Skip to content
Ellis Abel Learns.

In my own words

Why I love 3D printers

Two large gantry 3D printers extrude curved concrete walls of subscale habitat structures side by side at NASA's 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge. Real NASA photograph used on the Ellis Abel Learns "Why I Love 3D Printing" page.
Two large gantry 3D printers extrude curved concrete walls of subscale habitat structures side by side at NASA's 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge. NASA · Public domain
  • I draw it and then I can hold it.
  • It builds up in tiny layers, over and over.
  • If it does not fit, I change it and print it again.

What it really is

A 3D printer builds an object one thin layer at a time.

Three things to try today

  1. Draw a part you wish existed.
  2. Measure something it has to fit.
  3. Write down the measurement to the millimeter.
Members of the Penn State team prepare their gantry 3D printer before starting a habitat print at the NASA 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge. Real NASA photograph used on the Ellis Abel Learns "Why I Love 3D Printing" page.
Members of the Penn State team prepare their gantry 3D printer before starting a habitat print at the NASA 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge. NASA · Public domain

For the grown-up reading this

Tolerance is the lesson. A part that is a millimeter off does not fit, and that is the point.

Why I love 3D printers — 4,299 places across America

Alabama (87)
Alaska (33)
Arizona (43)
Arkansas (86)
California (273)
Colorado (85)
Connecticut (27)
D.C. (1)
Delaware (5)
Florida (158)
Georgia (185)
Hawaii (8)
Idaho (54)
Illinois (155)
Indiana (117)
Iowa (112)
Kansas (116)
Kentucky (129)
Louisiana (81)
Maine (21)
Maryland (35)
Massachusetts (53)
Michigan (120)
Minnesota (111)
Mississippi (88)
Missouri (131)
Montana (61)
Nebraska (97)
Nevada (22)
New Hampshire (13)
New Jersey (45)
New Mexico (40)
New York (90)
North Carolina (127)
North Dakota (57)
Ohio (124)
Oklahoma (88)
Oregon (51)
Pennsylvania (88)
Rhode Island (6)
Rhode Island and Providence Plantations (5)
South Carolina (65)
South Dakota (68)
Tennessee (114)
Texas (340)
Utah (48)
Vermont (16)
Virginia (158)
Washington (77)
Washington, D.C. (1)
West Virginia (64)
Wisconsin (95)
Wyoming (25)

Love something else too

All 51 things to love · Girls are great at math