FDM stands for Fused Deposition Modeling — the most common and affordable 3D printing technology, widely used in home and hobbyist printers. It works by feeding a spool of plastic filament into a heated extruder, which melts the material and squeezes it out through a nozzle onto the build platform. The printer then lays down material layer by layer, letting each layer cool and bond before adding the next, kind of like a very precise hot-glue gun.

FDM was invented and patented in the late 1980s by Scott Crump, who founded Stratasys — in fact, "FDM" is a trademark of Stratasys. You'll also see the term FFF (Fused Filament Fabrication), which is essentially the same process under a different, non-trademarked name; the two terms are synonyms. FDM is an additive process, meaning it only uses the material needed for the part (plus some support material for overhangs that gets broken off afterward).

The main downside is that the layer lines are visible on finished parts, but it's the go-to choice for functional prototypes and mechanical parts because the printers and materials are much cheaper than resin or powder-based options.

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