Although its origin dates back to 1980's it is still a fascinating and astonishing idea for most of us that a machine is capable of creating something out of thin air. But, with today's technological advancements, 3D printing has gone a long way and is gaining pace in the industry quite hastily. Imagine a future where you could just print out the vehicle part you need for your car from your own 3D printer at home with just a digital file within hours. It would save the cost of conventional manufacturing which takes weeks or even months, shipping and transportation cost and what not. That day is not too far when any object could be replicated with a 3D printer from any where on earth.
3D printing, more formally known as Additive Manufacturing (AM), is the process of creating a three dimensional solid object from a 3D model or an electronic source by building it layer by successive layer until the entire object is complete. It can be thought of as similar to printing in 2D on a sheet of paper which we are all familiar with, except that it has an added third dimension. Printing is usually performed by a machine which uses digital technology with printing materials ranging from plastic, metal, nylon and over a hundred more.
How does it work?
In order for a 3D printer to print an object, it needs a virtual design or a 3D model of the actual object you need to create. This model is created in a CAD (Computer Aided Design) file using a 3D modeling program or a 3D scanner. A scanner is capable of making a digital 3D copy of an existing object while a modeling program creates a new object from scratch. The modeling software slices the design into thousands of horizontal layers, so that when the CAD file is uploaded into the printer, the object can be created layer by layer. The final 3D printed object is a collection of numerous such 2D layers blended perfectly resulting a 3D object.
Different 3D printers use technologies to print objects which differ in the way how layers are built to create the final object. For example in FDM (Fused Deposition Modeling) printing method, a material is melted and extruded in layer, one on top of another. In SLS (Selective Laser Sintering) printing method, a bed of powder material such as nylon or titanium is fused layer upon thin layer within it until a model is pulled out of it. In 2010, the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) group “ASTM F42 – Additive Manufacturing”, developed a set of standards classifying the Additive Manufacturing methods into 7 categories according to Standard Terminology for Additive Manufacturing Technologies;
- Vat Photopolymerisation
- Material Jetting
- Binder Jetting
- Material Extrusion
- Powder Bed Fusion
- Sheet Lamination
- Directed Energy Deposition
3D Printing Industry
Although 3D printing was a commercial process since several decades, the printers were quite expensive and their performance and capabilities were significantly low until the last few years. Now with faster and cheaper printers and hundreds of materials supporting, 3D printing is invading the industries all over the world. As predicted, the worldwide 3D printing industry is expected to grow from $3.07B in revenue in 2013 to $12.8B by 2018, and exceed $21B in worldwide revenue by 2020.
Where is the future headed?
With the evolution of 3D printing technology, it is destined to transform our way of living and most of the industries will be subjected to quite a revolution in the near future. It is expected to sooner evolve to a point where fully functional products will be output within hours than weeks or months. The printers are to become more cheaper with extended capabilities of speed, smoother finish and higher resolution. This would also affect reducing waste, efficient energy usage, increased customization and availability of products ultimately changing the manufacturing world we are now familiar with in a few more decades.
So yes, 3D printing may be the beginning of the third industrial revolution as predicted by futurologists such as Jeremy Rifkin. And that day won't be too far where today's subtractive manufacturing processes are completely replaced with additive manufacturing creating a whole new world in-front of us before we know it.
Sources:
http://3dprinting.com/what-is-3d-printing/
http://www.3dprinter.net/reference/what-is-3d-printing
http://www.voanews.com/content/metal-3d-printers-may-revolutionize-industry/2809353.html
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