There are a variety of very different types of 3D printing technologies, but they all share one core thing in common: they create a three dimensional object by building it layer by successive layer, until the entire object is complete.
Each of these layers is a thinly sliced, horizontal cross-section of the eventual object. Imagine a multi-layer cake, with the baker laying down each layer one at a time until the entire cake is formed. 3D printing is similar, but just a bit more precise than 3D baking.
Each 3D-printed object begins with a digital Computer Aided Design (CAD) file, created with a 3D modeling program, or one which was scanned into a 3D modeling program with a 3D scanner. To get from this digital file into instructions that the 3D printer understands, software then slices the design into hundreds or thousands of horizontal layers.
The 3D printer reads this file, and proceeds to create each layer exactly to specification. As the layers are created, they blend together with no hint of the layering visible, resulting in one three dimensional object.
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