Oscar Healy . ATU . G00424324 · 2026
Layered News is all things 3D printing.
I chose 3D printing for this project because I have always found the subject interesting, and it’s something that many people are aware of but don’t necessarily know how it works or what exactly it entails.
3D printing is also known as additive manufacturing. Additive manufacturing is a method of manufacturing where material is added together in a number of ways but mostly dependent on the material, and usually in layers. 3D printing is mostly automated and requires the use of computer aided design (CAD) software to construct a virtual 3D model physically. Without software this would largely be a tedious and impractical process.
The majority of manufacturing is subtractive which means it is started as a raw material and is cut down or refined into something smaller but more functional. For example, logs are cut down into planks, rock is cut from quarry’s and cut into slabs.
Today 3D printing can be done with many different materials everything from plastic to metal.
3D Printing
While 3D printing is seeing an upsurge in consumer use due to it becoming much cheaper in the last 10-15 years (more about that on our history page), and in mass production due to advances in material science, software technology, and printing quality, it is mostly known for its prototyping flexibility. It allows users to prototype much more efficiently; a product designer can iterate on designs and get a feel for what something will be like without developing and adjusting all the tooling involved in alternative methods.
This following video does a deep dive into what 3D printing is and how it works.