3D printing has revolutionized the way models and prototypes are being created for the industry. The idea of rapid prototyping (RP) allows the creation of products usually within hours of days rather than weeks when traditional methods are used. With 3D printing, almost every object you can think of can be printed.
According to Statista, the worldwide market for 3D printing products and services is anticipated to exceed 40 billion U.S. dollars by 2024. This source states that this industry is expected to expand to an annual growth rate of 26.4 percent between 2020 and 2024.
3D printing can create a wide range of applications. Every day, new materials and applications are being discovered and therefore, more companies are relying on this method for quicker prototyping and production of items, including the fact that they already have their printers.
3D printing is actively involved across many important industrial organizations with a significant impact on product development, research, education, and more, and is promising to transform almost every industry as we currently know it.
3D Printing in the Consumer Goods Industry
Many companies and retailers are recurring to the usage of 3D printing due to its significant value on the commercial chain. They can customize and design their products in a quicker manner and keep up with the ever-changing consumer market. By producing pieces faster, they are also able to put their products rapidly in the market.
Some companies have used 3D printing to produce eyewear, footwear, lighting design, furniture, and more. Among the brands that have already produced athletic shoes are Nike and Adidas. In an article published by Nike at news.nike.com, they mention how Nike Flyprint is the first 3D printed textile upper-performance footwear. Nike Flyprint uppers are produced through SDM (solid deposit modeling).
Another application is 3D printing in jewelry. According to SmarTech the industry value of precious metals for additive manufacturing is expected to reach $1.8 billion worldwide by 2028. A famous Australian company Boltenstern, has launched a 3D printed jewelry line recently.
3D Printing in the Medical Industry
In the medical field, 3D printing has a lot to contribute. While donors are difficult to find, in this video published by Marketwatch, the Rochester Institute of Technology’s engineering department is researching new 3D printing techniques for health-care applications such as the capability to generate organs that can be acceptable to the recipient. Allied Market Research shows that the 3D printing market for healthcare is expected to grow at $2.3 billion by 2020.
With the rapid advancement of flexible manufacturing and innovations, 3D printing is now widely implemented for medical purposes, such as implant designs, surgical planning and training, and prosthetics. See here some articles of 3D printing for medical applications, including a most recent case study of how people are using 3D printing to produce masks to fight COVID-19.
With the rapid advancement of flexible manufacturing and innovations in Biomedical fields, 3D printing is now widely implemented for medical purposes, such as implant designs, surgical planning and training, and prosthetics. You can 3D print with thermoplastics like Polycarbonate, semi-flexible plastics, ABS, which is strong and weather resistant or PLA (Polylactic Acid), which will biodegrade over time, even inside a human body. In this case, 3D printing is used in the field of radiotherapy is used to create custom devices for beam range modulation, 3D Conformal Radiation Therapy (3D CRT), or Brachytherapy application.
In this case, spinal surgeries see Increased success rate with 3D printed guides. The Bengbu Hospital is the top-grade hospital in the Anhui Province. Since the end of 2013, Director Niu launched 3D printing application research for vertebrae in the clinical field.
Here is another case, where 3D printing has reduced costs and help the creation of prosthetic hands. Founder Mike Li worked in the IT industry up until 3 years ago when he was inspired by a video that highlighted a unique use of 3D printing for children’s prosthetics. Motivated to apply medical 3D printing for prosthetics to help others, he and other local makers volunteered their time to create and customize prosthetics for patients.
3D Printing in the Automotive Industry
3D printing is also transforming the automotive industry, evolving from printing relatively simple prototypes of low production parts to 3D printing entire cars. In-car auto designs, auto parts can also be created using 3D printing. Sometimes, a scale small model is printed to gauge scale before the assembly process. This technique also helps the industry by producing rapid prototypes and reducing money and time for production. Some other automotive companies are dedicated to creating customized auto parts for special model cars. Read here more case studies about 3D printing in the automotive industry.
3D Printing in Aerospace
In the aerospace industry, 3D printing has remarkable uses as well. To name a few, Airbus is utilizing 3D printing technology to create plastic parts on commercial A310 and A350 XWB test aircraft. In this video, metal parts for wing slats, a section of the tail wing and door hinges are claimed to be produced by this company. The development and manufacturing of potential parts using 3D printing can be conceived as lighter, stronger, and with 70% less time to make it and 80% less expensive compared to others. Aside from this, Airbus also mentions how 3D printing contributes to the environment as it has reduced up to 95% of its metal waste.
3D Printing in Dental Applications
Research shows that the market for 3D printing dental applications is expected to grow significantly. Dental 3D printing applications include the creation of crowns, aligners, bridge models, retainers, and even orthodontic models. Read here about Dental 3D printing in Orthodontic models.
3D Printing for Prosthetics
The impact of 3D printing on the medical field has made positive advancements such as fast processing times, low costs, and the ability to create efficient prototypes and parts that require customization, such as 3D printed implants and prosthetics. 3D printing is producing hands, feet, legs, and more.
Albert Fung, a talented biology illustrator from Canada, first designed a CAD template for the initial prosthetic. Using this as a base, he and his team were able to optimize the model for each patient’s situation.
An organization named e-NABLE is currently doing work in this area. Albert Fung and Dr. Choi created five versions of the initial prosthetic design and optimized the design to accommodate individuals in Sierra Leone within one year.
3D Printing in Architecture
In this field, 3D printing allows us to quickly create an architectural model, and this is ideal because a physical model is much favored than a computer presented a model on the screen. Any architectural application can rapidly create scale models in a faster and cheaper way now. There are also other astonishing applications of 3D printing in the architectural industry, to name a few it is possible to create entire buildings and urban structures. In Madrid, Spain the first 3D pedestrian bridge was printed. This structure crosses a stream in Castilla-La Mancha Park in Alcobendas, Madrid. The structure is printed using micro-reinforced concrete and measures 12 meters in length and 1.75 wide.
3D Printing in Archeology
3D printing for museums and archeology is helping with the reproduction of exact copies of artifacts that can travel the world to help researches in their developments. Archeological pieces can also be scanned and created for students to do research. This technology is widely used by museums because ancient pieces are at a high risk of being broken or damaged when transported and by the usage of scanning and 3D printing, restoration is possible. This including fossil reconstruction.
3D Printing in Art Restoration
Although restoration is a field dedicated to preserving the past, some sculptors are turning to 3D printing to help facilitate their restoration work. A great example of this is the Scuola di Alta Formazione (SAF) of the Instituto Superiore per la Conservazione ed il Restauro (ISCR). This institute is the leader of the restoration of masterpieces of the Italian heritage. Teachers at the institute decided to use 3D scanning and 3D printing with excellent results for their restoration projects. Read here 3D printing in the restoration of Italian classical art.
Another example of this great use is a project called “Elastic Minds” by the MOMA, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the artists were using 3D printing in a project to create art and furniture such as chairs at a complete scale. In this video about the exhibition, pieces of furniture were created by sketches in the air with laser technology and then a camera scans this to capture the movement and captures this as a drawing that then is sent into a 3D printer machine.
3D Printing in Forensics
In forensics, the usage of 3D printing is creating a breakthrough in solving cold case files, by printing skulls, shoe prints instantly, and more. Daryl Ricketts is a forensic anthropologist and a professor of anthropology at Indiana University that uses 3D printing for education and research purposes. He uses the resources of 3D printing to create forensic pieces for his students. By using CT scans, fetal specimens, fetal skeletons to do virtual autopsies. He also uses facial 3D printing for facial reconstruction from different hominids.
Furthermore, at the University of South Florida, forensic artists have sculpted 3D printed skulls with clay to reconstruct the faces of more than 900 missing and unidentified homicide victims. In this video published by CNN, artists from around the world work along with the Forensic Anthropology Laboratory to reconstruct faces to identify these victims.
3D Printing in the Film Industry
In the film industry, movie labs and companies now are using more widely the technology of 3D printing for makeup preps and special effects to create characters. As an example, artists Steve Yang and Eddie Wang from Alliance Studio are using 3D printing for a new era of special effects and sculpture creation. In this video, they shared their story of how they started to work with 3D printing when everything was using traditional methods and how this technology changed their way of creating things in a way that was not seen before.
Also in this article, Rick Baker the Star Wars famous makeup artist uses 3D printers for the creation of monsters and props. Rick Baker has been able to create parts and scaled copies of his movie characters by using the technology of 3D printing. This technology along with the digital design has helped to decrease the overall time spent for the creation of the movie models.
Many companies around the world are using 3D printing to create exceptional high-precision models for prototyping and industrial manufacturing. 3D offers a less expensive and a very affordable process due to most models being produced using plastic and other variety of materials. Moreover, this innovative method utilizes less material for manufacturing and prototyping compared to traditional techniques.
3D Printing in Education
In the fields of education, there are countless applications of 3D printing technology with such interesting applications. The past decade has seen explosive growth in STEM education in progressive schools, as theoretical textbook knowledge is being replaced by experiential, project-based learning. When students shaped by this innovative learning ecosystem join the workforce, they are scaling new heights to help transform our manufacturing processes as well. Where appropriate, additive manufacturing technologies like 3D printing are now replacing traditional methods to bring more flexibility, design innovation, and cost savings to production processes.
For instance, Lift 3.0 is using 3D printers in Russia to teach kids the value of additive manufacturing with remarkable results.
Traveling to California, here is the case of John Gardner is a student at Foothill High School in Tustin, CA, who has a great passion for engineering and technology. Once introduced to 3D printers he began to develop his prototypes for an electric skateboard, custom-fit prosthetic limbs, and more. If you are interested in more cases of 3D printing in education, visit here.
Many companies around the world are using 3D printing to create exceptional high-precision models for prototyping and industrial manufacturing. 3D offers a less expensive and a very affordable process due to most models being produced using plastic and other variety of materials. Moreover, this innovative method utilizes less material for manufacturing and prototyping compared to traditional techniques.
