A good resource to start browsing which 3D printing course might interest you is Coursera, the decade-old subscription global online learning platform that partners with nearly 300 universities to offer truly world-class education, as they say: for all, anytime, anywhere. You’ll need to join Coursera for about $44 a month, but hey, once you’ve gone through all of the 3D printing and 3D software courses, of which there are many, you can learn Chinese or fine-tune your photography skills.

3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing Specialization

Here, you can take the “3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing Specialization” course through the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. This course, aimed at beginners, uses experts from academia and industry partners, such as Ultimaker and Autodesk, to give you a detailed overview of what 3D printing is all about and how, generally, 3D printers work. It also includes an introduction to what skills are needed in 3D modeling — the digital part of creating your product. Tangible skills to take home include designing, prototyping, and manufacturing.

• Cost: Enroll for free, but requires a Coursera subscription at about $44/month
• Duration: Two months at 10 hours a week, with a flexible schedule, learning at your own pace.
• Access: Taught in English with 19 other languages available.

If you’re looking for a slightly shorter introductory course (10-hours a week over 1 month) suitable for hobbyists or beginners, check out Coursera’s “Additive Manufacturing Specialization” from Arizona State University. This program simplifies additive manufacturing (AM) into three key elements: process, materials, and design, teaching a broad understanding of each to prepare students for later advanced study.

Another robust site for flexible skill development is Udemy. With nearly 200,000 courses having helped 67 million learners, it’s a popular resource for learning the latest technology from experts.

Ultimate 3D Printing Course (FDM)

Focused on beginners who may not yet have bought their first 3D printer and are particularly interested in buying a fused deposition modeling (FDM) machine, the “Ultimate 3D Printing Course (FDM)” is a clear introduction to the technology. In 38.5 hours of on-demand video learning that you can access on your mobile device or a TV, you’re sure to end up sounding like an expert and, coupled with All3DP’s buyer’s guides, making the right 3D printer purchase. There’s even a certificate to prove your knowledge, should you need to for a job.

Although the title says FDM, this course also covers resin 3D printing and will guide you to which specific printer might suit your needs and how to start using it.

The course is led by mechanical engineer Steven Mosbrucker, who covers the technologies, materials, and the software basics. Among more than 100 students who rated it, the course has scored a 4.6 out of 5.

• Cost: $100
• Duration: 38.5 hours on-demand video
• Access: Full lifetime access on mobile and TV. Taught in English.

Udemy offers a wide range of 3D printing-related content ranging from technology-specific topics such as “3D Resin Printing: From Start to Finish” to even more related to 3D modeling software, including “Complete Blender Creator: Learn 3D Modeling for Beginners“, “Designing for 3D Printing with Fusion 360“, and “Master Solidworks 3D CAD Using Real-World Examples“.

If you have a paid premium subscription to the professional social media platform LinkedIn (~$50/month), it comes with a wealth of skill-building courses, called LinkedIn Learning, that you can access for no additional charge. Here, you can take a course, and once you’re finished, post your accomplishment on your profile as a professional asset.

LinkedIn courses are shorter in duration than Coursera or Udemy, but if you have less time to invest, these may be perfect for you.

Additive Manufacturing: Tips, Tricks, and Techniques

Thousands of LinkedIn subscribers have taken this 5-hour course, “Additive Manufacturing: Tips, Tricks, and Techniques“, taught by instructors Joan Horvath and Rich Cameron from Nonscriptum, the 3D printing and maker-tech education company. It’s aimed at beginner and intermediate-level learners to equip them with basic knowledge to design and produce top-quality prints consistently. Horvath and Cameron offer loads of advice on troubleshooting your 3D printing and choosing materials.

• Cost: Free with a LinkedIn Premium subscription at $49.99/month
• Durationn: 5 hours 20 minutes of videos
• Access: A subscription is required, but limited-time free trials are regularly available.

Another course taught by Horvath and Cameron, “Additive Manufacturing: Materials for 3D Printing“, demonstrates in just two hours how best to evaluate the many materials available in 3D printing. The course includes lessons on industry standards and the importance of sustainability in this technology that has a heavy use of plastics.

Another popular place to explore online learning courses is Skillshare. This platform distinguishes itself from the others by offering a subscription-based model focused on practical, skill-oriented courses in creative and professional fields. If you learn best by doing, these project-based classes, such as “How To Design And Create Cookie Cutters” with 3D printing, are the perfect fit.

You won’t find too many of the five-hour long courses here but, instead, collections of shorter classes that, when taken in a group, offer a thorough introduction to all aspects of 3D printing.

Introduction to 3D Printing: An Easy Start to Your First 3D Design

This beginner course, “Introduction to 3D Printing: An Easy Start to Your First 3D Design“, covers several steps in eight short videos over just a little more than an hour’s time. Although a short course, it’s a practical hands-on project where you model your own 3D design for any type of hand-held object. This project is all about exploring how to create something practical and then get it 3D printed at a service. The course references Photoshop and Illustrator, two expensive software programs from Adobe, but you can jump right to the 3D designing in the free app Tinkercad. It’s best if you already own a 3D printer.

• Cost: Free with the the $20/month Skillshare subscription. There’s also a free one-month trial.
• Duration: 1 hour 4 minutes.
• Access: A membership is required, but free trials are available. In English with subtitles in five languages.

If you want take your new design skills and advance a bit further into printing, after the course above, jump into “3D Printing – A Complete Course” with instructor Austen Hartley, who also has a popular YouTube channel. This easy-to-follow two-hour course is ideal for when you’re just about to order your first 3D printer and want to hit the ground running. If you want to get even more out of your $20/month Skillshare subscription, why not master Fusion 360 (the professional computer-aided design program) in “Fusion 360 Complete Course“, which runs just over nine hours.

Domestika stands out as an online learning platform because it specializes in only creative and design-oriented courses. Although it’s a Spanish-based company, headquartered in Madrid, the majority of its course offerings are in English. Its project-based approach, diverse instructor base, multilingual support, and community interaction contribute to its global appeal.

Introduction to 3D Design and Printing

This “Introduction to 3D Design and Printing” course combines creativity and functionality to design and print a 3D object for everyday use so there’s definitely a feeling of accomplishment at the end.

To get the most out of this course you’ll need a computer with Autodesk Fusion 360 (access the free version) and Ultimaker Cura. You also need PLA filaments and access to an FDM 3D printer or an external 3D printing service, like Craftcloud. The course spans 19 lessons and 29 downloads and has a 97% positive rating after more than 1,000 reviews.

• Cost: $65
• Duration: 3 hours
• Access: In English and Spanish with subtitles in five languages.

Another Domestika course of interest is 3D Printing and Design for Architecture Models from the same instructor as above, Agustín Arroyo. Here he delves into how to build models and recreate spaces using 3D printing.

The American Society of Mechanical Engineers is a long-established professional association that operates as both a society for engineers and a standards organization. First set up almost 150 years ago, the society now has over 78,000 members in more than 145 countries, promoting art, science, and multidisciplinary engineers with 8,000 trained annually.

Design for Additive Manufacturing with Metals

One course available with the society is “Design for Additive Manufacturing with Metals“, which aims to provide an understanding of the key steps to design solely metal parts for production and manufacturing. The course provides the key foundational knowledge so you can properly evaluate whether or not additive manufacturing is a potentially viable technology solution at you company for your particular application.

Aimed at early to mid-career engineers working individually or within teams at design and manufacturing firms, this program takes learners through evaluating the viability of metal 3D printing to your application, through to design, optimization, printing, and post-processing. For this course you’ll need to be familiar with and have access to CAD software and know how to use it. Access to a LPBF 3D printer is ideal, but not required.

• Cost: $195
• Duration: Not provided
• Access: Online self-study course with 180 days to complete.

Applicable to the same group of early to mid-career engineers, the “Additive Manufacturing Manufacturability: Laser Powder Bed Fusion” course focuses on metal laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) process. The aim is to demonstrate what can be done with LPBF technology and what might be beyond the design capacity.

If, in addition to learning, your goal is to earn a certification in additive manufacturing, check out SME, the Society of Manufacturing Engineers. Underpinned by the maxim: “Manufacturing holds the key to economic growth and prosperity,” SME works to improve communities of manufacturers in both academia and industry. Established in 1932, SME shares knowledge and resources to provide solutions to manufacturing challenges.

Certified Additive Manufacturing – Fundamentals (CAM-F)

This online certification course will ground you in the basics of AM, including the seven technologies and their related material sets, plus offer guidelines on safety. This program is perfect for beginners in the industry or anyone considering AM for their business. SME says that the process of earning certification not only prepares you to enter the AM industry with expert knowledge, but also proves your competencies. Certification is ideal for those working in or seeking to work in additive manufacturing roles in automotive, aerospace, and medical equipment. It is also ideal for high schools and colleges as a capstone or stand-alone achievement to increase workforce readiness in additive manufacturing.

• Cost: $249 non-SME member, $159 member, $75 student, plus fees for optional certification exam
• Duration: Unspecified
• Access: Online course in English

After your Fundamentals certificate and a few years an in engineering role, you qualify to take the “Certified Additive Manufacturing – Technician (CAM-T)” certification. This robust online course is fit for more advanced learners and builds on the seven AM technologies you learned before, with a deeper look at processes, material selection, post-processing, and safety guidelines.

The Barnes Global Advisors, a US-based consulting company specializing in additive manufacturing, has partnered with Purdue University in Indiana to deliver a certification program establishing you as an AM expert.

Additive Manufacturing Certificate Program

The Additive Manufacturing Certificate Program offers working professionals and students the chance to enhance their knowledge and skills in the constantly developing field of AM technology. By the end of this learning journey, you’ll be confident in your ability to identify and explain essential additive manufacturing concepts, processes, and materials. The detailed, self-paced course is supported by a series of online video instruction, workbooks, discussion groups, and case studies.

• Cost: Fom $1,500
• Duration: The course is completed in 15 weeks, on average.
• Access: 100% online course in English

The Barnes Global Advisors will also customize an AM training solution to meet your needs, whether it’s to up-skill your engineers on AM or train them to design products with AM in mind.

The Advisors are also available to come to your facility for 2.5 days in-person group training should you require it.

Ampower, a German AM industry analytics and consulting company, offers several self-paced additive manufacturing online learning programs. These trainings are targeted at engineers, managers, and other professionals who are working with the technology on a daily basis. The online learning programs can be combined with live training for a hands-on implementation of additive manufacturing at your company.

AM Fundamentals

This “AM Fundamentals” hour-long course helps you understand the most important topics to get started with, such as different process categories, current trends, the AM mindset, and application examples. It’s the ideal starting point for anyone at your company who wants to get an overview of AM and apply the technology on the job.

A subscription to the entire Ampower Academy, which is about $400 for team access, includes the individual courses: AM Fundamentals, Metal Technologies, Polymer Technologies, Part Identification, Cost Calculation Metal, Sinter-based AM, and Metal LPBF. You can access the first course Additive Manufacturing Fundamentals for free after subscribing to the Ampower Academy newsletter. There’s also an enterprise licenses for company-wide access.

• Cost: $400/year team access
• Duration: 1-2 hours per course
• Access: Online on-demand video in English

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, consistently ranked the #1 university in the world, offers a wide variety of online learning certificate programs for professionals already working in the field. It’s additive manufacturing certificate program has been on offer for years and, many would say, has contributed to the expansion of the technology across manufacturing in the US.

Additive Manufacturing for Innovative Design and Production

At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the Additive Manufacturing for Innovative Design and Production course takes learners through the fundamentals, applications, and business implications relevant to designing and manufacturing with 3D printing. Its costs a pretty-penny, but … it’s MIT, and it’s a serious crash-coruse in AM.

Taking advantage of the MIT xPRO Learning platform and a world-class faculty, the syllabus gives a comprehensive grounding in AM that’s directly applicable to a range of industries, including construction, aerospace, healthcare, education, energy, transportation, and information technology. You’ll learn to identify how, when, and where AM can create value at your company across the entire product lifecycle, and how to implement it.

The course combines video lectures three MIT professors of mechanical engineering and others, plus assignments you need to complete and hand in for grading. There’s also opportunities for live video-discussion.

MIT says that this online course will give you the knowledge and confidence to architect and implement innovative uses of AM at your company and accelerate your career in this rapidly emerging field.

• Cost: $2,369
• Duration: 12 weeks, with two break weeks.
• Access: Online through the MIT xPRO Learning platform.