Societal Context: Module 4

For the 4th Module of Societal Context, we were given the task to recognize the potential of an emerging technology and postulate the impacts it will have in the near future on society. The emerging technology that I have decided to talk about in this element of the e-Portfolio is 3-D Printing.

3-DIMENSIONAL PRINTING

3-Dimensional Printer (Dabney, 2013)

INTRODUCTION

The Diamond Sutra (Kashyap, 2012)

The “Diamond Sutra”, a book printed in China during 868 CE and also known as the earliest dated printed book. Back then, printing was restricted in the number of edition made and nearly exclusively decorative, used for designs and pictures. The product to be printed was carved into metal, stone and wood, rolled with paint or ink and transferred by pressure to vellum or parchment (Bellis, 2013).

Johannes Gutenberg, 1395 - 1468 (A+E Networks, 2013)

Then the Gutenberg Press was created during the 1440. The Gutenberg Press was created by a German inventor and craftsman named Johannes Gutenberg. The creation of the Gutenberg Press has managed to bring down the price of printed materials and made such materials available for mass production. The Gutenberg Press was developed base on the technology of the screw-type wine presses. The printing press invented by Johannes Gutenberg was a hand press printing press, where the ink will be rolled over a raised surface of movable hand-set block letters, which is held with a wooden form, and the form is then pressed against a sheet of paper (Bellis, 2013).

The Gutenberg Press (Amy, 2011)

Along the way, other printers that surpasses and also replaces the Gutenberg Press was developed such as the laser printer invented by a researcher name Gary Starkweather in 1969. However, the biggest technological change in printing started during the year 1986. The year 1986 is when an inventor name Charles Hull created the very first commercialized 3-D printer and sold it through his company, 3-D Systems. The 3-D printing technology remained somewhat unknown to the society until the second decade of the 21st century. Adding on, several manufacturers have been using the 3-D printing technology discretely to build prototypes and models of their products over the past 20 years (Hsu, 2013).

Charles Hull with a 3-Dimensional Printer (Park, 2013)

WHAT IS 3-D PRINTING

A Diagram on How 3-Dimensional Printer Works (Felix Printers, 2013)

3-Dimensional printing enables the creation of solid constructions digitally from a computer file. This potentially revolutionizes the economics of manufacturing if objects are able to be printed remotely in the comfort of your own home or office. The 3-Dimensional printing process comprises layers of material being set down on top of each other in order to create a free-standing structure from the bottom until top. Blueprints design, from computer-aided, are divided into cross-section for print templates. This allows objects that have been created virtually to be used as replicas for “hard-copies” made from metal alloys, plastic, wood and more (King, 2013).

The MakerBot Replicator 2 - How It Works (Hami, 2013)

However, 3-Dimensional printing technology does not stop there. Numerous manufacturers are still finding different kind of methods to use in order to increase the 3-Dimensional printing efficiency and accuracy. Some of the methods used for the 3-Dimensional printing process are:-

Stereolithography

The Stereolithography Rapid Prototyping Process (idcwebcasts, 2010)

A Stereolithography 3-Dimensional printer functions by focusing a beam of ultraviolet light on a surface of a vat full of liquid photocurable resin. The beam of ultraviolet light thinly draws out the 3-Dimensional model one at a time, hardening that “slice” of the eventual 3-Dimensional model as the ultraviolet light comes in contact with the resin. One slice at a time is created; with each slice bonded to on another, and what comes next is a complete, high-resolution 3-Dimensional model lifted of the vat. Unused resin during the 3-Dimensional printing process is reusable and will be used for the next printing process (Fleming, 2013).

Fused Deposition Modeling

Stratasys Fused Deposition Modeling, 3D prototypes & 3D printing demo MDM 2012 (electrictv, 2012)

Fused Deposition Modeling type of 3-Dimensional printing method creates an object by extruding a stream of melted thermoplastic material to produce layers. Each layer produced will stack on one another and fuses with each other. The material will then harden almost instantly after leaving the extrusion nozzle. Most Fused Deposition Modeling type printers print using materials that produced from organic compounds such as biodegradable polymer, ABS plastic, polyactic acid (Fleming, 2013).

Selective Laser Sintering

Sinterstation Pro SLS System from 3D Systems (rapidprotovideo, 2008)

Selective Laser Sintering 3-Dimensional printing method functions similarly to the Stereolithography 3-Dimensional printing method. The difference between the two is that instead of using liquid photopolymer in a vat, like the once used in Stereolithography 3-Dimensional printing method, powdered materials such as silver, aluminum, steel, titanium, nylon, glass, ceramics and polystyrene will be used instead. When the beam of laser comes into contact with the powdered material, the powdered material will fused at that exact moment, this is call sintered. Un-sintered powder will remain as it is and also plays a role as a support structure for the main product. The powdered material is reusable as well, exactly like the liquid photopolymer used in Stereolithography 3-Dimensional printing method (Fleming, 2013).

FUTURE OF 3-DIMENSIONAL PRINTING

3-Dimensional printing most probably will never replace the usual factory assembly-line methods for producing typical products. However, the 3-Dimensional printing technology does offer the advantage of making specific, individually custom-made parts on demand. For example, Boeing has already begun to use 3-Dimensional printing to create more than 22,000 parts, which is currently being used on both military and civilian aircrafts flying around today (Hsu, 2013).

Airplane Parts Created from 3-Dimensional Printing Technology (Franc, 2012)

Other than that, the medical industry has also shown interest and taken advantage of 3-Dimensional printing. The medical industry uses 3-Dimensional printing to produce unique products that might have been difficult to construct by using traditional methods. In the United States, surgeons manage to implant a 3-Dimensional-printed portion of a human skull to replace 75% of a patient’s skull during an operation that happened in March 2013. Adding on, researches also was able to build a 3-Dimensional-printed ear mold that was used as a framework for a bioengineered ear with living cells (Hsu, 2013).

3-Dimensional Printed Organs (Lindsay, 2012)

The widespread of 3-Dimensional printing technology globally could also reduce the geographical distances for both businesses and homeowners. Several online marketplaces have already allowed users to upload a 3-Dimensional-prinatble blueprint for products and it is legal for the product to be sold globally. Rather than paying the import taxes and substantial shipping fees, users can simply arrange for a sold product to printed at any 3-Dimensional printing facility that near to them (Hsu, 2013).

Continuing on, this 3-Dimensional printing technology is no restricted to specialty companies or shops in the future. Staples stores in Belgium and Netherlands plan to offer 3-Dimensional printing facilities in the year 2013 (Hsu, 2013).

Businesses will not be the only one benefiting from 3-Dimensional printing technology and its capabilities. The United States military has positioned 3-Dimensional printing facilities in Afghanistan in order to increase the pace of battlefield innovation and swiftly build equipment needed for soldiers that are onsite. Furthermore, NASA has also has ventured into 3-Dimensional printing for making spare parts aboard the International Space Station and building spacecraft in orbit (Hsu, 2013).

A Gun Printed Out from a 3-Dimensional Printer (Albert, 2012)

3-Dimensional printers don’t usually go beyond the size of a house hold appliance. However, the best thing about 3-Dimensional printers is that even though they are small in size, they are still able to scale up in size to produce products as big as a house. An investigation by a spate NASA project shows a possibility of constructing lunar bases for future astronauts by using regolith, also known as moon “dirt” (Hsu, 2013).

Tools Printed out by NASA Using a 3-Dimensional Printer (Chow, 2013)

LIMITATIONS OF 3-DIMENSIONAL PRINTING

Material Limitations

Powdered Material Used During a 3-Dimensional printing Process (Heater, 2012)

Current sophisticated industrial printing systems deal commendably with ceramics, certain metals and plastics, the range of material types that is unable to be printed is notable and extensive. Long story short, current printers have yet to reach the level of sophistication required to endure with the numerous range of multi-material surface types that can be found on a daily basis (Slick, 2013).

Mechanical Limitations

Mechanical Complexity (Matus, 2013)

At the manufacturing level, this is less of a limitation where assembly is handled down the pipe-line. However, it today’s world were to reach a point where an average consumer is able to print “ready-to-go” products from a printer at home, mechanical complexity is one of the things that is needed to be countered first (Slick, 2013).

Intellectual Property Concern

Piracy Issues (Nick, 2012)

Several decades have passed and intellectual property rights can be seen going through the forefront in a huge way for the television, film and music industries. Sadly for content creators, piracy becomes a major problem and it becomes a habit if a certain thing can be copied, it will definitely be copied. This is dues to the blueprint of a certain product files used in 3-Dimensional printing are digital, hence making sharing and duplicating a simple task (Slick, 2013).

Cost

3-Dimensional Printing Comes with an Enormous Price Tag (Dental Braces, 2013)

3-Dimensional printing cost is extremely high to be practically used for most consumer applications. Cost happens to be a serious issue at this stage in the industry’s maturation, as the high-end printers and raw materials cost is simply ridiculous to be practical for home-users (Slick, 2013).

REFERENCE

Bellis, M. (2013). The History of Printing and Printing Processes. Retrieved from http://inventors.about.com/od/pstartinventions/a/printing.htm

King, D. (2013, February 14). The top 10 emerging technologies for 2013 | Forum:Blog | The World Economic Forum. Retrieved from http://forumblog.org/2013/02/top-10-emerging-technologies-for-2013/

Bellis, M. (2013). Johannes Gutenberg - Printing Press. Retrieved from http://inventors.about.com/od/gstartinventors/a/Gutenberg.htm

Fleming, M. (2013). What is 3D Printing? An Overview. Retrieved from http://www.3dprinter.net/reference/what-is-3d-printing

Hsu, J. (2013, May 21). What Is 3d Printing - 3d Printers - How 3d Printing Works | LiveScience. Retrieved from http://www.livescience.com/34551-3d-printing.html

Slick, J. (2013). Roadblocks and Implications for 3d Printing - The Future of 3D Printing. Retrieved from http://3d.about.com/od/3d-Electronics/tp/Roadblocks-And-Implications-For-3d-Printing-The-Future-Of-3d-Printing.htm

Idcwebcasts (2010, July 15). The Stereolithography (SLA) rapid prototyping process [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUfh5wxj3qA

Electrictv (2012, February 27). Stratasys Fused Deposition Modeling, 3D prototypes & 3D printing demo MDM 2012 [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgP7A2eg080

Rapidprotovideo (2008, June 4). Sinterstation Pro SLS System from 3D Systems [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lC0uVO_uT0s

Ulus, H. (2013, April 7). The MakerBot Replicator 2 - How It Works [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5SpNua-XfI

Thank you.

End.