3 THE EVOLUTION OF AN IDEA: A BRIEF TYPOLOGY OF 3D PRINTING

Additive manufacturing can be construed quite broadly, but the core elements include controlled fusing of material(s) under computer control. Beginning in the 1980s, the field has expanded into many materials, being fused with a variety of techniques, resulting in builds with many different characteristics. From the earliest days, 3D printing as a field has evolved in many directions: • Better materials (from an engineering standpoint): tougher, stronger, lighter. • Scale, both smaller to nano-scale assembly and larger, to include large airplanes and buildings. • Resolution, as the units of deposition get more precise. Price/performance. • Domains, from prototype parts to food, structures, and living tissue.