Welcome to Chapter 1 of the 3D Printing Workshop. We're going to take a second to investigate the technology behind 3D printing before we jump into it. By the end of this chapter, you should have learned about some of the most popular 3D printing technologies. You'll have a good understanding of 3D printing, where it's being used and why.

You'll also know what type of manufacturing process 3D printing is, and more importantly, why it's called that. You'll also understand the materials used by 3D printers, how the hardware on the 3D printer works together, and the workflow and software required to use a 3D printer. Let's jump into it.