Hollywood sees 3D as the future of film. But the most revolutionary developments in 3D technology aren’t taking place in the multiplex; they’re happening in the printing industry.
3D printers work in a similar manner to their inkjet cousins. However instead of using ink cartridges, they print in materials like plastic, clay, steel, glass and even chocolate, building up the layers of a three-dimensional design to produce a solid object. Existing objects can even be replicated by capturing their digital image with a 3D scanner, and feeding the data into a 3D printer. It’s less desktop publishing; more desktop manufacturing.
Although this sounds like science-fiction 3D printing is merely the evolution of rapid prototyping techniques used by big manufacturers. The major change in the last decade has been the adoption of this technology by other industries and home enthusiasts, who would previously have struggled to afford the machines; an early 3D printer cost more than £20,000, but you can pick one up today for a few hundred pounds.
The technology is being studied by bio-tech firms, who hope they will eventually be able to engineer organs and other body parts, printing them using layers of living cells. The implications for the consumer sector are just as exciting. A dedicated community of home 3D printing fans, known as ‘Fabbers’, has already sprouted in the forums of the web, eagerly discussing 3D printing techniques and sharing their creations on site like Thingiverse. Their work spans jewellery and artistic pieces to tools and machine parts. The most ambitious projects are printed out in sections then assembled, like a more intricate form of flat pack furniture.
Presently these pioneering printers are limited in what they can create by the complexity of their 3D printers and the materials that can be printed in. However the disruptive nature of these machines is already evident. It’s not hard to image a world where almost any object can be made with a 3D printer, a future described by Cory Doctorow in his novel ‘Makers’.
Some 3D printers are even self-replicating. The RepRap, a free desktop 3D printer developed by researchers at the University of Bath, can print all its plastic parts. The team behind it hope that it will eventually be able to print all the necessary circuit boards and metal elements as well, though these can be easily and cheaply obtained from sites like eBay.
After purchasing one machine, you can potentially produce a limitless number of others. This could one day revolutionise life in the developing world. A single unit could print out all manner of tools, parts and other objects that a community might need, as well as more RepRaps, negating the need for any industrial infrastructure.
In the Western world, 3D printers could also lead to counterfeit goods being produced on a previously unimaginable scale. With the right materials and a 3D blueprint downloaded from the web, games consoles, shoes, toasters, laptops, radios and more could all be replicated, undermining the very foundations of capitalist economies.
There is no guarantee the technology will ever make it to this stage of course. The technical nouse needed to piece together complex 3D printouts and copyright lawsuits from manufacturers could all stifle its growth. But perhaps, as with the fledgling computer industry of the late 70s and early 80s, all that’s needed is a few bright sparks to light the fuse on mass home 3D printing, thereby revolutionising the way we produce and consume goods forever.
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Gareth
The counterfeit issue is an interesting one. Could something like iTunes stem it to a degree? You could purchase an item, which you would then be able to print on your 3D printer. If you wanted more than one copy, you would have to purchase it.
I wonder how local printing firms fit into the picture. Would they be willing to get in on the ground floor with 3D printing like they did with digital printing?