The Mystery of 3-D Printing Revealed

What is 3-D printing and why should I care?

3-D Printing Defined

3-D printing is the process of making any three-dimensional solid object of virtually any shape from a digital model.  A machine is able to lay down infinitesimally small layers of plastic on top of one another until the form takes shape.  3-D printing is thus an additive process because material is added in successive layers.


How it Works

 In order to perform a print, the machine reads the design from a 3-D printable file (STL file) and lays down successive layers of liquid, powder, paper, or sheet material to build the model from a series of cross sections.  These layers correspond to the virtual layers from the CAD model can eventually be fused to create the final shape.  Construction can take a while, ranging from a few hours to several days, depending on the method used and complexity of the model. 


Applications

This revolutionary way of printing has extensive uses for both prototyping and distributed manufacturing, with many applications in today's world.  Some of these applications include architecture, dental and medical industries, biotech, and eye ware.  The rise of open source 3-D printing is also bringing this technology to the common household, enabling consumers to make their own household objects.


Future Advancements

Most recent advancements in 3-D printing are those in biotechnology.  While it may seem impossible today, 3-D printing of organs could be an option in the not so distant future.  This could mean the difference between life and death for those who are on the organ transplant list, making bioprinting a critical subject for research.


Needless to say, 3-D printing is an exciting field of research and a great tool for both developers and the common man.  It will be interesting to see where this technology can take us in the future!


For more information on bioprinting: 

http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/world/2014/03/20/spc-vital-signs-3d-printing-grandfather.cnn.html


On 3-D Printing:

http://computer.howstuffworks.com/3-d-printing1.htm