3D printing is everywhere these days. People use it to make everything from product prototypes to jet engines, and everything in between — but how do 3D printers work, exactly? How do these magical ...

Dot matrix printers, also known as impact matrix devices, are an older kind of printer that relies on an ink-soaked ribbon similar to that used in a typewriter. These devices were the most common ...

It’s been a while since 3D printers became available and started allowing people to create 3D objects in the real world right from their own home. If you’re interested in getting a rundown of what 3D ...

Computer plotters are a type of output device commonly used for computer-aided design applications, to output large vector designs such as architectural blueprints. By moving a pen mechanically, ...

Although 3D printing tends to be regarded as a new form of disruptive technology, the concept actually dates back to the 1940s when it was first described in science fiction. It later cropped up in ...

AT FIRST, 3D printing was known as stereolithography, a process invented in 1986 by Chuck Hull of 3D Systems. Variations of this process are still used. It begins, like all 3D printing, with software ...

Former CNET editor Dong Ngo has been involved with technology since 2000, starting with testing gadgets and writing code for CNET Labs' benchmarks. He managed CNET's San Francisco Labs, reviews 3D ...