9 ways 3D printing will disrupt the future

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3D printing is a fascinating form of manufacturing technology, which will without a doubt lead to a revolutionary new way of doing things. In the not-so-distant future, we will be able to drive our kids to the local Wal-Mart or Office Depot to pick up a 3D printer for a school project. We’ll print spare parts at home from downloaded files, or just design them ourselves. Many consumer goods will be printed in small production runs locally rather than mass-produced and shipped from a cheap-labor country. The fields of art, design and architecture will be barely recognizable. Yes, 3D printing will change everything, and for the better. Here’s a summary of some of the ways I see 3D printing changing the world.

The Maker Community

(Photo Credit: Techninja)

Currently many engineers, 3D artists and home hobbyists are looking into designing and manufacturing their own products on a small scale. Perhaps a knob on the dishwasher just broke – better create one and print it! Maybe some artists’ children want unique toys. Design one up! Some designers are very serious about developing products at more than a hobbyist level, and 3D printing can help with that too. More and more people are taking advantage of the rising availability of low cost 3D printers and 3D printing services and becoming 21st century makers. As the technology advances and companies like 3D Systems, Objet, and Stratasys get more competitive, and as garage inventors all over the world seemingly create new home 3D printers daily, prices will steadily drop while capabilities rise.

3D Printing Could Save Your Life

(photo credit: uhasselt)

First off, the technology I’m going to mention here is still in development, but it is being researched and implemented as you read this. Visionaries like Anthony Atlata are working to develop miracle technologies like organ replication. If Anthony and his team can create simple organs like bladders now, what can happen in 20 years from now? This layer-by-layer manufacturing process is going to be creating miracles in our lifetimes. If you face organ failure down the road, it could be the key to your survival.

Maybe in your case, your medical situation won’t require the replacement of a failed organ, but 3D printing could truly enhance your life when your body starts to fall apart. This technology was recently used to assist in the facial reconstruction of a man in Belgium. It has also been used to give an elderly woman a jaw implant. 3D printing has helped with prosthetics and adapters for war victims as well. Perhaps you just need some dental work done, or a new hearing aid. 3D printing is already helping with this now. There are a wide variety of new medical applications being created through 3D printing. These applications are not only growing in quantity, but rising in stature.

The Impact On Marketing

(photo credit: Zcorp)

3D printing has the power to truly enhance marketing efforts in a wide variety of situations. For example, our company just completed a job in which a series of valves were 3D printed for sales representatives. Each sales rep can now show a prospective client a three dimensional visual of their products. Giving a potential client a model that they can see and hold in their hands has huge potential; it could be a deal-maker. This applies to many industries, including product development, architecture, or pretty much any industry that involves visuals.

Another good example would be Bungie’s marketing efforts for the popular video game, Halo 3. Just a few years ago, an entire warzone was 3D printed in which aliens and humans were fighting on a futuristic battlefront. This model was used in a variety of commercials that seemed to do a good job in presenting the video game. It was enough to convince me to dish out $60 at age 16.

3D Printing vs. Machining

(photo credit: Kraftwurx)

The traditional machining industry is going to be facing some serious competition from 3D printing. A custom machined metal part can take a few weeks to construct, and in many cases is very expensive. However, with 3D printing, the same piece can currently be manufactured in a matter of hours. Designers can simply turn the machine on at closing time, let it run overnight, and ship out the product the following morning.

Machining methods are very dependent to the geometrical designs of products. Through 3D printing, designs can implement organic shapes, hollowed centers, and innovative feats in manufacturing such as a ball within a ball and functional parts straight out of the machine! Bottom line – 3D printing will be cheaper, easier to design for, and much faster than traditional machining methods.

Custom Products

(photo credit: Thatsmyface)

Anyone with a computer can use one of the many free or inexpensive 3D modeling programs to create their very own custom products. Simple items can be designed without a huge learning curve. If the home designer does not have access to his or her own 3D printer, there are numerous services that the design can be uploaded to and 3D printed, and then shipped back to the customer.

But even if you are not a designer, not only the 3D printing services, but also a variety of new and innovative websites, allow users to alter a variety of current 3D models prior to printing. Shapeways offers a few base designs to create models from. Kraftwurx will be launching its new software within the next year to allow for mass customization. Specialized sites like MyRobotNation let you customize and print your own robot; Makie lets you print your own doll
If you need something very special, beyond your designing skills, working with designers isn’t too difficult, and 3D printing isn’t incredibly expensive.

Art

(photo credit: Bathsheba)

Artwork has definitely been given a new plot twist through 3D printing. Traditional sculptors and artists are limited to what they can build with their hands and various tools, but 3D printing offers a different way of producing art. When a piece is designed for 3D printing, it can be built to the exact dimensions of a model (at detail levels higher than a fraction of a millimeter) with various curves and shapes that are very hard to replicate outside of this technology.

Those who are not traditional artists, in that they are not very good with their hands, have a shot at creating truly creative and beautiful art with their computer and their mind. For example, mathematicians, who are about as distant from artists as can be, can now create formulas and algorithms that produce sculptures that not only are quite possibly impossible to produce manually, but are incredibly beautiful.

Renewable Energy

(photo credit: Xerox)

Xerox has recently developed a special type of silver “ink” which melts at a temperature lower than plastic. Silver is one of the key elements to dielectrics, semiconductors, inductors, conductors, and various circuits. With the ability to print silver on to films, fabrics, and plastics, there is a strong potential for paper thin solar strips, adaptable sensors, and a wide variety of circuits — all of which could be printed on to paper thin materials!

I’ve written an article on the subject of printing renewable energy that I think is worth a read. With Xerox’s breakthrough in 3D printing, we could be on the path to a new world of green energy within the next decade.

Concept Development

(photo credit: Economictimes)

Many industries revolve around concept development during the production of movies, stories, and games. Companies like Paramount Pictures and Bungie are getting involved with 3D printing for the creation of characters and designs. Objet and Zcorp 3D printers are great for offering multiple printed colors to design products in, and concept development teams are taking advantage of this capability. A team of CG artists can create a design, and it can be produced on the same day to be viewed by the project manager.

Home Decor

(photo credit: Genomicon)

Designers who have access to 3D printers are pretty crafty! Of the various designs that have been introduced within the maker community, many of are for home decoration. Simple products such as ornaments, custom silverware, and candle holders are common. Useful, yet very cool looking gadgets for the kitchen are also being printed. But of all the things I’ve seen for the home, my personal favorite has to be the intricate and incredibly beautiful lamps that have been made through 3D printing.

The Final Word

There’s no doubt that 3D printing is beginning to disrupt a wide array of industries today; in fact, if you look into the future far enough, it’s hard to see one that will not be impacted. Perhaps within the next 10 years, we won’t be able to go to the grocery store without coming in contact with this technology – that is, if we aren’t printing food at home by then. Who knows where it will be in 20 years? And, what about 50 years? Time will only tell. All we can do now is to sit back and have our minds blown as we watch the innovation occur before our eyes..

About Chris Waldo

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16 Responses to “9 ways 3D printing will disrupt the future”

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  1. HistorySquared says:

    Great post, how about pro-typing new ideas for products, making it easier to raise capital, or perhaps even take pre-orders. I am pretty sure I could train my dog to go to the bathroom in a bath tub. Not sure if in water though, for a motion censored dog flush. Would like to try.

  2. Chris Waldo says:

    Perhaps I could have highlighted more on prototyping, but I intended the Maker Community to represent product development. Marketing might categorize under raising capital, but I suppose you’re right. Potty training your dog might be pretty cool if you lived in an apartment or didn’t have much of a backyard, interesting idea. Let me know how that goes haha.

  3. Henry Unrein says:

    I have heard about 3D printing before, but had no idea it had come this far already. If I wanted to learn how to operate or troubleshoot a 3D printer as a career move is there some kind of certification or classes I could take that would teach me how to do this?

    • Chris Waldo says:

      Henry,

      I’m not entirely sure to be honest. There are several printing bureaus around the world, you might want to get into contact with one of those companies. Maybe Objet, EOS, 3D Systems, or redeyeondemand? There are several printer manufacturers & printing services out there.

    • James Harper says:

      A background in Industrial Design, Engineering, or Information Technology is a great start. Most of the larger 3D printer manufacturers offer multi-week training courses on how to operate and service their machines. I work at FATHOM, an authorized distributor for Objet, and all of our technicians received training at Objet HQ on printer installation and maintenance.

  4. CS James says:

    I like the idea of printable energy…also, just think of the thin screens that we can create for our gadgets. If we can start printing out entire gadgets like tablets and whatnot…the possibilities are quite exciting.

    I’m also waiting for 3D food printers :D What with the chocolate printer and the burrito one being publicized a while back, I’m all hopped up and waiting for a burger printer.

    • Chris Waldo says:

      James,

      Energy is the next biggest thing since organ replication – I think at least. It isn’t quite there, but it could be! I’ve never even thought of printing tablets… that would be amazing! As soon as you mentioned food, I was going to talk about the burritob0t and the chocolate printer, but you’re way ahead of me! A burger printer would be a great way to spend about $1,000 haha. What about pizza? Sugar? baked goods?

      -Waldo

      • candice says:

        Imagine in the future staying home and making most of your own things even some health related and some food and yes maybe even energy of some form. How about that bald spot on your head? Make your own hair! Your own car part! Your own jewelery and maybe your own solar cells or panels! This is going to be a very big change for all of us!

  5. h d m says:

    i was always tinkering with carbon trying to figure out how to change it to other material and make a printer contraption to assemble and produce creations stuff, i thought i was the only one thinking of this (stupid me).

    • Waldo says:

      Hey H D M,

      I’m familiar with some of the bio-medical applications within 3D printing, but I’m not entirely sure what you mean. Are you suggesting that a 3D printer would lay down carbon to “create” synthetic life? I noticed you mentioned carbon… are you going for “artificial” life? You mentioned “creations stuff” – what are you referring to? Care to go into more detail?

      Cheers,
      -Waldo

  6. hdm says:

    not just carbon (the base) but going at a higher easier level like water or soil, doing chemistry in the printer itself ,taking apart and putting together molecules to create whatever materials are required for what is being built (printed) and to get them assembled correctly without errors. this is ad daunting task at our level “maybe”. melting plastics and the extrution process is a start for the MMAP (micro molecular assembler printerhead ) i;ve been tinkering with” very not micro right now”, but i am yet to be able to create anything but plastics and goo, chemistry is isnt my best subject but is the most essential part of this project. programming electrical engineering and automechanics are. and dont think of just one printerhead thousands even million on a strip like the LED fixtures being made these days.

    • Waldo says:

      HDM,

      So you’re thinking about doing all sorts of things within the printer, not just using carbon? I’m trying to get an idea of what you’re saying here – are you talking about mixing materials together from inside the material to create a “new” material blend, INSIDE the printer? Are you talking about using multiple extruders to lay down reactive materials? You mentioned carbon in your first post, so I thought about artificial life… are you just talking about chemistry in general from inside the printer? Thanks for the comments, I’d love to hear where you’re going with this :)

      Cheers,
      -Waldo

  7. hdm says:

    life!!! maybe but i wouldnt go there unless i were to stumble upon life during my research, different types(processes) of atomic bonding is what i’m mainly getting at. creating the materials required from bonding of atoms which isnt going to just happen this might be a project for great grand generations to come if thier as crazy as i am HA! ; atoms-molecules-material (plastic,iron,rubber watever).

  8. clemclem says:

    Hey !

    can i make a french traduction of your aticle, and give the source of this page, for a french fablab ?

    thanks

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