ITPEC IP April 2026 Question 23

It uses three-dimensional data to form a three-dimensional object — a 3D printer turns a digital 3D model into a physical object.

The printer slices the 3D model (from CAD, or from a 3D scanner) into thin cross-sections and builds the object one layer at a time: a heated nozzle lays down melted plastic, light cures liquid resin, or a laser fuses powder. The result is a real object with height, not a picture.

Answer (b)

Why not others:

• •(a) — an image that only looks three-dimensional on a flat surface is still an ordinary two-dimensional print
• •(c) — printing an image onto the curved surface of an object that already exists decorates it; nothing new is formed
• •(d) — showing a three-dimensional image in space with a laser is an aerial or holographic display: an image to look at, not an object

Key rule: A 3D printer goes from data to object and a 3D scanner from object to data; anything that only shows an image, however three-dimensional, is a display or an ordinary print.

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