3D printing started back in the 1980s. Chuck Hall is credited with the invention of stereolithography, which was the first 3D printing process. It uses UV light to cure liquid resin into 3D objects. Later in that decade, other printing processes such as selective laser sintering and fused deposition modeling were developed.

Fused deposition modeling is one of the most common 3D printing techniques. It works by feeding a thermoplastic filament through a heated extruder, which melts the polymer and deposits it onto a platform in a specific pattern.

One area of concern for home and industrial use is the off-gassing of potentially hazardous compounds during the melting process. These compounds could adversely affect the health of workers or homeowners.

Pyrolysis GC-MS is a useful tool for identifying polymers and their degradation products. This study will show how the GERSTEL PYRO Core system and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry can determine a wide range of plastic types with minimal method development. A comparison will be made between cold trapping and hot transfer from the pyrolysis unit to the column.