Ethics Of 3D Printing

First of all, plastic is the main material in most printers, and this material biodegrades EXTREMELY slowly: 450 to 1,000 years! This would create a serious environmental problem if objects were discarded and thrown into landfills, especially because technology is bound to become cheaper, and this will lead to more people owning personal 3D printers. Another worrying aspect is the fact that guns and other weapons can be 3D printed with ease, though it would take quite a long time. Already some people own their own 3D printer, and the numbers are sure to rise in the following decades. It will be quite difficult to keep tabs on the printers, causing a dangerous issue. Of course, if the trouble increases, it is always possible for the government to set a law stating that only individuals with a license can own 3D printers. The difficulties don’t end there, though. Consider this dilemma. If every single human in the world owned a personal 3D printer and scanner, what would happen to businesses? If there was a product someone took interest in, they could simply print it at home without spending any money! In archaeology, complications arise as well. In order to print larger artifacts, you need a substantially larger 3D printer. If you were to replicate a house, a relatively sizable printer would be required, along with a large stock of plastic and a printer larger than a house. This also means that the cost of

While 3D printing brings the promise of innovation and creativity to many, it brings fear to others; fear of 3-D printed weapons, intellectual property infringement, and safety issues with CAD designs. As such, 3D printing raises both ethical and regulatory issues for the society.

The advancements of 3D printing technology within society is advancing at such a speed The research within this assignment will focus on the conflict surrounding 3D printing (bioprinting) artificial organs with stem cells based on an ethical point of view. Throughout numerous articles, two key conflicts are expressed towards the public. The first conflict consists of the question of which stem cells will be used to create the organs. The second conflict elaborates on the possibility of creating organs that will enhance our natural capabilities as humans. These interpretations of the conflict originated from a press release published by Gartner Inc. According to the Gartner Inc.’s website, “Gartner, Inc. (NYSE: IT) is the world 's leading

3D printing is a means of revolutionising almost any and all aspects of life. The potential to bringing into the physical world anything that can be conceived in the mind (and created on a computer) brings a myriad of variety ; expanding markets and capabilities, whether new or improving products and processes that are already in practice. 3D printers are falling in price as the technology improves and the want for them increases making the ability to create anything domestically more practical , this would allow for an influx of material that would be hard to control or monitor, this can include guns, weapons and equipment for drugs manufacture along with the mundane domestic items like faucets, plugs or pots. Such a possibility would involve the morals of the manufacturer and the ethics of the wider collective that have an input on the advancements, though there are other limitations that play a part in the progression of 3D printing that are independent of ethics. As the technology and concept has the potential to create anything, it doesn’t not yet have the capability to do so therefore the anticipation of the possibilities is the only preparation the 3D printing industry can do, as a result I shall conduct an investigation looking at the extent of ethical and moral influences as well as physical and scientific limitations and how they could limit any potential advancements, in accordance with the resulting benefits from some upcoming advancements in

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.

There are both benefits and disadvantages of the 3D printer. As for benefits there are: bio-manufacturing, low cost of manufacturing, quick production, and less waste. On the other though the disadvantages are: Guns, drugs, safety, and criminal uses. When it comes to disadvantages some of these are atrocious. Not that long after the 3D printer came out some people tried making guns with the 3D printer, which is highly unsafe in the wrong hands. If we can create human organs, why can’t the 3D printer make drugs? Also are the plates we make with the 3D printer safe to eat off of? Another thing to think about is the criminal uses, most recently some criminals in Texas printed an ATM scanner and put it on the sides of ATM’s to take money

3D printing can’t compete with mainstream manufacturing technologies with respect to cost and time for manufacturing. It may take anywhere between a few minutes to several hours to manufacture a product using 3D printing depending upon the material used, size and complexity. It is also possible that 3D printing companies might lock in consumers through proprietary supply chain channel which might increase the cost of ownership.

Throughout much of history, third dimensional printing was seen as something so technologically advanced that it only existed in science fiction. With technology undergoing constant developments and advancements, it comes as no surprise that innovators have pushed the limits and have made incredible breakthroughs in regard to 3D Printing. We see the strides that the technology industry makes with the yearly introduction of new cellphones, cars, and electronics that comes with the latest technology and enhanced capabilities. However, it is 3D printing that has truly affected nearly every aspect of technology, and it is for this reason that 3D printing interests me due to its potential to completely revolutionize nearly every aspect of our

3D printing has a reputation for being a greener method of manufacturing, then the conventional factory methods that, up until now, have traditionally been used. But that is not necessarily the case. There are heavily spammed myths that are used as a catalyst to speed up the ever growing industry that is 3D printing. 3D printing does not mean zero waste, there are many different types of 3D printers that all construct pieces in different ways. Fused deposition modelling (FDM) machines, a consumer favourite, print products by using technology methods, like a hot glue gun, with the control of XYZ co-ordinates. Inkjet 3D printers, lay down a polymeric ink and then UV light cures it layer by layer.

As for the uses of 3D printing, there have been many revolutionary advancements in many different fields. The military even uses 3D printing to create parts for their vehicles. The Marine Wing Support Squadron 372 was able to print a door handle for one of their humvees in the Arizona desert (Schlel). 3D printers have made their way into research labs, universities, and medical offices around the world and allow people to create customized products that would have previously taken weeks or even months to produce. Perhaps the most amazing impact this technology has is in the medical industry. The way it works is that the printers use bio ink, which is a gel made of live cells which is housed in a specialised printing cartridge. “Another

Major car manufacturers, such as Ford, Jaguar, GM, Audi and Land Rover have been 3-D printing auto parts for several years now. One example of lot is :Lamborghini’s newest flagship model Aventador which is a two-seat sports car and is Top Gear Car of the Year for 2011. The key to the Aventador’s tremendous performance is its carbon-fiber reinforced composite (CFRC) monocoque, which forms the core of the chassis. The #D printer of Stratasys called Fortus was used to build an envelope that was large enough to produce a 1/6 scale prototype model of the body and chassis at single go in one piece. The Lamborghini Research Lab built complete 1/6 scale model of the body and chassis in just around two months, including the final printing out and assembling of the parts. The build time of the complex inner tub was 6.3 days and material cost was a mere $560. Total build time and processing time included time for sanding ,support removal , painting, etc. Which came out to be 20 days. Total cost including all overhead expense of materials, labor and machine time was $3,000 to create the working prototype. This makes the prototyping much affordable even for new players.

The history of 3D printing dates back to the dawn of time in sculptures. All jokes aside, 3D sculptures were the start of a period in human history that would inspire the creation(that would spawn) of vast multimedia that would includes both tangible objects, and images that appear to be in 3D due to special cameras and special glasses(footnote). In Prehistoric times, there were people who would carve wood into human figures and animals as they needed them. They would also sculpt pots, bowls, and plates out of clay. Fast-forward thousands of years to more civilized eras of Egyptian and Greek. They began to sculpt objects and massive statues out of rock, marble, and metals. In order to create these sculptures, artists would train under mentors and would have years of practice. Now with 3D printers, which were created in the 1980s, it is possible for anyone to make a 3D object. All one would need is a 3D modeling program, 3D model, and, of course, a 3D printer. There are different varieties of printers but I will talk about 3 different types based on their size, time it takes to print, and the quality of the finished product. Another important thing to talk about when discussing 3D printers is the variety of objects you can make as well as some of the problems that go hand in hand with the people’s ability to print whatever they want.

The impact of 3D printing can already be seen in both industrial and consumer markets [2]. The 2015 Wohlers Associates report stated that 32.5% of all Additive manufactured objects were used for functional components. Additionally, the report detailed the 3D printing industry accounted for $5.165 billion of revenue [4]. The aviation, medical, automotive, and manufacturing industries are currently utilizing 3D printing [4-9]. Airbus, within the aviation industry, recently produced the world’s largest 3D printed cabin component. The component produced is a dividing wall that sits between the passenger seating and galley. General Electric is currently 3D printing jet engine fuel nozzles and forecast that 100,000 parts will be created by their Aviation division using 3D printers by 2020 [10]. Since 2014 NASA has been researching the ability to print on demand components in space utilizing a 3D

Through history humans have always tried to innovate and create new technologies to move society onwards. In recent years breakthroughs in nanotechnology has slowly introduced ideas that could change everyone’s way of life. Think about a world where products are manufactured molecule by molecule and garbage can be broken down to dust. Humans whose wounds could be healed at the cellular level. All these improvements in society brought upon a single new category of technology. That is, nanotechnology. This paper will investigate the moral issues introduced by the advancement in nanotechnology. Furthermore, one will analyze the topic through all the theories seen in class with the objective of providing the utmost comprehensive analysis of the moral issues brought upon this soon to be technological breakthrough. There will be a focus on the utilitarian ethics, virtue ethics, duty ethics, risk analysis, and the type of government (technocratic or democratic) that should overlook this new technology. As a provisional claim, one can say that “Nanotechnology, although very beneficial for humans, is dwarfed by the immense issues that can be brought upon its application under the wrong hands”.

In a consumer’s perspective, 3D printers are convenient to anyone. People don’t have to go to stores or online to buy parts for their machines. They only need the materials and blueprints in order to create anything they want. This technology helps people to save time, energy and money.