Other attributes
3D printing (often called additive manufacturing or direct digital manufacturing) is a process, where a three-dimensional object is created (prototyped) by a printer using any needed material as the "ink" and directed by a computer aided design (CAD) file based on a 3D modeling program (created either from scratch or by scanning a 3D model to be reproduced).
3D bioprinting (or tissue, organ construct, or organ printing) is an automated and computerized process of layer-by-layer printing of 3D animal or human tissues, organ constructs or whole organs by using cells or tissue spheroids (cell aggregates) as bioink and using biodegradable hydrogels, holding cells or spheroids in place and providing a nutritional environment, as biopaper.
3D bioprinting requires special printers (3D bioprinters) that dispense bioink and biopaper with high precision according to the instructions received from CAD. Subsequently, the printed tissue/organ construct may be placed in a bioreactor, a mechanical unit creating a biological environment necessary for tissue/organ construct's growth and development.