Until now, 3D printing has been an invention associated with a hobby that served only to “create” basic objects at home. Being able to design in digital format and print pretty much anything three-dimensionally made this technique very striking at the time of its launch. In this article, we explain in detail what 3D printing is, how much it costs, and many other curiosities you will love hearing about! Are you ready? Let’s start!
What is 3D printing?
3D printing is a manufacturing process that, put simply, creates three-dimensional objects from digital models. Instead of sculpting or cutting material from a block (like you’d do in traditional manufacturing), 3D printing creates objects by layering successive coatings of material. This tech is based on adding material layer by layer (which, in case you weren’t sure, is why we call this “additive”).
And did you know that 3D printing can use a variety of materials? We’re not talking paper here. How about plastic, metal, ceramic, resin, and others? You name it, you can print with it (well, almost). The whole thing starts with a digital model of the desired object, which gets built using computer-aided design (CAD) software.
Once that’s done? Time to start printing. The model gets divided up into layers and then sent to your printer, which begins building the object layer by layer, using melted material (whatever you’ve chosen). It sounds a bit like a science fiction movie, right? Well, it’s not! The evolution of 3D printing is very much real!
So, want to see how this works in reality? Here’s a really breathtaking example of how we can use 3D printing in… well, let’s just say amazing ways. Roll back to 2014: Erle Austin, an American surgeon, manages to use 3D printing to save the life of baby Roland.
With 4 congenital malformations at only 14 months, Roland’s chances were… not looking good, to be blunt. Even skilled surgeons were pretty wary about undertaking surgery, fearing they might do more harm than good as they tried to get a picture of what was what inside his heart.
Austin, though, went innovative. Why not 3D print a model of Roland’s heart to work on first? It would let him suss out exactly what needed to be done before he operated! And did it work? 20 hours later and about $600 down, Austin had an upsized model of Roland’s heart – and was able to start fixing those problems. Wow. If that’s not an innovative solution…
What do you need to get into 3D printing?
Thinking of trying this yourself? Don’t just plunge in; there are a few (rather expensive, unfortunately) necessities first. 3D printing requires a series of fundamental elements that guarantee the correct functioning of the process. First up, the 3D digital model – you’ve got to start here. This can be created with computer-aided design (CAD) software or by scanning an existing object.
Secondly… well, obviously, a 3D printer – you’re not going to get far without that. This is the tool in charge of carrying out the printing process. They come in a host of different types and sizes, but pretty much all of them work in the same way: they take the digital model and transform it into a physical object layer by layer. Ever watched one in action? It’s pretty hypnotic.
How much does it cost to 3D print something?
Now, we come to a really important factor… price. As you might have guessed, though, there’s no simple answer to this – it really depends. The size of the object, the complexity of the design, the type of material used, and the quality of the printer all make a huge difference. Costs can range from a few dollars to hundreds or even thousands of dollars.
What’s coming next for 3D printing?
We’re not going to deny it: a lot of people love the idea of being able to create an object out of raw materials, seeing how it gradually takes shape! It seemed like this technology could become the central pillar of a fourth industrial revolution. A technology capable of revolutionizing the world of many industries, to the point of overturning the traditional model of buying and selling and procurement as we know it.
But in reality, as of today, 3D printing has not yet become (far from it!) a major driving force behind the new industrial change. It has remained in the minds of everyday consumers as a device for printing simple objects with very simple domestic applications. It has not yet positioned itself as a production technique in the minds of consumers.
The “partial oblivion” that 3D printing has suffered is also understandable if the economic component is taken into account; the high price of the printers does not give it the character of a mass consumer product. And this is a fundamental step that must be taken for 3D printing to succeed and for its full potential to be valued by consumers and companies. It is true, however, that this market, like many others, is very different depending on the geographical area where it is located, with the United States being the practically monopolistic power that dominates 3D printing.
There are several books and numerous websites that talk about 3D printing from a technical-professional point of view and that focus their contents on all the applications offered by this technology. But there are even more websites and articles that focus on this technique as something more and more oriented to change our modern society – so we’re likely to see a whole lot more of 3D printing in the coming years, and that’s pretty exciting in our opinion.
