3D printing has been around since the 1980s, but it was slow to take off because the peripheral ecosystem such as materials, software, robotics, 3D graphics and the Internet had not yet evolved. The technology was used mostly for industrial prototyping applications.
THE 3D PRINTING SOLUTIONS COMPANY
3D Printing, Now and Beyond
DISRUPTIVE PRINCIPLES AND DEVELOPMENT EPISODES
With the proliferation of computer graphics and
CAD (computer-aided design), better 3D printing materials, improved process reliability and the Internet, 3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing (AM) took off exponentially in the mid 2000s.
The major factors propelling this exponential
growth are the range of materials and accessibility. Until the mid 2000s, 3D printing was possible only with relatively soft plastic, severely limiting its prototyping applications. Since then, the range of materials has increased dramatically, making
3D printed geometrical shapes
it possible to create high-resolution, strong and
functional products that are ready for end-use. traditionally accepted manufacturing conventions 3D printing is now applied across diverse fields
and constraints, and open new possibilities.
including aerospace, automotive, electronics,
medical and education. It is revolutionizing many fields and disciplines, demonstrating that almost every industry could benefit in some way from this technology.
In traditional manufacturing, the more complex
an objects shape and the more parts a product contains, the more it costs to make. With additive manufacturing, the time, effort and cost to create complex designs are comparatively lower, making it possible to produce highly optimized products
3D PRINTING NOW DISRUPTING MANUFACTURING AND DESIGN Manufacturing Redefined 3D printing is not just another manufacturing
without being bogged down by manufacturing
cost. Traditionally, it is more expensive and takes longer to make a product if it contains more parts, whereas 3D printing decreases cost by reducing part count and eliminating assembly steps.
technique. It offers an opportunity to rethink
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Airbus, a leading aircraft manufacturer, uses 3D
printed parts in place of traditionally manufactured parts to increase supply chain flexibility and meet delivery commitments.
Airbus has produced more than 1,000 flight
parts on its Stratasys FDM 3D Printers for use on A350 XWB aircraft, which began delivery in A 3D printed air intake using ULTEM 1010 resin.
December 2014.
In 2013, Airbus initiated development and
In addition, while skilled expertise is required to operate traditional manufacturing machines, a 3D printer gets most of its guidance from a design file. This eliminates many of the skills and
certification of 3D printing as a scheduled risk
reduction activity that proved valuable for the A350 XWB program and highlighted a key benefit of 3D printing in the manufacturing industry.
training requirements associated with traditional
manufacturing, opening up new business models and offering more opportunities for people without access to manufacturing expertise. The flexibility of sending digital files and the relative portability of AM machines also suggests opportunities for new supply chain configurations, as well as new distribution networks.
The parts are 3D printed using ULTEM 9085
resin for FDM, which is certified to the Airbus material specifications. ULTEM 9085 resin provides a high strength-to-weight ratio and is FST (flame, smoke and toxicity) compliant for aircraft interior applications. This enables Airbus to manufacture strong, lighter parts while substantially reducing production time and
With metals, 3D printing creates less waste than
manufacturing costs.
traditional grinding or milling techniques used in
mass manufacturing. Machining metal is highly wasteful; an estimated 90 percent of the material ends up on the factory floor.
Additive manufacturing solutions can produce
complex parts on-demand, ensuring on-time delivery while streamlining supply chains. It
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DISRUPTIVE PRINCIPLES AND DEVELOPMENT EPISODES
also greatly improves the buy-to-fly ratio as
for outsourced prototyping reached $275,000,
significantly less material is wasted compared to
management decided it was time to consider
conventional manufacturing methods.
purchasing an in-house rapid prototyping system.
Trek added the Objet500 Connex3 3D Printer
Unleashing Design
to the workflow, a clean, office-friendly machine
Traditional manufacturing technologies can make
that produces PolyJet parts that rival those
only a finite repertoire of shapes, limiting design
made with SLA in terms of quality and finish. Trek
versatility. A 3D printer removes these barriers,
now produces four times as many prototypes as
fabricating shapes that have only been possible in
before, while also speeding up time to market.
nature until now, thus opening up vast new design
opportunities. Now, different shapes can be
PolyJet technology offers the unique ability to
created in a single 3D print. In contrast, traditional
print parts and assemblies made of multiple
manufacturing machines are much less versatile
materials. Parts with different mechanical and
and can only make things in a limited spectrum
physical properties, smooth, durable surfaces
of shapes.
and exceptionally fine details are possible, all in
a single build. The system can print living hinges,
Combining different raw materials into a single
product is difficult using traditional manufacturing machines. As multi-material 3D printing develops, we will gain the capacity to blend and mix different raw materials. New, previously inaccessible blends of raw material offers a much larger, mostly unexplored palette of materials that have novel properties or useful types of behaviors.
For award-winning bicycle manufacturer Trek,
prototyping plays a crucial role in all phases of product development. But when its annual costs Treks 3D printed color helmet prototype.
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DISRUPTIVE PRINCIPLES AND DEVELOPMENT EPISODES
soft-touch parts and overmolds not possible with
other technologies. The superior productivity, high quality output and unique multi-material printing capabilities of the Connex printer enable users to closely emulate the look, feel and function of a wide variety of end products. The ability to mix three materials together via PolyJet technology to increase durometers was a key selling point for Trek, as was the ability to combine materials in
Unilever 3D printed injection mold for Domestos rim block.
one part.
Most recently, 3D printing played a key role in the
Combining these two freedomsfreedom of
companys launch of its new, Speed Concept 9
complexity and freedom of varietysuggests
Series bicycle. Its unique frame design features
that new business models are enabled
aerodynamic cross-sections that lower wind
around optimized and customized
resistance and improve speed. Virtually every part
manufacturing solutions.
of the new design was prototyped on the Connex
3D Printer.
The Italian division of international consumer
goods giant, Unilever, has cut lead times for
Minimized Lead Time
prototype parts by 40% since introducing PolyJet
A 3D printer can also print on demand, reducing
technology into its manufacturing process. By
the need for companies to stockpile physical
utilizing 3D printed injection molding tools, the
inventory. New types of business services become
company is able to produce prototype parts for
possible as 3D printers enable a business to make
functional and consumer tests using production
specialty parts in response to customized orders.
material, significantly faster than traditional tooling
methods. Unilever is using the Objet500 Connex3
The ability to manufacture objects of different
3D Printer to produce injection mold tools for
shapes and sizes on the same system shifts
its household care and laundry goods divisions,
manufacturing from a paradigm of economy
including a wide variety of prototype parts such as
of scale to that of an economy of scope.
bottle caps, closures and toilet rim blocks.
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DISRUPTIVE PRINCIPLES AND DEVELOPMENT EPISODES
Unilever can now design and print a variety of
injection molds for functional and consumer testing, all in the same day, as opposed to several weeks using the traditional process. Long delays not only lengthen lead times, but increase costs if changes are required. With 3D printing, the company is now able to apply design iterations within a matter of hours.
Precise Physical Replication
Just as a digital music file can be copied with no loss of audio quality, 3D printing extends digital
The 3D printed Jomon Goddess sculpture replica (right).
precision and repeatability to the world of physical
objects from the past.
The Yamagata Prefectural Museum in Japan
is using 3D printing to create replicas of a 4,500-year-old national treasure, the Jomon Goddess, for museum goers to better learn,
The 3D printed replicas offer researchers,
scholars and the general public wider access to historic artifacts. Not only can they be restored and recreated, the artifacts can also be used for educational events and traveling exhibitions.
explore and touch history. The museum attracted
attention with the exhibition of a clay doll replica of the Jomon Goddess. Unearthed in Funagata-cho, Yamagata, the original doll was handcrafted in the Jomon period (12,000 B.C. 300 B.C.). Using 3D printing, the museum was able to accurately capture the fine details and intricate patterns of the sculpture.
LOOKING THROUGH THE
CRYSTAL GLASS FOUR DEVELOPMENT EPISODES Over the next few years, 3D printing material standards and communication between printers and design tools will mature significantly, in addition to growth in manufacturing production parts. This is true across all verticals from fashion to medical and aerospace.
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Looking at the long-term evolution of 3D printing,
ability to print integrated active systems like these
we can see four distinct episodes. The first
will transform manufacturing as we know it.
episode, which we are in currently, has been about
control over shape and form. The second episode
The fourth episode may be the transition
will be about control over composition. We will
from analog to digital, which would make the
be able to create materials by combining basic
capabilities of 3D printed products substantially
materials on a micro-scale level, thereby enabling
more advanced. Episode 4 will be about printing
completely different meta-materials.
digital matter consisting of prefabricated voxels
(tiny building blocks). Each type of voxel would
The third episode will be the emergence of
enable a different functionality; some voxels will be
programmable matter. While it is technically
conductive, while others will be structural, soft or
possible to 3D print a robot body today, it is still
hard. Other voxels will have sensors, actuators, or
difficult to 3D print electronics, sensors, actuators,
transistors. A relatively small repertoire of voxels
batteries and processors. But in the future, the
would enable a vast design space of
different capabilities.
While the future looks promising, were still only
somewhere at the end of the first episode. Were in an age where the marginal cost of complexity is approaching zero, thereby enabling new designs and concepts that would have been considered unfeasible for manufacturing until now.
But for 3D printing to truly transform our world, the
ecosystem needs to evolve further in the following ways.
3D printed interlocking cubes.
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almost any material, current design software
HOW IS THE 3D PRINTING
INDUSTRY FACILITATING THE NEXT EPISODE?
tools have not yet caught up. Translating thought
From Rapid Prototyping To
into design is a very challenging process even
Assembly Line
for the best designers, especially when it comes
To really come of age, 3D printing needs to make
to multi-material printing. In the future, design
the transition from a rapid prototyping tool to
automation and artificial intelligence will help
a manufacturing tool, used to create the final
bridge this gap.
product. This has already happened to some
Design maturity: While 3D printing makes it
possible to fabricate any shape or form with
extent, as production parts now account for nearly
Material complexity: The ability to create
a third of the additive manufacturing market.
new materials on the fly, to create metamaterials that will mimic natural materials, will drive the 3D printing revolution. Our limited capacity to model, simulate and predict properties of such new materials restricts our ability to develop them. Replicating active systems: The ability
As proof of this transition, in November 2014,
NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory installed 3D printed parts onto one of its satellites bound for outer space. Airbus is using Stratasys productiongrade printers to make flight parts for its new A350 XWB airplane.
to print integrated active systems, like
conductors, sensors and actuators rather than passive parts, will transform manufacturing as we know it. Yet most designers are challenged about thinking in this new design space. New artificial intelligence and design automation tools may be able to help us explore these new opportunities. NASA installed 3D printed parts on their Mars rover concept vehicle.
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MULTIPLE CONSISTENCIES AND COLORS With innovations such as Connex3 triple-jetting technology, it is possible to create different material consistencies and color shades within the same part. In the dental industry, this enables the creation of lifelike gingival texture and color; jaw models created directly from CBCT scan data with high-definition tooth, root and nerve canal anatomy, and groups of models that require several materials to be built simultaneously in one
Mia Gonzalez holding her 3D printed heart model.
unattended job.
At Nicklaus Childrens Hospital in Miami, Florida,
Dr. Redmond Burkes team used Stratasys solutions to create an anatomically precise 3D model of Mia Gonzalezs heart, using her CT scan. Mia was diagnosed with a double aortic arch that needed corrective surgery. The model
3D printing is set to become an exponential
technology, shaping the future as it is applied to more industries around the world every day, from aerospace to automotive, education to medical. It is capable of revolutionizing almost every industry in some way. The question is only how.
mimicked the flexibility of the human heart by
combining photopolymers for a range of textural characteristics. Using the model, Burke and his team were able to determine which part of Mias heart arch should be divided to achieve the best surgical outcome.
The ability to print models made from a wide array
of materials, colors and varied Shore values in one build also allows the Adidas Group to accurately simulate the real outer soles of its running shoes, leading to time-savings and a competitive edge.
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