It would have been clear by now that 3D printing has some obvious advantages. However, sensitivity to a number of considerations is needed when new boundaries are broken using science and engineering. Following are the common issues that arises out of the emergence of 3D printing
Cost and Time
3D printing can’t compete with mainstream manufacturing technologies with respect to cost and time for manufacturing. It may take anywhere between a few minutes to several hours to manufacture a product using 3D printing depending upon the material used, size and complexity. It is also possible that 3D printing companies might lock in consumers through proprietary supply chain channel which might increase the cost of ownership.
Limitations of
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"Most people do not yet realize that research is underway which involves not only printing non-human cells, but also merging human cells with non-human cells. We think that once folks begin to realize, depending on their backgrounds, there will be some who will be concerned about this possibility," Gartner research director Pete Basiliere says [12]
The rapid emergence of 3D printing will also create major challenges in relation to intellectual property (IP) theft. Gartner predicts that by 2018, 3D printing will result in the loss of at least $100 billion per year in IP globally [13]
Insurance Considerations
Since 3D printing is a disruptive industry, it is not easy to understand the future implications beyond educated guesses. Since insurance industry typically needs historical data to calculate claims, they have their work cut out with respect to calculating the claims that may arise out of this industry category.
The potential claims can be a product liability including accidental injury/damage due to the 3D printed product or legal liability due to IP issues [14].
With a supply chain which may not involve any physical products as designs and manufacturing processes can be sent electronically,
While 3D printing brings the promise of innovation and creativity to many, it brings fear to others; fear of 3-D printed weapons, intellectual property infringement, and safety issues with CAD designs. As such, 3D printing raises both ethical and regulatory issues for the society.
An aspect of technological innovation is to ensure that the technology can be viewed with a goal of developing it and ensuring that value is continuously added (Phaal et al., 2004). It is with this view that a technology roadmap can be developed for 3D printing ensuring that key milestones can be achieved and a correct organisational strategy can be planned. These milestones are important as once these milestones have been passed, the readiness is advanced and future innovations can be focused on, further developing and innovating the technology. These are the key ideas involved in the development of the 3D Printing Technological Road Map (see question 2 roadmap). There is evidence that a technological road map is highly important, even critically important in the development and management of a technology (Phaal et al., 2004; Haan, 2012). The roadmap should be treated as an important tool, to be used in the planning of key technical objectives and milestones, increasing the likelihood of succeeding to reach a suitable level of readiness to capitalise on the invention/innovation.
As 3D printing transitions from commercial manufacturing use to personal private use individuals will have the ability to print any design. Products can range from a pair of shoes to complicated engineering designs, life-saving devices, prosthetic limbs and weapons that pass airport security. In the future we will likely see printable medications and
The field of bioprinting, using 3D printing technology for producing live cells with extreme accuracy, could be the answer to many of the problems we as humans face in the medical field. It could be the end to organ waiting lists and an alternative for organ transplants. In 3D printing technology lies the potential to replace the testing of new drugs on animals. However, the idea of applying 3 dimensional printing to the health industry is still quite new and yet to have a major impact. Manufacturing working 3D organs remains an enormous challenge, but in theory could solve major issues present today.
A worse case scenario occurs when 3D printers and the raw materials they use become so capable, cheap and accessible that everyone can 3D print any product by downloading instructions from amazon.com and other online stores that sell the instructions. In this scenario, mass transportation of many consumer goods is no longer necessary. The raw material will require truck transport from its manufacturers to both retail outlets and to consumers.
There are a few pressing matters regarding the impact of 3D printing on society including security risks and accountability when a tragedy occurs as a result of manufactured items. However, 3D printing has a beneficial impact in different fields. One positive impact of 3D printing is the new industry software developers can pursue since there is a need to build and maintain user friendly software for 3D printing. 3D printing also reduces the time to necessary to
3D printing is definitely a huge advancement in Technology! However, very controversial. Although, it has multiple benefits in our society in Medical health practices & Engineering speed, it can also be used for illegal purposes. Now, does the bad outweigh the good? That is the question debated today. I see the whole concept in only 2 large points. It will greatly help people who are desperately in need for transplant organs. It will drastically reduce the organ waiting list and once perfected, our life span should be bumped up a decade or so. On the other hand, what if someone down the road you'll be able to completely recreate a human being in it's entirety? Would we harvest them for their organs? Would it be fair? What if it falls in the
3D printing may be the most interest technological invention that has ever occurred. It started out as fun and games, but the world is finding out that 3D printing is becoming much more than that. Just recently, there was a very inspirational story released on a dog who, with the greatness of 3D printing, can now walk and sit naturally.
Have you ever lost a limb? Have you ever needed a new car part? If so, the marvel of 3D printing can deliver these things. The future has truly arrived today, almost any object we can think of can become reality through 3D printing. 3D printing is the process of making a physical object from a digital model by layering a material until it forms the object. 3D printing shows a lot of potential for both recreational and practical uses, and I believe will help shape the future of technology.
To start off with a basic definition a 3D printer is a machine ranging in size from a pen to that of a tank (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2697306/Oar-Fully-functioning-plastic-boat-created-using-worlds-biggest-3D-printer.html). They create the desired design by continously spraying or to a surgical precision laying layers of material on top of each other layer to form the design that was created through one of the many programs made to create 3D printer designs. 3D printers can use a multitude of sources to create their three dimensional final products. These sources can include but are not limited to plastic polymers, titanium, aluminum, iron, steel, and almost any ductile metal or propane product that can be heated and placed without forming into a gas or melting to a point of no return. Of course these aren’t just typical polymers or metals they have been mixed with other certain chemicals and materials to give the materials new found properties. The cost of these 3D printers can be anywhere from $140 dollars all the way up to $846,000 (3ders.org). These are just the consumer models! Take a second to imagine the industrial and prototype models which are even bigger and more complex. When making the product the 3D printer creates it in a chamber where an arm like machine continuously lays material and forms the
The 3D printing has certainly taken technology to a storm providing major solution in various industries and a step ahead in man-made new age technology. Be ready to enter into a world of 3D print technology that can be a huge leap over the human innovation and would make life
This essay will evaluate the current and future uses of 3D printing by discussing both its advantages and disadvantages. The essay will also reflect upon the 3 main groups of users; scientists and entrepreneurs, business manufactures and finally, individual people.
Why go to stores and spend lots of money buying toys, jewelry, cups and many other plastic utilities when you can only press one button and print them out for yourself. This futuristic idea is not only innovating the scientific and technological world, but it is also innovating modern day households. The possibilities of 3D printing are extremely captivating, making this one of the most exciting innovations in recent times. 3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing, makes three-dimensional solid objects from a digital model or command. To picture how this process works, 3D printers use an additive process, where adding layers of a successive material creates an object. Traditional machines, however, uses a subtractive process by
As with any new technology, 3D printing will encounter competition among vendors and across all tiers of quality. As the product becomes easier to duplicate and manufacture and as equipment costs go down, the number of competitors will increase..
3D printing is a technology that was invented in the early 1980s by a man named Charles Hull (Ventola, 2014). Since its creation, 3D printing has branched into many different aspects of the world and is being utilized in fields like the automotive industry, medicine and is even being used for everyday purposes. Later on, Charles Hull founded a company called 3D Systems which developed the first ever 3D printer. In 1988, Hull and his company 3D Systems, put forth the first commercially available 3D printer. From this point on, 3D printing would be advanced and evolved to the point where it would have the opportunity to create a revolutionary impact on the world we