From the 1950s, and for the following two decades, FIM was established as the first true atomic-scale microscopy technique, achieving direct space imaging of the positions of individual atoms with an angstrom precision. The ability to localize precisely the 3D coordinates of individual atoms in direct space is expected to find important applications in materials science. For instance, early atomic-scale investigations of structural defects, such as vacancies and dislocations in metals, were enabled by FIM. The most difficult aspect of FIM studies is to efficiently retrieve the information contained within the collected images. A FIM image must be carefully interpreted to obtain the positions of individual atoms in 3-D in the real space. Additionally, special care must be taken to avoid misinterpretations and artefacts of the images. More fundamentally FIM images are snapshots of the specimen’s surface at given steps of field evaporation, and retrieving 3D information can be tedious. Successful attempts at reconstructing 3D data volumes from FIM images have already been reported and automated procedures were developed for the reconstruction of accurate 3D, lattice-resolved atom maps. Using the latest generation of graphic workstations, images extracted from FIM movies can been used to produce high resolution 3D reconstructions of the whole apex. This breakthrough qualifies theoretically FIM as the most precise available tool for the full tomographic real space imaging of atoms in bulk materials, in volumes larger than 100x100x100 nm3. Nevertheless, to achieve this ultimate goal, the spatial performances of the technique (such as spatial resolution, accuracy, noise, efficiency…) must also be qualified on a theoretical basis. This presentation is focused on recent advances in the development of the 3DFIM. A numerical model dedicated to the simulation of field ion microscopy was developped and enables the simulation of imaging artefacts.