3D Printing is becoming a common utility which everyone from professional entities and education institutes are utilizing for manufacturing on a small level. It is a process of making three dimensional solid objects from a digital file. As part of the additive process, an object is created by laying down consecutive layers of material until the object is created. Each of these layers can be seen as a thinly sliced horizontal cross-section of the eventual object. 3D printing enables you to produce complex shapes using less material than traditional manufacturing methods.
As it evolves, 3D printing technology is destined to transform almost every major industry and change the way we live, work, and play in the future.
The 3D printing industry encompasses many forms of technologies and materials. When most people think of 3D printing they visualize a simple desktop 3D printer but that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Let’s explore where and how we can see 3D printing being integrated into different aspects of design, manufacture and development.
1.Education
Educators and students have long been using 3D printers in the classroom. 3D printing enables students to materialize their ideas in a fast and affordable way.
In some primary & high schools, some programs let the students experience it and use it for a few days. This allows the company to show what 3D printers can do in an educational environment.
Similarly, certain companies provide lesson plans to schools, teaching kids how to use (and sometimes build) them.
Many educational companies such as Kidesign partner up with printer manufacturers to create projects like Kiddeville with very specific aims in mind. This project is a collaborative design project where students design elements of a scale model of a city.
In universities, courses are offered on things that are adjacent to 3D printing like CAD and 3D design, which can be applied to 3D printing at a certain stage. In terms of prototyping, many university programs are turning to printers. There are specializations in additive manufacturing one can attain through architecture or industrial design degrees. Printed prototypes are also very common in the arts, animation and fashion studies as well. Medical and aerospace engineers are putting them to use in creating new technologies. Medical labs are producing all sorts of bio-printers and designs for prosthetics. Engineers are, similarly, incorporating printing into designs automobiles and airplanes.
2. Rapid Prototyping
Using 3D printers in the design process to create prototypes is called rapid prototyping.
3. Rapid Manufacturing
Rapid manufacturing is a new method of manufacturing where companies are using 3D printers for small batch custom manufacturing. In this way of manufacturing, the printed objects are not prototypes but user products.
4. Automotive
Car manufacturers, restorers, and repairers have been employing 3D printing for a long time. Companies are using it to produce not just parts, but tools and interior elements. It has also enabled on-site development, leading to a decrease in dependence on foreign manufacturing.
E.g.- Audi is using 3D metal printing to produce spare parts.
5. Aviation
The aviation industry currently uses 3D printing in many different forms. Boeing has been exploring the potential of printed parts and airplanes for a long time. Back in 2015, it was estimated that Boeing had more than 20,000 3D printed parts implemented in their airplanes.
6. Aerospace
If you want to see 3D printing applied in the wildest ways imaginable, look no further than the aerospace industry. From materials to concept printers they are doing some of the most interesting, cutting-edge research in the entire field, all for the purpose of making interstellar exploration more habitable.
E.g.- NASA, have been perfecting the shielding on shuttles using 3D printers.
7. Construction
Can you print buildings? – you sure can. There are not many of them, but companies like Apis Cor are producing fascinating results. The company claims it can print a house within 24 hours.
Similarly, countries like China are experimenting with 3D printing in construction. A project by Shanghai-based WinSun uses recyclable materials to print houses. In this case, all the parts are printed separately first and later on assembled.
8. Architecture
Architects were one of the early adopters of 3D printing technology. When architects need to present their work as a physical scale model, 3D printing will always be a quick and efficient way to do it. 3D printers help cut down manpower and time when it comes to visualizing designs.
9. Consumer Products
Consumer products like furniture, lights, medicine, food, etc are printed by 3-D printers.
Dutch designer Dirk van der Kooij’s 3D printed chairs are printed within a few hours. He uses recycled plastic from old refrigerators to create his furniture.
For lighting, there are quite a few designer lighting fixtures and lamp shades that use 3D printing out there. Luxexcel’s work in printing optics is already being used for various LED lamps and arrays. It’s altering the way we project and produce light.
3-D printing is also used to produce accessories and jewellery. In the medical industry, 3-D printing is used to produce implants and prosthetics faster. Organs and body parts are also being printed by 3-D printers. Layers of living cells are deposited onto a gel medium and slowly built up to form three dimensional structures. This field of research is called bioprinting. Dental professionals also use 3-D printers to make bite splints, night guards, retainers, dentures, and crowns.
Even the food industry is using this technique to produce some really bizarre foods like invisible pasta and printed pizza.
The fashion industry has also shown an immense interest in 3-D printing. Adidas prints – end user – mass-produced sneakers for quite some time now. They’ve even made arrangements with companies like Carbon to use their Speedcell solution.
