GC: n

CT: 3D printer is unlike of the common printers. On a 3D printer the object is printed by three dimension. A 3D model is built up layer by layer. Therefore the whole process is called rapid prototyping, or 3D printing.
A common process of rapid prototyping is to apply a fine powder (plaster, bioplastic, polyurethane, polyester, epoxy, metal, etc.) in such a 3D inkjet printers. Printer print out the layer of powder on a bed and form a fixed object. The design is defined by a CAD file.
Fused deposition modeling (FDM) is another method in which molten polymer is sprayed on a support layer and the model is built layer by layer.
Another way is to use liquids, such as photopolymer, by the same inkjet-type head which is also printed each layer by layer.
Following, an ultraviolet light is used to activate the print head so that the liquid layer become a solid layer. This process is also well-known as stereolithography.

S: http://www.3ders.org/3d-printer.html (last access: 14 May 2017)

N: 1. – 3D (n): having a three-dimensional form or appearance.
3D is also a movie with images having three dimensional form or appearance.
– printer (n): c. 1500, “person who prints books, etc.,” agent noun from print (v.). As a mechanical device from 1859, originally in telegraphy. In the computer sense, from 1946. Printer’s bible (c. 1702) so called from mistaken substitution of printers for princes in Psalms cxix.161, which led to the misreading:
Printers have persecuted me without a cause.
2. A 3D printer is a computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) device that creates three-dimensional objects. Like a traditional printer, a 3D printer receives digital data from a computer as input. However, instead of printing the output on paper, a 3D printer builds a three-dimensional model out of a custom material.
3. 3D printers use a process called additive manufacturing to form (or “print”) physical objects layer by layer until the model is complete. This is different than subtractive manufacturing, in which a machine reshapes or removes material from an existing mold. Since 3D printers create models from scratch, they are more efficient and produce less waste than subtractive manufacturing devices.

S: 1. http://www.finedictionary.com/3D.html (last access: 14 May 2017); OED – http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=printer (last access: 14 May 2017). 2 & 3. https://techterms.com/definition/3d_printer (last access: 14 May 2017).

SYN: three-dimensional printer, 3-dimensional printer, 3DP, 3D fabber.

S: GDT – http://www.granddictionnaire.com/ficheOqlf.aspx?Id_Fiche=26522379 (last access: 14 May 2017)

CR: bioprinter, hologram, holography, 3D printing.