Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM), also known as Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF), is a widely used 3D printing technology in the material extrusion category.
Process Overview
FDM printers heat thermoplastic filament, such as PLA or ABS, in an extruder nozzle and deposit it layer by layer onto a build platform following a CAD model’s toolpath. Each molten strand cools and fuses to the previous layer, forming a solid object through repeated slicing and deposition cycles.