3D Printing
As mentioned by Cummins (2010) in the paper published on TechTarget, 3D printing which is also called “Additive Manufacturing” is a technology that helps in building real objects from virtual models which are three dimensional (Cummins, 2010).
History of 3D Printing
Even though the invention and inception of 3D printing can be related to the invention of inkjet printer in the year of 1976, however, the real birth of this technology was in the year 1984 when Charles Hull invented “Stereolithography” which is a printing technology enabling the creation of a tangible 3D object based on digital data. The first device which could do this was created by the company called “3D systems” in 1992. This device used a liquid which was as thick as honey and used multiple layers one over the other to create a 3D object based on an image on computer. In late 1990s and beginning of 2000, this technology entered the medical industry when a working kidney was printed in the year 2002. After these successes, multiple companies started to invest in this amazing and fascinating area of work to bring it at commercial level. One such company is “Shapeways”. Based on the research done on this company, this company is based out of New-York and was founded in 2007. The users and customers can upload a picture and the company sends a tangible 3D printed object. They provide this service worldwide (shapeways.com, 2016).
How Does 3D Printing Works
Based on the published guide by Krassenstein (2015), there are multiple technologies behind 3D printing however the main and basic idea and process remains the same. The way 3D printing works today can be explained in the following steps:
Once the object to be printed as a three dimensional physical object is identified and processed by the software, a laser beam is sent from the source to the printing material to solidify the material
Based on the image, a platform keeps on changing the elevation to put layers of different sizes over each other
The material to build the object is continuously supplied
The 3D object is created based on the combinations of multiple layers over each other which is controlled by the printing device based on the digital data stream
Multiple materials are used today to print such objects including metals like silver and gold, plastics, resin and multiple polymers (Krassenstein, 2015).
There are multiple technologies as further explained by the write like “Fused deposition modeling”, “Stereolithography”, “Selective laser sintering”, and “Polyjetting”.
Future of 3D Printing
Based on the article published by Earls & Baya (2016), there is a lot of innovation and research happening in the field of 3D printing. The future holds a lot of fascinating discoveries and applications. This technology will help and go just beyond prototyping very soon. It can be described and predicted based on the industries of applications. For example in automotive industry, this would be used in creating complex working parts by joining several components, producing tools, and faster product development lifecycle. Similarly in aerospace, this can be used to create those complex geometrical parts which are not possible with traditional manufacturing and to develop lighter aircrafts. Another important industry where 3D printing will add a lot of value is healthcare industry. This will be used in surgeries based on MRIs and CT scans, implants and orthopedic body parts will be widely used for trainings, and a lot of help in drug developments. Similarly, in other industries like sports or retail, this will move beyond prototyping and we’ll see sports gears and equipment, houses, personalized shoes, uniforms and home appliances built using 3D printing at low cost and high effectiveness (Earls & Baya, 2016).
Works Cited
Cummins, D. “3D Printing.” Web. Mar. 2010. Tech Target. May 2016.
Earls, A. & Baya, V. “The road ahead for 3-D printers.” Web. Feb. 2016. PWC. May 2016.
Krassenstein, B. “What is 3D Printing & How Do 3D Printers Work? — A Guide.” Web. 3-Dprinting.com. May 2016.
Shapeways. “Shapeways 3D printing marketplace.” Web. May. 2016. Shapeways.com.
