My 3d printing journey began a couple of months ago when I discovered that these machines are more than toys and available for hundreds of dollars vs thousands just a few years ago.  A 3d printer produces parts a layer at a time.  FDM (Fused Deposition Modeling) printers work by heating a filament, often a type of plastic, to the point where it is soft enough for extrusion through a nozzle.  

This process resembles using a hot glue gun.  Instead of controlling the gun/nozzle by hand a computer precisely controls the placement of the extruded filament.

The following video introduces FDM 3d printer and takes the viewer on a journey from the design of a part in a computer aided design (CAD) program through to printer of the part.

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