3D Printing Basics Quiz
Know your FDM from your SLA? This quick challenge tests the core ideas, history, and materials behind 3D printing, with a score that shows how solid your basics are.
About this quiz
3D printing sounds futuristic, but the basics are easier to grasp than many people think. This quiz explores the core terms, technologies, materials, and milestones behind additive manufacturing, from FDM and PLA to SLA and SLS.
As you work through the questions, you will test how well you understand the language and history of 3D printing. When you finish, you will get a result that reflects your current level, whether you are just getting started, brushing up on fundamentals, or already confident with the essentials.
Possible results
🧱 Flat-Pack Fan
SCORE RANGE: 0 – 49
Terms like FDM, SLA, and SLS are still a bit of an alphabet soup for you, and the pioneers behind 3D printing are mostly unfamiliar names.
🖨️ Quick challenge: Look up Chuck Hull's original stereolithography patent, it's the technology that started it all.
🖨️ First Layer Learner
SCORE RANGE: 50 – 69
You've got the basics down, filament, layers, additive manufacturing, but the deeper history of who invented what is still a bit blurry.
📖 Did you know: The STL file format's name is a nod to stereolithography, the very first 3D printing technology.
🔧 Filament Tinkerer
SCORE RANGE: 70 – 89
Nice work. You clearly know your PLA from your ABS, and you've got a solid grip on the technologies and pioneers behind additive manufacturing.
👏 So close: Just a fact or two got past you, but you print circles around most beginners.
🏗️ Additive Manufacturing Pro
SCORE RANGE: 90 – 100
Fantastic. From Chuck Hull's original SLA patent to Adrian Bowyer's RepRap project, you know the technology and the history behind 3D printing thoroughly.
🏆 Your move: Share your score, then go compare notes with a friend who owns a 3D printer.
Quiz questions
What does 'FDM,' the most common consumer 3D printing technology, stand for?
3D printing is also widely known by what broader industrial term?
Who is generally credited with inventing stereolithography (SLA), the first 3D printing technology?
Chuck Hull filed the patent for stereolithography (SLA) in which year?
What common, plant-derived thermoplastic filament is popular for beginner FDM 3D printing?
The standard 'STL' file format used widely in 3D printing derives its name from which technology?
What is the general term for the extra, removable material printed beneath overhangs to prevent them from collapsing during printing?
The 3D printing technology called 'SLS' stands for what?
The RepRap project, launched in 2005 with the goal of creating self-replicating 3D printers, was started by whom?
Scott Crump, who later co-founded Stratasys, is credited with inventing which 3D printing technology in the late 1980s?
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