Moving into the third dimension of print

Photograph courtesy of Digital Trends

Have you ever needed a car part and had to wait for it to come into the shop? Or perhaps you wanted to make a friend’s drawing into a real 3D model? If you answered, “yes” to any of these questions, then the new and attractive concept of three-dimensional printing may be for you.

3D printing is a relatively new idea that has been used in a variety of ways. In fact, a 3D printer was used to create models of cars in the latest James Bond movie, Skyfall.

This new printing  technique involves fusing multiple layers of material that include durable plastics and metals based on a template. It is developed with 3D Computer Aided Design (CAD) software, in which each layer is approximately 0.1 millimeters thick and made of liquid, powder and sheet materials.

3D printing has been taken to the next level, now allowing people with these printers to create their own rifles and guns; however, this is now being regulated by the government, making the 3D printing of guns a very controversial topic.

The cost to be able to print these items ranges from 200 dollars to create your own futuristic bikini to several thousand for more elaborate creations like small buildings. There is a very high initial cost for the printer itself. The smallest 3D printer weighs around 2.5 pounds and costs 1,583.28 dollars.

The history of printing in 3D is quite elaborate, beginning with the Actua 2100 in 1996. Experiments continued over the next decade and a half, allowing for aircraft, food and cars to be created through this new form of printing. In 2011, UK researchers at the University of Exeterdebuted the first chocolate-making 3D printer.

3D printing is still an  elaborate process that is not considered common within homes or home offices.

A major drawback of this printer is that it can take hours to days to create a single 3D model in the printed form. Printers for home use are not nearly as accurate as commercial 3D printers.

Generally speaking, the more accurate printers are more expensive. The most expensive 3D printer is the Solidscape 3Z Studio printer that is 6x6x2 inches in dimension, and is priced at $49,650.

Despite the high cost, the number of experiments and projects that have occured due to this new form of technological advancement is ever expanding.

Perhaps with the 3D printer, the end of of world hunger may be in sight or military engineers could find new ways to make machinery or doctors could create models of the human body that would help progress the medical industry. In any of these situations, the world could take a drastic leap forward in technology and scientific fields of study.