts.

Architecture and construction. Giant concrete printers have already built habitable houses in 24 hours. ICON (Texas) has printed entire neighbourhoods for vulnerable communities. The precision allows geometries impossible with conventional formwork.

Education, art and play. Schools and libraries incorporate 3D printers into their maker spaces. Artists use FDM and resin to create highly complex sculptures. Collectors reproduce figures, miniatures and replacement parts for vintage objects.

Curiosities

• The first commercial 3D printer in history, Chuck Hull's SLA-1 (1987), cost $300,000. Today you can own a functional FDM printer for under €150.
• The Rutherford engine powering Rocket Lab's Electron rocket is the first rocket engine manufactured mostly by 3D printing to reach orbit (2018). 85% of its components are metal-printed.
• NASA sends STL files to the ISS so astronauts can print spare parts directly in space, avoiding costly physical shipments from Earth.
• The RepRap project (2005) was designed so the printer could print most of its own parts. The first generation (the "Darwin") could produce 50% of its plastic components.
• The STL format was invented by Chuck Hull in 1987 as an acronym for "Stereolithography". Years later, the industry collectively decided it stood for "Standard Tessellation Language" to broaden its perceived universality.
• Food 3D printing is already a reality: chocolate, sugar and even pasta can be printed layer by layer. High-end restaurants like Sublimotion in Ibiza use 3D food printers in their tasting menus.
• American sculptor Bathsheba Grossman pioneered the fusion of mathematics and 3D printing: her works represent topological structures impossible to manufacture by any other known method.