3D Printers (Like a Star Trek Replicator, but real)
What are 3D Printers?
There’s a lot to be loved about learning. Every struggle, every hour spent reading and rereading a paragraph, every single moment spent wondering why words make sense on their own but not in the order they’re presented is all worth it for that perfect puzzle-piece-in-place moment when understanding finally occurs. Understanding is binary; some concepts are naturally easy to grasp while others are so complicated that only four people in the world can properly explain them.
3D printing falls into the former category. Like the ink-printers that conk out exactly when we need them the most, 3D printers create objects out of materials like silicone, carbon, paper, or plastic. That’s really all there is to it. 3D printers are a lot like replicators from Star Trek; want an object, push a button, and have the object created.
How do 3D Printers Work?
Unlike traditional machining methods that have a subtractive process, 3D printing is an additive process. The difference between additive and subtractive can be deduced from the words alone. Additive processes add materials to create objects, whereas subtractive processes take away bits and pieces from materials to create objects.
At its most basic level, 3D printing has four necessary components: a computer with modelling software (like AutoCAD), a model to print, material to print the model (like plastic), and a printer to print the material. Using the computer-generated model, a 3D printer prints the material one layer at a time to finally create a physical object.
The size of the printed object is determined by the printer’s resolution. Unlike image printing, where resolution refers to the density of individual pixels on an image, 3D printer resolution refers to the thickness of each individual printed layer. Average layer thickness is 100 micrometres, but some printers are able to create layers as thin as 16 micrometres. Putting layer thickness into perspective, the average thickness of a single sheet of paper is 90 micrometres.
Due to the size of each individual layer, 3D printing is a process that can take hours or days, depending on the size of the desired object. Furthermore, different materials take different times to print depending on the type of 3D printing taking place. It’s far easier and less time-consuming to print a plastic cup than it is to print a GI Joe figurine out of paper.
Why are 3D Printers Important?
Traditional machining processes are costly and incredibly wasteful. However, due to tradition, in addition to the cost of adopting newer processes, the slowly-chip-away-until-there’s-nothing-left model of object creation has persisted. 3D printing allows industry to create without wasting resources.
For consumers, a cheaper machining process means cheaper and more easily accessible goods and services.
It is important that 3D printing allows for the creation of objects with nothing but raw materials. The fabrication of steel, the mining of nickel, zinc, or copper, and deforestation become moot points when plastic is accessible as an easy-to-mold material.
What is the Future of 3D Printers?
3D printers have been around since the 1984 when Chuck Hull of 3D Systems Corp. first created such a device. Since then, the cost of creating 3D printers has decreased while public accessibility and awareness has increased. For members of the general public interested in owning a 3D printer, the cost is around the same as a mid-range laptop computer (or a low-range Apple computer). Furthermore, corporations like 3Doodler have made low-cost 3D printers accessible to anyone with a credit card. Buyers can purchase a 3Doodle 3D printer pen for USD 99.00.
From a purely SciTech perspective, 3D printing technology allows for boundless potential. In the span of a few years, heart splints, guns, synthetic duck feet, plastic craniums, arm casts that increase the speed of fracture recovery, and even blood vessels have all been created using 3D printing technology.
However, I’m excited for the truly absurd possibilities. On May 23, 2013, NASA announced that it had awarded a $125 000 contract to a Texas based corporation to study the feasibility of using 3D printing to create food in space. This is nothing more than a Phase-I project, meaning there are still terabytes of calculations and mountains of research that need to be carried out before anything is concrete. However, if Systems and Materials Research Consultancy of Austin, Texas is able to accomplish anything, the human race will be one step closer to globally ending famine.