3D printers according to the size of the object to be printed, small only a few minutes, large time longer, such as printing a hanging scroll house needs a few days.
3D printers are rapid prototyping machines, and there are fast 3D printers that print up to 100 times faster than ordinary printers, as well as synthetic 3D printers that use 10 different materials to print objects at the same time.
3D printing (3DP), a type of rapid prototyping technology, is a technology that constructs an object by printing layer by layer, based on a digital model file and using a bondable material such as powdered metal or plastic.
3D printing is usually realized using digital technology material printers. Often in the mold manufacturing, industrial design and other fields are used to manufacture models, and then gradually used in the direct manufacture of some products, there have been parts printed using this technology. The technology has applications in jewelry, footwear, industrial design, architecture, engineering and construction (AEC), automotive, aerospace, dental and medical industries, education, geographic information systems, civil engineering, firearms, and other fields.
On April 19, 2016, the 3D Printing Technology Research Center of the Chongqing Green Intelligent Technology Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CQGITRI)
announced to the public that, after more than two years of efforts by the institute and the Space Application Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (SACS) and the completion of the parabolic weightlessness flight test in Bordeaux, France, the first domestic space-based on-orbit 3D printer was declared a successful development. This 3D printer can print the largest parts size up to 200 × 130mm, it can help astronauts in the weightless environment of self-made parts needed to significantly improve the flexibility of the space station experiments, reduce the types and number of space station spare parts and operating costs, reduce the dependence of the space station on the ground supply.