1-D

2-D
3-D
This 3-D bike was made by a special new printer.
line
paper
bowl
What kinds of objects will
3-D printers make next?
Computer printers dont just use flat
paper anymore. A new printer can make
solid objects, such as bikes or lamps.
Solid objects are 3-D, or three-
dimensional. A flat piece of paper is
only 2-D. It has length and width. But
a bike is 3-D. You can measure a bike
from side to side and top to bottom.
But you can also measure it from front
to back. So a bike is a 3-D object.
p r e s e n t e d b y a d i v i s i o n o f L e a r n i n g A - Z Science a-z
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SCIENCE NEWS
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How can a 3-D printer make a bike?
First, scientists make plans on a
computer. They send these plans
to the printer. The 3-D printer builds
each part of the bike in thin layers of
powder. Heat melts the powder and
makes it solid. Then scientists snap
the parts together. It looks just like
a bike, and it works, too!
Compare these items that have 1, 2, and 3 dimensions.
November 2011
3-D Technology: Print Me a Bike!
3-D Technology: Print Me a Bicycle!
By Ron Fridell
Credits: top: Rex Features/AP Images; bottom left: iStockphoto.com/t_kimura; bottom center: iStockphoto.com/Roberto A Sanchez; bottom right: Jupiterimages Corporation
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SCIENCE in the NEWS
Continued from page 1
Write About This!
How You See in
Hold a finger up. Look at it with
one eye and then the other. Why
does your finger seem to jump left
and right? Each eye sees things
from a different angle. Your brain
brings these two flat views together
into one 3-D
view. This is why
you see the
world in three
dimensions.
Find the words from the box and circle them.
Q S O L I D W B 2 D
D I M E N S I O N S
L M 3 N F L A T 3 N
T O P G W I D T H G
D E P T H S I O N 2
E W 2 H T 3 D M A H
Word Search
length
2D
width
3D
depth
top
solid
bottom
dimensions
at
3-D Movies
3. Connect each pair
of corners with
a slanted line.
2. Draw another
square that
overlaps the
frst square.
1. Draw a square
You can draw
a 3-D box!
Follow these steps.
Credits: top: iStockphoto.com/Ryan Burke; center left: iStockphoto.com/coloroftime; cubes: iStockphoto.com/andres; bottom right: iStockphoto.com/Srdjan Stamenkovic
A 3-D printer can do
amazing new things.
Think about other
machines people use.
Make a list of new
things that one of
these machines
might do
someday.
Then write a
story about life
in the future.