Will every home soon have a 3D printer?

By John Paterson, Director of Morphotechnics

3D printing is on the rise.

Mashable and Gartner both list it as one of the tech trends and disruptive solutions to watch in 2014.

New uses for 3D printing are being developed every day, transforming our world on a scale that is comparable with the industrial revolution or, the invention of the internet.

Have you considered the major impact 3D printing will have on your tech start-up, company or speed to market with your new product development?

3D printing allows a tech start-up to produce professional quality prototypes of their design at a price they

can afford and in a very short lead time. The low cost of the prototypes allows concept models to be produced at an early stage in the process, to identify potential design improvements. The later prototypes can look and feel like the production parts allowing marketing to get underway before committing to the cost of tooling up for production. This results in getting a better quality product to the market faster and with reduced development costs.

3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing, is the process of creating a solid object from a digital model. The process uses dedicated software to split the digital model into very thin layers which are then laid down (printed) one on top of another and fused together to form the physical object. The precise method of building up these layers depends on the material being used and the end result required.

In the early days of its development 3D printing was used mainly to produce plastic models. These did little more than prove that the technology worked.

Since then engineers and designers around the globe identified and developed a multitude of practical applications where 3D printing is of real value. It has been transformed from an esoteric novelty to an

essential tool in many industries. Specialist 3D printing machines are being produced for specific industries working in a range of materials from chocolate to titanium.

Many have speculated that, in the future, every house will have a 3D printer, which, in true Star Trek fashion, will magically replicate anything they require.

While I would not say that this will never happen, it would certainly not be possible with current technology. The reason is that current 3D printing machines are generally restricted to working in one material at a time with a few high end machines being able to mix a small number of similar materials. So the dream of printing a fully functional piece of electronic equipment, for now, remains just that. If, however you are content to

make little plastic models, there are number of 3D printers available for under £1000. To achieve a professional quality product, however, the investment in hardware would be a great deal more.

Many large companies are choosing to invest in specialist 3D printing equipment that is particularly suited to their industry. The range includes bakeries printing in icing sugar, potteries using ceramic materials and engineering companies making functional components in various plastics and metals
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The scale of the objects being 3D printed is also very wide. At the small end, scientists are working at the cellular level.  One of the world leaders in this field is Dr Will Shu of Heriot-Watt University. Dr Shu with his team has developed a process that allows him to 3D print using lab grown human stem cells to create three dimensional human tissues and structures. He hopes that this will eventually lead to the ability to 3D print entire human organs for transplant.

At the other end of the scale, machines are being developed to go onto building sites to build the structure of entire houses. Aircraft designers anticipate 3D printing complete wings which will be stronger, lighter and more efficient than anything that can be fabricated by traditional methods.

Individuals and small to medium sized companies who cannot justify this investment are turning to specialist 3D printing companies to provide this service.

3D printing software can accept many different input file types including all the industry standard files that can be exported from 3D graphic design packages and 3D CAD packages. Many of the entry level packages are available as free downloads with tutorials in their use freely available on the internet. This means that any creative person with access to a computer can have a go at creating his or her own designs that can then be sent to a specialist for printing.

There are also many types of scanner that can create virtual models for printing. Surface scanners are used to replicate existing objects such as historical artefacts and to reverse engineer machine components. CT and MRI scanners are widely used to create models for use by medical professionals.

With new uses for 3D printing being developed every day, it is transforming our world on a scale that is comparable with the industrial revolution or the invention of the internet.

John Paterson is a Director of Morphotechnics a local 3D printing contractor based in Falkirk.

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