A Look At the Latest In 3D Printing Technology And Its Future

3D printing is the process of using a machine to assemble a 3D model of an object based on stored Computer Aided Design (CAD) data and "print" it out using some sort of construction material.

The printing can take place based on information stored in a computer connected to the printer machine, or it can be done via remote transmission of CAD data. As for the substrate, it could be anything from plastic, ceramic, foam or metal; in some cases a mix of several different materials could be used.

Printing is usually done in successive thin layers laid down on top of each other. This process is generally called additive manufacturing; as opposed to the subtractive manufacturing that occurs with most machined cutting of shapes. 3D machine printer sales have steadily grown since the technology had developed significantly in 2003 and the scope of their use has also widened as these remarkable machines improve.

This is the very basic essence of 3D printing, and it's what is being developed now in laboratories and commercial ventures all over the world. For the moment, the applications the technology is being used for are still limited but their future potential is truly enormous.

Current Applications Benefits of Additive Manufacturing

3D printing used to be the experimental domain of simple sculptures and other largely decorative purposes but this has changed in recent years. Today the use of additive 3D print manufacturing is experimentally found in industries such as jewelry, footwear, dental materials manufacturing and the automotive and aerospace industries.

For the time being, the slowness and material limitations of most layered manufacturing prevents the process from being used in more industrial applications, but this is also slowly changing as printing speeds up and new materials are developed. For the most part, 3D printing is still confined to specialized product manufacturing and hobby use.

The quantity and type of materials that can be used in creating 3D products is still somewhat small and certain limitations on complexity and strength exist. However, recently companies like GE have begun trying to manufacture small single component engine parts such as turbines with additive manufacturing.

This -the manufacture of small specialized and complex industrial components, possibly customized parts-- is one of the applications of 3D printing that may see the most development in the near future and is already in its early stages.

There are several benefits to 3D printing that make it far superior to machine cutting of parts or injection molding. Its efficiency is much greater than that of other processes since any given shape is produced exactly to specifications by the addition of new material.

The cost savings of this can't be understated; in aerospace manufacturing it's common to cut a large block of titanium down until 90% of it is just useless shavings and the remaining 10% represents the finished product. With additive manufacturing through 3D printing, only that 10% would even be used to build the part, creating no waste at all and dramatically reducing expenses.

With 3D printing, the enormous expense of tooling machines to build a small prototype part is removed from the production equation, since the only thing creating a shape is a single printer and its various manufacturing substrates. If a part is made with the 3D printer and later redesigned, changing the construction parameters is simply a question of redrawing the CAD design parameters, restocking the base material and reprinting; this can be done in just hours, something that would take weeks with machine tools.

The Future of 3D Printing

Additive manufacturing through 3D printers lets designers build far more complex parts almost as easily as simple ones and without losing precision. Once this is developed and, more importantly, once the right materials are developed, extremely specialized and complex components and finished goods will be able to be manufactured with much lower costs.

The biggest benefit of 3D printing is its ability to bring complex manufacturing of a very big array of products down to a small non-industrial scale. Once the materials that can be used in 3D printing improve, there will no longer be a need for large assembly lines of different machine tools.

Eventually we might see a scenario in which printers small enough to fit inside a tool shed can manufacture thousands of different parts and products for uses ranging from cars to dental implants. The economies of many developing nations could jump into complex industrial manufacturing without the enormous costs of current assembly lines.

      Thomas

About the Guest Author:

Thomas is a huge science geek particularly interested in anatomical models of all kinds. He loves to read science fiction in his free time.