3D PRINTING:TODAY AND TOMORROW by Anand Bhandari

“Similar to the way the World Wide Web democratized news, education, and entertainment, 3D printing has the potential to democratize the manufacturing of certain goods.”

We all have heard the term “3D Printing” nowadays, thinking that it is quite a modern technology of “This younger Generation”, well actually, It's Not!

I, Anand Bhandari, welcome you all Tech Enthusiasts to my Blog. So, let’s get started with What exactly this thing is?

According to ASTM F2792-12 (Standard Terminology for Additive Manufacturing Technologies), Additive Manufacturing (AM) can be described as, ‘a process of joining materials to make objects from 3D model data, usually layer upon layer’. AM enables the fabrication of objects through the deposition of material in order to obtain fit-for-purpose hardware, as opposed to traditional subtractive processes, where material is removed from larger, semi-finished products.

3D printing has existed since the late 20th century, with Charles “Chuck” Hull inventing stereolithography in 1983. Hull was developing lamps for UV-curable resins when he first came up with his idea for 3D printing. His method uses UV light to cure and bond a photopolymer resin which is built up layer by layer. Yet, only quite a few intellectuals knew about it for years, because the technology was shuttered behind patents. When those patents expired, 3D printing technology became accessible to more people, and the consumer 3D printing community was born. Helping it spread its wings was another humble, lifestyle changing innovation known as “The Internet”.

One person gained access and decided to make a reprintable printer, which quickly spread access to thousands. Now, anyone can buy a 3D printer from Amazon (or any other famous e-commerce site), a remarkable shift for the industry, as a whole and That is called democratization at work.

Enough History, Right? Let’s explore present and future Of This Tech…

Today, we are in the midst of another printing revolution. 3D printing is transforming industries and lives across A large list consists of medicine, the military, construction and even food!

“Anjan Contractor’s 3D food printer might evoke visions of the “replicator” popularized in Star Trek, from which Captain Picard was constantly interrupting himself to order tea. And indeed Contractor’s company, Systems & Materials Research Corporation, just got a six month, $125,000 grant from NASA to create a prototype of his universal food synthesizer.”

— and is attracting attention. It’s hard to believe when we’re seeing 3D-printed Organs, Buildings in the news. Even a week before writing this blog, Russia had successfully made the 1st 3D printed Gas turbine.

The Russian Foundation for Advanced Research Projects in the defence Industry relayed this new information to Russian state-controlled news agency, Sputnik: “Russia has for the first time conducted flight tests of the MGTD-20 gas turbine engine made by 3D-printing,” the statement said.

So, what lies ahead in this field? Let me show you some Futuristic examples :-

-ICON 3D-PRINTED HOUSES:

While habitation on Mars still requires solving some pesky surface-condition issues, the Earth faces more urgent housing challenges. Experts say 3D printing centres could help alleviate homelessness by providing eminently affordable housing.

The homebuilding start-up behind the first-ever 3D-printed house, ICON uses 3D printing to build houses — not just prefab housing components, but entire homes. The company has announced multiple housing projects in 2019 alone that include a partnership with CIELO to “print” affordable, sustainable units in Austin, Texas, where ICON’s headquarter is located; a 3D-printed-home design contest with 3 Strands; and “the world’s first 3D-printed community,” which breaks ground in year 2019 in Latin America and will be built in partnership with housing non-profit New Story.

All three projects will employ the Vulcan II, a tablet-controlled, gantry-style printer that uses ICON’s proprietary cement-based material mix, dubbed Lava-crete, to build structures. As a gauge of Vulcan’s potential, ICON constructed its proof-of-concept prototype house using the printer in under 24 hours for less than $4,000 (about ₹3 lakhs as of now). The company says Vulcan II will be available to order in 2021.

-DIVERGENT 3D: 3D-PRINTED AUTOMOBILES THAT YOU CAN ACTUALLY DRIVE:

Divergent’s 3D-printed supercar, named “The Blade” prototype, looks very much like a car-guy car with its Lamborghini-style scissor doors and painfully sleek aerodynamics. But don’t mistake that wavy, futuristic design for mere concept-car showiness. Blade’s parts are shaped not just to look cool but also in order to optimize strengths and loads. (It’s not uncommon for software-designed, 3D- printed industrial parts to have organic, almost plant-like shapes; they often distribute weight and stress better than their more traditional-looking counterparts.)

The Blade was made using a DMLS process. And similar to ICON’s homes, the aim was to 3D-print a product, or as much of one as possible, rather than a product’s many individual parts. Both the body and chassis of the car are made with additive manufacturing. Since debuting Blade in 2015 and unveiling intermittent updates, the Los Angeles-based outfit company has also partnered with the automaker behind Peugeot to bring its 3D printing processes to production facilities.

- EDUCATION, MEDICAL, ART & JEWELLERY AND WHAT NOT

- BEYOND EARTH

Today, astronauts aboard the International space platform depend upon cargo resupply missions to ferry parts and tools from Earth, sometimes waiting weeks or months for critical maintenance supplies. As we venture farther into the system , these cargo resupply missions will become more costly and sophisticated , compelling NASA to think about alternate options for spacecraft supplies. Thus 3D printing will play a major role by applying additive manufacturing technology aboard the International Space Station. This technology demonstration is the first step toward realizing a microgravity 3D print On-demand “machine shop” for long-duration space missions—a vital component for sustainable, deep-space human exploration, where there is extremely limited availability of Earth-based logistics support. Currently it is not an easy task to successfully implement this technology, but what humanity could achieve in the future, is still a mystery!

I’ll conclude with the words of HOWARD STARK -

“EVERYTHING IS ACHIEVABLE THROUGH TECHNOLOGY” and 3D printing is just like that technology that we have now, all we need is some bright minds of people like you to execute it.