3D Printing (FDM) — Fundamentals
Curated: learn how FDM 3D printing really works — from a top free course — then prove it by designing a printable part in Forge and get certified. The first module of the 3D printing track.
Complete beginner's guide to 3D printing — Assembly, tour, slicing, levelling and first prints
Teaching Tech · video · ~1h · Free · English
Why we picked it: The most-watched single-sitting beginner FDM guide from Teaching Tech (~2.9M views), one of the most respected 3D-printing education channels — it's the standard 'you just got your first printer' walkthrough, curated on Class Central as a free video course. In one pass it takes you from how the machine melts and lays down plastic through slicing, bed levelling, and your first successful prints, which is exactly the fundamentals + calibration + quality arc a beginner needs.
- how FDM works — melting and extruding thermoplastic layer by layer
- the printer tour: hotend, nozzle, extruder, bed, axes
- filaments — PLA, PETG, ABS, TPU and their trade-offs
- the slicer — turning a model into G-code (layer height, infill, speed)
- supports and overhangs
- bed levelling and a good first layer for adhesion
- running your first prints and reading the results
- common print-quality problems and how to fix them
Study guide
Open the study guide →1 study section · what to focus on + prove it in Forge, then take the check.
Forge practical
Build it in Forge Design · 3 checks · auto-verified from your design
Start the practical →