What is the main idea of the passage?

A three-dimensional printer turns a sliced digital model into an object by placing and cooling material one layer at a time. (The passage follows the full translation from digital slices to repeated physical deposits and also notes the method’s limits.)

Why might a design need temporary support material?

A new layer can sag when there is nothing beneath it. (The final paragraph directly links unsupported fresh layers with sagging.)

What does “deposits” mean in the final sentence?

small amounts of material placed in position (The printer builds by placing narrow lines of softened material, so deposits are the amounts it puts down.)

What happens immediately after the plastic is placed for a slice?

It cools and becomes firm. (The second paragraph says the placed plastic cools and becomes firm before the next layer is added.)

The Printer That Builds in Layers: Level 2 Reading Comprehension Questions

A three-dimensional printer begins with a digital model. Software divides the model into thin horizontal slices. Each slice becomes an instruction for one level of the physical object.

In a common kind of printer, a nozzle heats a plastic thread until it softens. The nozzle moves across a platform, placing a narrow line where the first slice says material should go. The plastic cools and becomes firm. Then the machine raises its working position slightly and lays down the next slice. Layer follows layer until the full shape appears.

This method can create curves, hollow spaces, and custom parts without cutting them from a solid block. It also has limits. A fresh layer may sag if nothing supports it from below, so some designs need temporary support material. The surface can show fine ridges where the layers meet. Printing can also be slow because every line must be placed in order. The machine does not simply pull a finished object from a file. It translates a digital shape into a careful sequence of small deposits.

Comprehension questions