Think of a light bulb, steam engine or, more latterly, cars
and airplanes, not to mention the rise and rise of the world wide web. These
technologies have made our lives improved in many ways, opened new paths and potentials,
but typically it takes time, sometimes even years, before the truly disruptive
nature of the technology becomes seeming. It is widely believed that 3D
printing or additive manufacturing (AM) has the vast potential to become one of
these technologies. 3D printing has now been covered across many television
channels, mainstream newspapers, and online resources. What really is
this 3D printing that some have claimed will put an end to outdated
manufacturing as we know it, revolutionize design and impose geopolitical,
economic, social, demographic, environmental, and security insinuations to our
everyday lives?
The most basic, differentiating principle behind 3D printing
is that it is an additive manufacturing process. And this is indeed the key
because 3D printing is a drastically different manufacturing method based on
advanced technology that builds up parts, additively, in layers at the sub-mm
scale. This is basically different from any other existing traditional
manufacturing techniques. 3D printing is an enabling technology that encourages
and drives innovation with unparalleled design freedom while being a tool-less process that diminishes prohibitive costs and lead times. Components can be
designed specifically to evade assembly requirements with complex geometry and
complex features created at no extra cost. 3D printing is also evolving as an
energy-efficient technology that can offer environmental efficiencies in terms
of both the manufacturing process itself, utilizing up to 90% of the standard
materials, and throughout the products operating life, through lighter and
stronger design.
Adoption of 3D printing has touched critical mass as those who
have yet to assimilate additive manufacturing somewhere in their supply chain
are now part of an ever-shrinking minority. Where 3D printing was only appropriate
for prototyping and one-off manufacturing in the early stages, it is now quickly
transforming into a production technology.
3D printing includes many forms of technologies and materials as
3D printing is being used in almost all industries you could think of. It’s
important to see it as a bunch of diverse industries with a myriad of different
applications. A few
examples:
Consumer products (eyewear, footwear, design, furniture)
- Industrial products (manufacturing tools, prototypes, functional end-use parts)
- Dental product
- Prosthetics
- Architectural scale models & maquettes
- Reconstructing fossils
- Replicating ancient artifacts
- Reconstructing evidence in forensic pathology
- Movie props
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