We consider the nonequilibrium thermodynamic aspects of the techno-industrial process of thermal laser stereolithography. The conditions necessary for a satisfactory process of rapid prototyping to follow are characterized and discussed. We show that the process is best described in terms of modern theories of nonequilibrium thermodynamics of dissipative systems. Nonconservative fluxes need to be introduced as basic variables, quite in the spirit of extended irreversible thermodynamics, to explain the experimental results. We also show that by varying the thermal properties of the material, the restricted domain of validity of the traditional classical irreversible thermodynamics is reached: to have diffusive motion predominating over long-range-propagating undulatory motion is fundamental for the technique.o TEXTO COMPLETO DESTE ARTIGO, ESTARÁ DISPONÍVEL À PARTIR DE AGOSTO DE 2015.223197216