What is the point of 3d printing?

Question

I just don't see it. It is very inefficient. I guess it is great for some serious artists who design their own stuff or for medical use, but for most things, it is pointless. Anyone who has seen Mr. Rogers or How It's Made would know how quickly factories work. The whistle machine spits out several whistles a second, and the cost can be as low as a quarter! 3D printers make one little whistle in half an hour, and it uses expensive materials that may not have the best quality either.

When you ask a person "If you had a 3D Printer, what would you print"? Some people would say "another 3d printer" or "a gun" or something else that cannot be printed. Others would say "Paperclips, whistles, recorders, forks, toilet brushes" and other items that are useful, but are so readily available that it simply isn't worth it. If you want a doll, just go to the toy store and buy a doll. It may be better and have a talking voice, and for half the price. Some people straight-out say "2D printing is a thing of the past", but really, 3D printing will never replace computer printers, nor will anyone ever start calling their HP a "2D printer".

Answer 1

3D printing is still a relatively new thing in terms of widespread use, and so my guess is that its use will increase over time as it becomes increasingly efficient. The items you mentioned are pretty cheap to buy, so I agree on the point that, right now, it's pointless to print those things.



At the moment, however, 3D printing is mainly used for rapid prototyping and modeling. It's obviously of great use to designers who would like to see a physical model for whatever's being developed, instead of just having a 2D digital version on a CAD file.



The people who say that "2D printing is a thing of the past" are exaggerating a bit. Although I do believe that 3D printing will become more prominent in daily household use (assuming they become more efficient in the future), of course 2D printers will still be in use. You can't print a book report about the solar system with a 3D printer, but maybe easily printing a diorama of the solar system (or at least, the components of) will someday be possible.

Answer 2

Hi there,



You do make some valid points, however 3D printing is proving to be invaluable in many industries, starting from medicine where it is used to print vital organs, which means one day people won't have to wait for years on the transplant list and die in the process; it's also valuable in education in nearly all subjects taught in schools, as a curriculum centered around 3D printing brings innovation and imagination in ordinary classes where kids rarely pay attention - teachers can use 3D printing to showcase complicated mathematical models, to simplify biological processes, to showcase geographical data.



In other words, it can enhance learning and revolutionize a lot of industries, which it is already doing, and one of the most important ones is the housing industry, where it is much cheaper to 3D print materials as well as complete houses, villas or even apartment buildings - think of how this will affect our future with prices on buildings going up almost everywhere.



One of the most useful applications for 3D printing though is architecture - it's the most important tool for an architect right now, because there is no better way to convey the final appearance of a design and show even clients with no architectural knowledge how everything would work. It can even go as far as to showcase how the inside of a building would look like in relation to furniture, light exposure, etc.



You can see a lot of the advantages related to 3D printing in architecture as well as some great examples in this article: https://mylocal3dprinting.com/blog/3d-printed-architectural-models/

Answer 3

You’ve heard of 3D printing from newscasters and journalists, astonished at what they’ve witnessed. A machine reminiscent of the Star Trek Replicator, something magical that can create objects out of thin air. It can “print” in plastic, metal, nylon, and over a hundred other materials. It can be used for making nonsensical little models like the over-printed Yoda, yet it can also print manufacturing prototypes, end user products, quasi-legal guns, aircraft engine parts and even human organs using a person’s own cells.





We live in an age that is witness to what many are calling the Third Industrial Revolution. 3D printing, more professionally called additive manufacturing, moves us away from the Henry Ford era mass production line, and will bring us to a new reality of customizable, one-off production.



Need a part for your washing machine? As it is now, you’d order from your repairman who gets it from a distributor, who got it shipped from China, where they mass-produced thousands of them at once, probably injection-molded from a very expensive mold. In the future, the beginning of which is already here now, you will simply 3D print the part right in your home, from a CAD file you downloaded. If you don’t have the right printer, just print it at your local fab (think Kinkos).



3D printers use a variety of very different types of additive manufacturing technologies, but they all share one core thing in common: they create a three dimensional object by building it layer by successive layer, until the entire object is complete. It’s much like printing in two dimensions on a sheet of paper, but with an added third dimension: UP. The Z-axis.



Each of these printed layers is a thinly-sliced, horizontal cross-section of the eventual object. Imagine a multi-layer cake, with the baker laying down each layer one at a time until the entire cake is formed. 3D printing is somewhat similar, but just a bit more precise than 3D baking.



I read this article regarding 3D printing

http://flarrio.com/playing-god-with-3-d-printing/



Hope it helps!

Answer 4

3d Printing actually opens up a great opportunity to improve our lives. With 3d Printing you can unleash your ideas or concept and transform it into a physical object that you can grasp. Some of the technological breakthroughs in 3d Printing are the production of prosthetic arms and organs to help the patients in medical industry, complex architectural models being realized because of 3d printing, 3d printed dress for the fashion industry, etc. The power of 3d printing lies with the power of customization and ability to have your ideas come to life.



But I agree with you, not all people are able to realize the opportunities and great benefits 3d printing can bring to us because not all people have the skills to do 3d designing and modeling. That's why we as 3d designers help people who don't have knowledge in 3d printing to realize their ideas and have it 3d printed.

Answer 5

3D printing is the most eye catching and interesting type of printing. It is realistically amazing to see how people react to see 3D printing. Many companies are now solely producing 3D prints in print industry.

Answer 6

http://trendingmillennial.com/3d-printing-role-will-play-future/



Just think of all the possibilities that 3D printing provides. Can this technology change the way we live in the way that the internet did? Just think, years from now a piece of your refrigerator breaks and needs replacing. Instead of going to the manufactures website, or to the appliance store, you could just grab the digital model of that specific piece and print it right from home.



What if a piece to the inside of your car breaks and needs replacement, the glove compartment door for example. Instead of going through the dealer, waiting for them to order it and paying the marked up price, how convenient would it be to just print the door from your living room? Sounds like something I can see happening in the not too distant future.

Answer 7

Well, as someone who WORKS with a 3D printer, there are several applications.



For one, it's ten times easier for inventors to create custom parts for prototypes by simply printing them. The biggest step forward in this process is the fact that you can print a part in plastic, then use the part as a mold for a sand cast and then cast your custom part into metal.



Secondly, the material is not costly at all. For about 1.5 lbs of ABS is around $17. One custom part, or even a toy plane, costs about 5 cents to print yourself. AND you can make it however you want.



My work is making casting patterns for custom parts as well as decorative items. For the small foundries, it's much simpler print the casting pattern in 4 hours than hand carving a piece of wood or wax for 9 hours...

Answer 8

The advanced process for any software or any innovation cannot be inefficient. 3d printing consists some advantages then only it is going to hit the generations. According to my openion not only 3d printing but 3d modeling, 3d movies everithing going to be spread widely in near future.

Answer 9

Attractive 3D Animation Software : http://3dAnimationCartoons.com/?SLPo

Answer 10

yes that is true but things like 3d printed guns pass through security checks unlike normal guns, which might even increase more crimes

Answer 11

It relies upon what you pick to print. With a non-heated, acrylic printbed, that printer possibly in basic terms prints PLA plastic, as PLA melts at a decrease temp than the commonplace ABS plastic. because of the fact of it somewhat is low melting element, the mattress would not inevitably might desire to be revealed. besides the undeniable fact that, PLA is greater brittle than ABS making it greater susceptible to snapping below tension in case you propose on making prototype or custom aspects. yet whilst it somewhat is in basic terms a activity element, decide for it. the pros for a heated mattress: you would be waiting to print ABS. ABS needs a heated mattress to make specific a solid stick for the backside layers. in any different case they existence up from the consume and you get extraordinary warped bottoms. the different plus to ABS is that it somewhat is lots greater good and you will possibly be able to apply acetone on it for gluing and/or smoothing purposes. (look up "ABS Acetone Smoothing") in case you get a printer able to ABS printing, odds are it is going to likely be waiting to print PLA to boot as numerous different varieties of filament. keep in mind: There are distinctive filament sizes to boot, so make certain you're buying the main suitable length. (frequently 3mm or one million.75mm)

Answer 12

I could print a radio bezel for my 93 nissan pickup truck. these are hard to find new or used.

look on youtube and see what house hold things owners had whipped up to replace other things.

Answer 13

medical designs for body parts. Its already being done!