• Question: how does a 3d printer work

    Asked by Cian ó maonaigh to Caoimhe, Colin, David, Katie, Lisa on 14 Nov 2014.
    • Photo: David Taylor

      David Taylor answered on 14 Nov 2014:

      There are different types (I think Colin knows about them better than me). Most of them work by laying down thin layers of plastic and building up one layer on the next. But we have one which uses sheets of paper cut into different shapes.

    • Photo: Colin Keogh

      Colin Keogh answered on 15 Nov 2014:

      It basically melts plastic wire and builds any object layer by layer until you have the final product. This link explains it well
      http://rack.0.mshcdn.com/media/ZgkyMDEyLzA4LzAxLzE3XzM3XzAzXzc3Ml9maWxlCnAJdGh1bWIJMTIwMHg5NjAwPg/cdd038eb

      The best thing i have printed is a prosthetic hand for a little girl who had lost her fingers. We made her a fully functioning hand with moving fingers for less than 5 euros (most medical prosthetic hands cost more than 5,000 euros). As she grows up and gets bigger, we can make her bigger version of the hand, and then print new parts if any get broken.

    • Photo: Katie Mahon

      Katie Mahon answered on 16 Nov 2014:

      Colin explains it better than I ever could!

    • Photo: Caoimhe O'Neill

      Caoimhe O'Neill answered on 21 Nov 2014:

      Good answer @Colin

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