3D Printing Technology The first thing to know about 3D printers is the printing technology, since not all printers use the same. Most home 3D printers use a process called “Fused Deposition Modeling” (FDM) also sometimes called “Fused Filament Fabrication” (FFF) or “Plastic Jet Printing” (PJP). This printing technology is the process of making a three-dimensional object by laying down successive layers of a specific material (normally plastic) layer by layer until the entire object is made. The layers are like horizontal cross-sections of the object which were created by the 3D modeling software and formed by extruding a continuous length of plastic material using a heated nozzle which hardens almost immediately after extrusion. Some other home 3D printers use a process called “Stereolithography” (SLA) in which a laser solidifies layer on layer of photosensitive resin to form the part.