3D printing allows objects to be printed layer by layer from digital files. It was developed in the 1980s and is now used for applications like medical models, aerospace parts, toys, and fashion design. A 3D printer applies powder or liquid materials to build an object based on a 3D digital model. Materials can include plastics, nylon, wax and metals. While commercial uses are growing, individual 3D printing remains limited by high costs and long print times, but cheaper models for hobbyists are emerging. Future uses may include printing in space, on the battlefield, and eventually human organs and buildings.
3D printing allows objects to be printed layer by layer from digital files. It was developed in the 1980s and is now used for applications like medical models, aerospace parts, toys, and fashion design. A 3D printer applies powder or liquid materials to build an object based on a 3D digital model. Materials can include plastics, nylon, wax and metals. While commercial uses are growing, individual 3D printing remains limited by high costs and long print times, but cheaper models for hobbyists are emerging. Future uses may include printing in space, on the battlefield, and eventually human organs and buildings.
3D printing allows objects to be printed layer by layer from digital files. It was developed in the 1980s and is now used for applications like medical models, aerospace parts, toys, and fashion design. A 3D printer applies powder or liquid materials to build an object based on a 3D digital model. Materials can include plastics, nylon, wax and metals. While commercial uses are growing, individual 3D printing remains limited by high costs and long print times, but cheaper models for hobbyists are emerging. Future uses may include printing in space, on the battlefield, and eventually human organs and buildings.
3D printing allows objects to be printed layer by layer from digital files. It was developed in the 1980s and is now used for applications like medical models, aerospace parts, toys, and fashion design. A 3D printer applies powder or liquid materials to build an object based on a 3D digital model. Materials can include plastics, nylon, wax and metals. While commercial uses are growing, individual 3D printing remains limited by high costs and long print times, but cheaper models for hobbyists are emerging. Future uses may include printing in space, on the battlefield, and eventually human organs and buildings.
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3D printing
Topics:
What is 3d printing? The history of 3d printing 3d printing applications What is a 3d printer? What are the materials used to print 3D objects? Personal 3D Printing Future 3D Printing Applications
What is 3d printing? 3d printing is the process of "printing" a three-dimensional object layer-by-layer with an equipment, which is quite similar with ink-jet printers. 3D printing is also known as desktop fabrication, it can form any material that can be obtained as a powder. For creating an object you need a digital 3D-model. You can scan a set of 3D images, or draw it using AUTOCAD software on your computer or you can also download them from internet. After that you can save it in a STL format and send it to the printer.
The history of 3d printing
1984 - Charles Hull developed the technology for printing physical 3D objects from digital data. 1986 - Charles Hull founded 3D Systems and developed the first commercial 3D Printing machine, it was called as Stereolithography Apparatus. 2005 - Z Corp. launched Spectrum Z510. It was the first high definition color 3D Printer in the market.
Nov, 2010 Urbee, the first prototype car is presented. This is the first car ever to have its entire body printed out on a giant 3D printer. All exterior components including the glass panel prototypes - were created using Dimension 3D Printers. Jan, 2011 - Researchers at Cornell University began to build 3D food printer. Dec. 8, 2010 - Organovo, Inc., a medicine company focused on bioprinting technology, announced the first fully bioprinted blood vessels. Sep, 2011 - Vienna University of Technology, a smaller, lighter and cheaper printing device has now been developed. This smallest 3D printer weighs 1.5 kilograms and it costs around 1200 Euros. Aug, 2011 - The first 3D printed aircraft created by Engineers at the University of Southampton.
3D printing applications One of the most important applications of 3D printing is in the medical industry. With 3D printing, surgeons can produce models of parts of their patient's body which needs to be operated upon. 3D printing make it possible to make a part from scratch in just hours. It allows designers and developers to go from the flat screen to the exact part. Nowadays almost everything from aerospace components to toys are getting built with the help of 3D printers. 3D printing is also used for jewelry, art, architecture, fashion design, interior design.
3D printing has spread into the world of clothing with fashion designers
experimenting with 3D-printed shoes and dresses.
For example, Nike uses 3D printers to create multi-colored prototypes of shoes. They used to spend thousands of dollars on a prototype and wait weeks for it.
What is a 3D printer? Imagine a device connected to a computer that can print a solid object.
3D printer is unlike of the common printers. On a 3D printer the object is printed
by three dimensions. A 3D model is built up layer by layer. A common process of 3D printing is to apply a fine powder (plaster, bioplastic, polyurethane, polyester, epoxy, metal, etc.) in such a 3D inkjet printers. Printer prints out the layer of powder on a bed and form a fixed object. Nowadays, 3D printer is mainly used in business enterprises and concepts which demand time-saving. These include medicine, architecture but also the entertainment industry such as game and film industry. Even artists use a 3D printer for their creations in a comparatively short time in a solid shape to print. Today there are more and more companies that specialise in the printing of 3D models and supply services for business and individuals. The biggest drawback for the individual home user is still the high cost of 3D printer. A 3d printer price varies between a few hundred dollars up to 25 thousand dollars. Another drawback is that it takes hours or even days to print a 3D model (depending on the complexity and resolution of the model). Besides above, the professional 3D software and 3D model design is also in a high cost range. Alternatively there are already simplified 3D printers for hobbyist which are much cheaper. And the materials it uses is also less expensive.
What are the materials used to print 3D
objects? Many different materials can be used for 3D printing, such as ABS plastic, PLA, polyamide (nylon), glass filled polyamide, stereolithography materials (epoxy resins), silver, titanium, steel, wax, photopolymers and polycarbonate.
Personal 3D Printing For home enthusiasts and lone inventors who want to start 3D printing themselves, a growing range of personal 3D printing initiatives, kits and printers are also now available.
Future 3D Printing Applications
NASA has already tested a 3D printer on the International Space Station, and recently announced its requirement for a high resolution 3D printer to produce spacecraft parts during deep space missions. When a tool on the space station breaks or goes missing these days, astronauts will not have to wait months for replacement parts to be launched from Earth. Instead, they can use a newly arrived 3D printer to fabricate the tools and materials they need. The US Army has also experimented with a truck-mounted 3D printer capable of outputting spare tank and other vehicle components in the battlefield. 3D printers may also be used to make future buildings. To this end, a team at Loughborough University is working on a 3D concrete printing project that could allow large building components to be 3D printed on-site to any design. Another possible future application is in the use of 3D printers to create replacement organs for the human body. This is known as bioprinting, and is an area of rapid development.
