Introduction
3D printing is a new technology that could potentially change the entire supply chain forever. It is rapidly evolving and gaining a place in many companies. According to a survey performed by the Business Insider as seen in figure 1, 60 percent of firms are either actively using or are evaluating the potential of using 3D printing (Wile). There are an infinite number of uses for 3D printing that come along with advantages and disadvantages.
The 3D Printing Process
3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing, is the process of successively layering material to form a 3D object (“What is 3D”). This process begins with the formation of an idea. This object can be anything from a hand, to a vehicle component. Using computer aided design (CAD), the user can transform an idea into a computerized 3D model. However, if the item already exists, the operator can use a 3D scanner to make a digital copy of the object and shorten the process (“What is 3D”). After the user has the digital 3D model, the computer horizontally divides the virtual object into hundreds or thousands of “slices,” as seen in figure 2. The printer then starts producing the object, layer by layer. The printer head moves side-to-side and up and down as it deposits layers of material (“How 3D Printing”). As each successive layer is printed, they are blended so that the human eye can hardly see the individual layers, if at all (“What is 3D”). The mixing process is crucial for the visual and
During this last decade a machine called a 3D printer has taken off and is believed to soon be in the homes of almost every family in the United States. It’s basically a computer printer that creates a 3-dimentional object by stacking material layer by layer on top of each other. You can design these objects through modeling software or
3D printing or additive manufacturing is a process of making three-dimensional solid objects from a digital design. The creation of a 3D printed object is achieved using additive processes. In an additive process the desired object is created by laying down successive layers of material (usually molten alloy or plastics) until the entire object is formed. Each of these layers can be seen as a thinly sliced horizontal cross-section of the eventual object.
Three dimensional (3D) printing, also known as additive manufacturing, is taking the world by storm and is said to be “the next big thing”, the next revolution, or as big as the Internet. President Barack Obama stated in his 2013 State of the Union address that 3D printing has the potential to revolutionize the way we make almost anything (Gross, 2013). However, will 3D printing have a positive effect on the future of our society looking at the effects on the manufacturing businesses, healthcare, and consumer home printing? To answer this question we will explore the current technology and how it is currently being used in manufacturing businesses, healthcare, and consumer home printing and, prospects for future use in these areas. We will explore the limitations and advantages of the 3D printing technology. Referencing trade journals, textbooks, popular opinion, and expert opinions in the fields of business, management, engineering, and computer technology to evaluate the societal effects of 3D printing for our future.
It gives people power to create anything through knowledge and technology. According to Eddie Krassenstein, a co-founder and director of the largest 3D printing news publications on the web gave background information, on the history of 3D printers. The first 3D printer took 6-8 weeks to print an object, was invented by Charles Hull on March 9, 1983 (Eddie Krassenstein). With the advancement of technology, 3D printers can now printer within hours. As reported by, Robert Green a cadalyst author, a CAD programmer and an expert in CAD management expounds that, Three-dimensional printers are fast and easy to use nowadays. The printers allows people to print within hours instead of waiting weeks for your object to arrive. 3D printers use “plastics, nylon, rubber like materials, etc.” (Green 2). Mashable, a YouTube channel that uploads videos of the latest innovation in technology, global news, entertainment, and more. When we have downloaded the software into the computer and have a “blueprint or downloaded a design from thingiverse, then you can print” (Mashable). Thingiverse is a website where anyone can download free drawings and blueprints to various 3D objects and print them three dimensionally. After all the measurements of the object is correct and the design complete. You can send it or transfer it to the printer to print
Also known as additive manufacturing because 3D printing is the process of making an object by depositing material by layers at a time. This is useful and was created because many businesses use subtractive manufacturing, where they tend to have material and carve into it and make something out of it, thereby wasting a lot of material. While using the additive manufacturing they are able to use the material with 98% efficiency to create something, which is why 3D printing is burgeoning and more research is being conducted to increase the 3D printers
Have you ever lost a limb? Have you ever needed a new car part? If so, the marvel of 3D printing can deliver these things. The future has truly arrived today, almost any object we can think of can become reality through 3D printing. 3D printing is the process of making a physical object from a digital model by layering a material until it forms the object. 3D printing shows a lot of potential for both recreational and practical uses, and I believe will help shape the future of technology.
To start off with a basic definition a 3D printer is a machine ranging in size from a pen to that of a tank (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2697306/Oar-Fully-functioning-plastic-boat-created-using-worlds-biggest-3D-printer.html). They create the desired design by continously spraying or to a surgical precision laying layers of material on top of each other layer to form the design that was created through one of the many programs made to create 3D printer designs. 3D printers can use a multitude of sources to create their three dimensional final products. These sources can include but are not limited to plastic polymers, titanium, aluminum, iron, steel, and almost any ductile metal or propane product that can be heated and placed without forming into a gas or melting to a point of no return. Of course these aren’t just typical polymers or metals they have been mixed with other certain chemicals and materials to give the materials new found properties. The cost of these 3D printers can be anywhere from $140 dollars all the way up to $846,000 (3ders.org). These are just the consumer models! Take a second to imagine the industrial and prototype models which are even bigger and more complex. When making the product the 3D printer creates it in a chamber where an arm like machine continuously lays material and forms the
The 3D printing has certainly taken technology to a storm providing major solution in various industries and a step ahead in man-made new age technology. Be ready to enter into a world of 3D print technology that can be a huge leap over the human innovation and would make life
The concept of 3D printing got a lot of businesses attention, from airplane and space industries to house appliance companies. Every business and industry is thinking of ways to utilise 3D printers to their own benefit, not just business and industries, also schools, governments and individual groups of people. 3D printing is an additive manufacturing technique whereby objects are printed layer by layer through a series of slices, they work in a similar way to normal desktop printers but instead of ink, the 3D printers use other ranges of material powders. All printers use CAD or drafting software that calculates each slice size and they determine exactly how each of them should be constructed to fit in
The introduction of 3D printing is rapidly starting to shift the paradigm of how, when and where a product is made. It has already given consumers the opportunity to access an at-home design and production facility. It offers the flexibility to design and build a customised product that can be tailored to individual’s specific needs.
We use printers every day, but printing is making a bigger impact on the world then we may realize. Using 3D printing, innovators are coming up with ways to create solutions to problems we encounter every day. 3D printing is, surprisingly, not a new concept, and has been around since the eighties. 3D printing entails multiple layers of material that is formed using computer programs to create an object. The most common material used in 3D printing is plastic, but can also be silver, titanium, steel, and wax, to name a few.
As 3D printers are becoming live in the market, they demonstrate great potential by fostering economic growth. The implications of this revolutionary technology indeed promise to have a radical impact on the may things are produced and business is done. There are
3D Printing is one of the newest and innovative technological advancements. The opportunities to create something new and inventive is endless. It only takes one imaginative idea and this fascinating tool can make it become a reality. “3D printing has the potential to change everything” says a former ship engineer (Hart). This new piece of technology can have an impact not only in the United States, but also globally in a variety of aspects, many being highly beneficial, but others that bring ethical and harmful concerns to the equation that could cause 3D printing to take a turn for the worse.
3-D printing is a relatively new technology compared to other manufacturing methods. It first showed is face in the 1980’s and then faded out of limelight due to the high cost of procurement and operation. In the early 2000’s, breakthroughs occurred when working printed kidneys appeared and SLS (selective laser sintering) machines became available. During late 2009, the early advocates finally produced machines cheap enough - but still capable of great precision and accuracy - that were available to the consumer. These machines can produce items of virtually anything with applications varying from fashion and food to advanced engineered systems. The versatility of this type of machine promotes its popularity and encourages
3D printing is a technology that was invented in the early 1980s by a man named Charles Hull (Ventola, 2014). Since its creation, 3D printing has branched into many different aspects of the world and is being utilized in fields like the automotive industry, medicine and is even being used for everyday purposes. Later on, Charles Hull founded a company called 3D Systems which developed the first ever 3D printer. In 1988, Hull and his company 3D Systems, put forth the first commercially available 3D printer. From this point on, 3D printing would be advanced and evolved to the point where it would have the opportunity to create a revolutionary impact on the world we