3D printing, layer by layer.

When you hear “3D printing”, you may picture something complicated. The idea is actually simple: an object is built from the bottom up, one thin layer on another, the way a stone wall goes up course by course.

From a drawing to layers.

It all starts with a drawing. On the computer I draw the object in three dimensions: the shape of the stand, your logo, the lettering and the places for the QR code and the chip. Then a special program slices it into very thin horizontal layers and, for each layer, works out the path the printer's nozzle will follow.

How the printer lays the layers.

My printer works by a method called FDM. It gets its plastic as a thin thread wound on a spool. The thread goes into a heated nozzle, melts there and comes out as an even thinner line, a bit like paste from a tube. With that line the nozzle draws the first layer on the bed: the outline first, then the inside.

When a layer is done, the nozzle moves up by the thickness of one layer and draws the next one, right on top of the last. The warm plastic bonds to the layer below and cools. Layer by layer, a whole stand grows up from the flat bed.

The inside of the object isn't solid. The printer builds a lattice of thin walls inside it, so the piece is light and still strong. On the surface, if you look closely, you can see fine horizontal lines. Those are the layers, the trace of how the object was made.

Why it can look like your place.

Factory production needs a mould for every shape, so it only pays when many identical pieces are made. A 3D printer needs no mould. Every piece is made from a drawing, so the stand for one konoba can be completely different from the stand for another without costing more to make.

• The shape can follow something from your place: the arch of a stone doorway, a wave, a roofline or the outline of your logo.
• The colour of the plastic is chosen to match your logo and your place, from the colours the thread comes in. An exact match to your printed materials isn't always possible, so we talk about colour before the work starts.
• The logo and lettering can be raised or recessed, so you can feel them under your finger.

A taxi can have a keyring shaped like its roof sign, an apartment a plaque the colour of its shutters, and a konoba a stand that looks as if it has always stood on its stone table.

Where the NFC chip goes.

The chip in a stand has to be close to the surface the guest holds the phone to, because NFC only works when the phone is almost on it. So I don't stick it on the back, I build it into the stand itself. The printer pauses at a set layer, I place the chip in a pocket left for it, and then the printer carries on and seals it in with the layers above.

The chip stays inside the stand, protected from spilt drinks and scratches, and a mark on the surface can show where to hold the phone. The QR code goes on the front, large and clear enough for the camera to catch from a chair. That way the stand also works for guests whose phones don't read NFC, as I explain in tap, scan or type.

Chips work poorly on metal. If a plaque has to go on a metal door or a wall clad in sheet metal, tell me first.

Ready pieces and custom work.

Ready pieces have a known shape and a known price, with your logo, your colours and your content on the chip. They are:

• a table stand with a chip and a QR code, €50;
• a plaque for a wall or door, with a QR code and a chip, €50;
• a keyring with an NFC chip, €20.

You order ready pieces straight away, just like a card: choose what you need, see the price and send the message.

Custom work is everything else: a sign, a holder or an object you have in mind. Here I first need to see what you need, so the price is agreed in a written offer before anything starts. The timing for 3D pieces is agreed too, because it depends on the size and the number of pieces.

What 3D printing can't do.

Every printer has a largest size it can print, so bigger objects are made in parts. The surface always shows fine layer lines and isn't as smooth as moulded plastic. And the colours are the ones the thread comes in. For a stand, a plaque or a keyring, those aren't obstacles; they are part of the look.