The meshed 3D model can also be used to produce a plastic version of the bone. To do so, it is necessary to convert the file into a suitable format (.STL in most cases), and send the new file to a 3D printer. The machine uses melted plastic to build the object; it melts a plastic filament through an extrusion head and deposits the material line-by-line on a build platform according to the digital design.
Each time a layer is finished, the build platform steps down relative to the extruder head and the process is repeated layer-by-layer until the object is complete, as shown in the video below.