Although the Maker Movement has used Atmel-powered 3D printers like MakerBot and RepRap for some time now, the technology has just recently entered a new and exciting stage in a number of spaces including the medical sphere, architectural arena, science lab and even on the battlefield. Now, watch as 3D printers make clothing, food, houses, faces and more in this nifty, interactive infographic from Print Detective.
Ready or not, 3D printing is going to be out of this world… literally! By the end of next month, NASA Aerospace Engineer Jason Budinoff is expected to complete an imaging telescope almost entirely out of 3D-printed parts. The 2-inch device could feasibly change the way the organization takes pictures in space.
“As far as I know, we are the first to attempt to build an entire instrument with 3D printing,” Budinoff explains. The engineer is in the process of devising a fully-function 50mm camera whose outer tube, baffles and optical mounts are all printed as a single structure. The instrument is appropriately sized for a CubeSat (a small satellite made of individual units each about 100mm on a side). When equipped with mirrors and glass lenses, the instrument will undergo vibration and thermal-vacuum testing next year.
Budinoff describes his machine as a ‘pathfinder’ that is meant to probe the possibilities of further incorporating 3D printing technology into future space exploration. Aspiring to test the feasibility and durability of the medium with this project, the engineer hopes that “with 3D printing, we can reduce the overall number of parts and make them with nearly arbitrary geometries.” He ads, “We’re not limited by traditional mill-and-lathe fabrication operations.”
The engineer aims to complete the telescope by the end of the fiscal year, and afterwards, the entire assembly will undergo vigorous testing to assure that it is space worthy. He notes that if his low-cost gadget passes the tests, “We will have mitigated the risk, and when future program managers ask, ‘Can we use this technology?’ we can say, ‘Yes, we already have qualified it.’”
The one portion of the telescope that will not be 3D-printed will be the optical lenses, though Budinoff is contemplating a new way of designing mirrors with printed aluminum. If his idea of pressure treating unpolished mirror blanks proves viable, it could allow for an increase in these devices being forged as single structures.
Next year, the engineer has his eyes set on experimenting with printing instrument components made of Invar alloy, a material being prepared for 3D printing by Goddard technologist Tim Stephenson. The 100-year-old iron-nickel alloy offers extreme dimensional stability over a range of temperatures, and is ideal for building super-stable, lightweight skeletons that support telescopes and other instruments, NASA notes.
Ideally, Budinoff has high hopes for this courageous project. “Anyone who builds optical instruments will benefit from what we’re learning here,” the engineer proudly concluded. “I think we can demonstrate an order-of-magnitude reduction in cost and time with 3D printing.”
Years ago, home 3D printing was seen as just a passing technological fad. Though hobbyist printers were never thought of as being able to create high-end products, earlier this year, new waves of affordable and accessible 3D printers have opened the doors for this fad to become a mainstay in tech culture.
According to ZDNet, Adobe’s inclusion of 3D printing models into the Photoshop CC has enabled an unprecedented creative mentality to be adopted by the Maker community. Adrian Mars details that before Adobe’s inclusion of the new platform into Photoshop, many ‘slicers’ or programs that converted 3D models into printer instructions were community created and inherently basic. With Adobe’s large organizational support of the medium, it was obvious that 3D printing was no longer a passing fad .
“With costs decreasing and usability improving, together with the ability to print at ever finer resolutions in a fast-growing range of materials, affordable 3D printers may well repeat the 1980s success of the home computer as they too begin to usurp the older and much more costly ‘professional’ competition,” Mars notes. He details two separate printers, the Matme3D and the Peachy, both of which will be available for under $300 and able to provide high quality products to the home enthusiast.
With accessibility and affordability trending positively, Mars turns to the apparent lack of 3D design education. “There are other barriers besides cost. Designing in 3D is far from intuitive, and education is the obvious route to massive takeup in the next generation — something that needs to be fixed,” Mars explains. As he points out, it will be essential for the younger generation to adopt 3D design as a requisite tech skill; fortunately, there are a multitude of software options available to assist on this front.
The wildly-popular computer game Minecraft involves heavy elements of 3D design and could be covertly educating the youth about the intricacies of 3D design. Other free platforms such as Blender 3D and Sketchup Make are also allowing for widespread skill building amongst the young Maker crowd.
It is worthy to note that the initial sentiment that home printers were unable of creating quality products is retreating due to the innovation of new 3D printing materials. Mars talks of high quality materials like Taulman’s Nylon and even food-grade polypropylene that raise the caliber of home projects.
In all, it is clear that 3D printing is becoming a mainstay in the technology community. The innumerable creative possibilities that the medium provides are something that simply cannot be ignored. As the technology develops and prices continue to drop, accessibility will inevitably rise. This could allow for a golden age of innovation all fueled by 3D printing.
For more articles about the ever-evolving 3D printing trend, check out our Bits & Pieces archives here.
Advances have been made over the past two decades to bring to the public an entirely new kind of standard: 3D printing. Over the last year in particular, we have experienced quite a bit of buzz around the next-gen form of technology. Gartner has even gone as far as to recommend that enterprises begin “experimenting with 3D printing technology to improve traditional product design and prototyping, with the potential to create new product lines and markets.”
As we embark on a new frontier, 3D printing is expected to continue acceleration towards mainstream with forecasts calling for it to become a $16 billion global industry by 2018. In support of these projections, Tech Pro Research recently conducted a survey to find out which organizations were currently using or evaluating the technology, and the best applications for business. Conducted in June 2014, the global survey attracted 624 respondents in a range of industries. The resulting report, entitled “3D Printing: Benefits, Trends, Enterprise Applications” focused on topics including:
The report found that relatively few companies have already deployed 3D printers, with only 12% of respondents currently using the technology as a part of their business operations presently. However, it appears that a number of businesses are evaluating the use of 3D printers with a combined 31% respondents now either actively using or considering using a 3D printer with plans to implement within the next 12 months, while an additional 29% claim to be evaluating the technology without any solid plans at the moment.
“These statistics may reflect the fact that 3D printing has been seen for some time as a niche product for research/development, education, and manufacturing purposes, geared more toward enterprises than small businesses. However, the fact that such a high percentage of people are evaluating the concept shows that this perception is undergoing change and beginning to appeal to an array of businesses. These notions are substantiated by breaking down the statistics involving 3D printing usage by organization size, industry segment, departments involved, and respondent job role,” the report states.
The report revealed that 73% of respondents are currently utilizing 3D printers for the testing of ideas and concepts, 67% for prototyping in research and development, while 40% are using the technology for manufacturing of parts for the organization, which is more than twice as much as the manufacturing of production goods (19%) and office tools/employee items (16%), and almost three times the size of manufacturing of customer supplies (14%).
The Tech Pro Research report then inquired as to what factors are holding organizations back from implementing the technology, as well as what might convince them to change their minds. Their findings? 66% of respondents said they had no business need for 3D printing, while 43% added they don’t perform engineering or manufacturing work.
“There’s no reason to implement a technology without a business need, but there may be better opportunities ahead for 3D printing manufacturers to identify and communicate new business needs that organizations aren’t aware of. The cost savings offered by 3D printing is a viable starting point for helping potential customers assess the value of 3D printing.”
As Gartner noted in last year’s report, the material science behind 3D printing processes and materials will continue to progress, and affordable 3D printers will continue to lower the cost of entry into manufacturing in the same way that e-commerce lowered the barriers to the sale of goods and services. When this occurs, the 3D printer market will continue to migrate from niche adoption to broad acceptance, driven by lower printer prices, the potential for cost and time savings, greater capabilities, and improved performance that drives benefits and markets.
You can access the entire “3D Printing: Benefits, Trends, Enterprise Applications” report here.
According to BAE Systems, 3D printers could be so advanced by 2040 that they would have the ability to create unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) during a mission.
Scientists and engineers at BAE Systems anticipate such advances in both 3D printing and drone technologies that in the relatively near future, military aircraft could come equipped with onboard 3D printers to produce various types of drones on-demand. Possessing these capabilities, this would make for a highly versatile task-force with a primary aircraft deployed and then able to manufacture a fleet of smaller, purpose-built vehicles depending on a particular situation.
“You are suddenly not fixed in terms of where you have to manufacture these things. You can manufacture the products and whatever base you want, providing you can get a machine there, which means you can also start to support other platforms such as ships and aircraft carriers,” said BAE’s Mike Murray.
As Gizmag notes, there have been some notable creations at the intersection of drones and 3D printing throughout recent years, ranging from engineers at the University of Southampton developing the world’s first printed aircraft back in 2011 to a minimalistic UAV that can be printed and launched within a day.
“Of course we don’t know exactly what sorts of aircraft technologies will be used in 2040 with any certainty, but it’s great to be able to show the public some concepts that might be possible through projecting where today’s technology could get to,” explained Nick Colosimo, BAE Systems’ Futurist and Engineering Manager.
Aside from the specialized drone production, the firm has unveiled three other next-gen aircraft technologies, including parts that can heal themselves in minutes, a new type of long range aircraft which divides into a number of smaller aircraft when it reaches its destination, and a directed energy weapon that could engage missiles at the speed of light, destroy them and protect the people below.
Imagine: You’re leaving on a trip to Europe, but can head out of the house without any luggage or carry-on bags. Once you reach the airport, your body is scanned and upon your arrival in another continent, a 3D-printed set of clothing and accessories are waiting there just for you. Is this financially feasible in today’s market? Most likely not, yet innovators like Janne Kyttanen are trying to make it as real as possible.
Kyttanen and his gallery, Galerie Vivid, have displayed a set of items that could simply be emailed to your travel destination prior to your arrival and 3D-printed when you show up — these items include shoes, bags, as well as a full-range of jewelry. “If you feel like going to Paris, then you just leave and go. You don’t have to go home and think of what you’re going to pack,” Kyttanen tells BBC News.
Tero Kuittinen of BGR describes Kyttanen’s creation as “one of the first steps towards conceiving what a travel pack of printable objects might look like, no matter how crude it will inevitably seem.” This ideology is surely a thought process to look forward to as 3D printing continues to evolve.
It may not be very inviting to think of modern 3D-printed clothing as being all that comfortable, yet designers are not shying away from the material. The N12 bikini has gained traction within the marketplace, while the N12 designer Continuum has also created a line of stylish women’s shoes. In all, it may be some time before Kyttanen’s dream is accomplished by 3D printing, but that is not to say we won’t see it sooner than later.
Now, if you thought that 3D printing hasn’t yet impacted your travel routine, Airbus may be proving you wrong. The aircraft manufacturer will begin rolling out planes with 3D-printed components in the very near future. As fuel prices continue to wreak havoc on the aviation world and manufacturers seek for any possible way to save weight, 3D printing has emerged as quite a viable alternative.
“We are investing a lot of money in aerodynamic improvement, in material, in noise reduction, etc., but 3D printing is probably the area with the highest gain over time,” Airbus executive Axel Krein tells VOA News. “It is also worth noting that industry giant GE plans to 3D print fuel nozzles for future jet engines.
Indeed, the technology could also be used for any “as needed” item when traveling, including medicines, orthopedics or even accessories such as a lens adapter for your camera. That ability to print on demand is exactly the kind of usage Kyttanen and other proponents envision. “I’m not suggesting that people suddenly print shampoo,” Kyttanen told BBC. “But maybe you get your body scanned in an airport, land on the other side – and you have perfectly-fitting shoes waiting there.”
Whether you are e-mailing your clothing and luggage schematics to your travel destination, or flying on a fully 3D-printed aircraft, the medium’s impact on your travel routines is only going to grow in the coming years.
Dr. Robert Howe, a reproductive endocrinologist by trade, is also a doctoral student in music theory and history at the University of Connecticut. One day at his practice, Robert was shown technology that would allow him to view 3D images of body parts. Interested by the idea, Robert then pondered how he could apply this technology to his passion for music and musical instruments.
Robert passed his ideas along to music professor Richard Bass and one of the University’s top 3D imaging experts, Sina Shahbazmohamadi. Their conclusion was a system that could utilize CT scans to produce 3D images of antique and delicate instruments. With those 3D images in hand, the group then devised a way to 3D print any parts that were missing from the instruments, thus enabling them to be played for the first time in decades. Shahbazmohamadi developed an interface that allows the scan to view different materials, such as metal and wood, all within one object. On July 29th, the group sought a patent for their process.
The process has already yielded beneficial results, as the group has been able to reproduce the mouthpiece from one of Adolphe Sax’s initial 19th century saxophone designs. While only three original Sax mouthpieces currently exist, the UConn team was able to fit a 3D printed plastic mouthpiece to one of their antiques. Howe tells the Associated Press that the model “is pretty darned good, and it’s an $18 piece.” The talented endocrinologist has also used his technology to play a previously unplayable recorder from 1740.
Howe believes his project is just scratching the surface of the benefits of 3D printing technology. “The universal availability of 3D printing, which is happening as we wait, will make all this work very relevant and not just for musical instruments. The ability to measure and replicate items that are difficult to measure and replicate is going to explode,” he notes.
Italian surgeons at the University of Verona Hospital are now 3D-printing replicas of bone fractures so that they can make sure severe orthopaedic trauma surgeries are successful the first time round.
If you’ve ever fractured a bone, you know exactly how painful it can be, but luckily they can heal rather quickly — that is, of course, if they are able to be set correctly. Otherwise, an injured individual will suffer from chronic pain.
According to IBTimes UK, the doctors are employing “a Stratasys 3D printer to print out replicas of difficult bone fractures” to enable surgeons to rehearse surgeries in advance, similar to the doctors in Barcelona who were recently able to remove a previously inoperable tumour from a five-year-old boy. 3D printing continues to emerge as a true medical marvel, having also been used to save the life of an 18-month-old child’s life by restoring his breathing and provide a 13-year-old girl with an affordable prosthetic arm.
“At the moment about 20 patients have received 3D-printed replicas, especially patients with serious and articular fractures,” Orthopedic and trauma surgeon Dr Nicola Bizzotto told IBTimes UK. “I hope that in future, 3D printers could be used in tissue banks to give us new artificial or biological tissue [made from] a custom organ/bone architecture to implant into patients.”
(SOURCE: International Business Times)
When it comes to 3D printing, South Korea has recently become quite the country to watch in terms of growth and innovation. As validation of its industry’s development, the South Korean government announced Wednesday that it plans to draw up a 10-year blueprint to promote the country’s 3D printing market, and to help transform the manufacturing sector.
Under the blueprint, the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy will devise detailed plans for the local 3D printing market by October.
“The 3D printing industry is a new growth engine to bring about innovation in the manufacturing realm,” said Lee Kwan-seok, an official from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. “It is anticipated to take a key role in the country’s creative economy drive by converging with the ICT sector.”
The statement added that a roadmap spearheaded by the government was necessary to better coordinate research efforts currently being conducted in silos at the various universities and institutions. According to the Yonhap News Agency, the ministry in June said it planned to deploy 3D printers at 227 libraries and 5,885 schools across the country by 2017, and is targeting for 10 million South Koreans to use 3D printers by 2020.
As previously reported in Bits & Pieces, demand for 3D printing is projected to rise more than 20% per year, ultimately hitting $5 billion in 2017. While professional uses such as design and prototyping will continue to account for the majority of demand, the most rapid growth will be seen in production and consumer applications.
(SOURE: ZDNet)
In a move that could possibly bring 3D printing one step closer to mainstream, Home Depot announced on Monday it will begin stocking its shelves with MakerBot 3D printers at select stores as part of a national pilot program:
As part of a 12-store trial, the 3D printers will be sold and demonstrated at the various locations throughout California, Illinois and New York. If you recall, Home Depot started selling the printers earlier this year. Home Depot joins other big-box retailers, like Best Buy, who are tapping into the Maker Movement.
(Source: MakerBot)
