3D Printing was first invented in 1983. The first 3D printer was an SL type of 3D printer. It worked by using UV light to cure resin that soldifies in UV light. It would print this resin by having a UV lamp cure resin from a syringe like tube that would put the resin on a build plate and trace out each layer of an object to form it layer by layer. 3D printing also known as Additive Manufacturing (AM) is commonly used for Rapid Prototyping (RP) and Rapid Manufacturing (RM) is an easy way to produce products at low volume production that can be easily developed or customized to suit what ever your needs may be. More details will be covered in this section.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://community.robotshop.com/tutorials/show/3d-printing