GC: n

CT: 3D printing or additive manufacturing is a process of making three dimensional solid objects from a digital file.
The creation of a 3D printed object is achieved using additive processes. In an additive process an object is created by laying down successive layers of material until the object is created. Each of these layers can be seen as a thinly sliced horizontal cross-section of the eventual object.

S: https://3dprinting.com/what-is-3d-printing/ (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.
printing (adj): present participle adjective from print (v.). Printing press is from 1580s.
2. 3D printing, in full three-dimensional printing, in manufacturing, any of several processes for fabricating three-dimensional objects by layering two-dimensional cross sections sequentially, one on top of another.
3. The process is analogous to the fusing of ink or toner onto paper in a printer (hence the term printing) but is actually the solidifying or binding of a liquid or powder at each spot in the horizontal cross section where solid material is desired. In the case of 3D printing, the layering is repeated hundreds or thousands of times until the entire object has been finished throughout its vertical dimension. Frequently, 3D printing is employed in quickly turning out plastic or metal prototypes during the design of new parts, though it also can be put to use in making final products for sale to customers.
4. Objects made in 3D printing range from plastic figurines and mold patterns to steel machine parts and titanium surgical implants. An entire 3D printing apparatus can be enclosed in a cabinet roughly the size of a large kitchen stove or refrigerator.

S: 1. http://www.finedictionary.com/3D.html (last access: 14 May 2017); OED – http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=printing&allowed_in_frame=0. 2 to 4. EncBrit – https://www.britannica.com/technology/3D-printing (last access: 14 May 2017).

SYN: three-dimensional printing, 3-dimensional printing, 3DP, additive manufacturing, AM, additive fabrication.

S: GDT – http://www.granddictionnaire.com/ficheOqlf.aspx?Id_Fiche=26522377 (last access: 14 May 2017)

CR: bioprinter, hologram, holography, scutoid, 3D printer.