9 Stunning 3D Printed Objects and 9 Interesting Facts about 3D Printing

Posted by Udayan Banerjee on May 18, 2012 · 4 Comments 

Will 3D printing really change the world?

“Just like the Industrial Revolution, the assembly line, the advent of the internet and the Social Media phenomenon, 3D Printing will be a game changer” – Forbes: Will 3D Printing Change The World? (2012 March)

Since the impact is impossible to predict, let me just give you the facts about where the technology stands today.

20 Years 3D Printing technologies have been around for more than 20 year. However, technology is slowly becoming affordable.	Urbee Hybrid: 3-D Printed Car
Art exhibits of 3D printed objects	Additive Manufacturing It is an additive manufacturing processes of making three dimensional solid objects from a digital file, where an object is created by laying down successive layers of material. This is opposite to traditional machining process where the object is formed by removing material.
Types of Technology Fused deposition modeling which uses spool of plastic or metal wire Inkjet printing using layer of resin and binder Selective laser sintering using powdered  metal, plastic, ceramic, or glass Digital light processing using liquid polymer For more detail see this	Bicycle strong enough to replace steel or aluminum
Prosthetic Limbs	What is it used for? Models of buildings for architects Full Color Models of drug molecules Fashion accessories, exotic ornaments Online service to allow consumers to design their own personalized and customized 3D object Models of mountains and other topographic 3D maps Models of virtual characters Custom and hard-to-find parts Print jawbones, prosthetics, replacement hips and high quality artificial limb
Can you get objects printed online? Yes, you can get a design and get it 3D printed: PrintTo3D, Tech Inc. Or, you can choose objects from the available and order it: 3D Creation Lab, Shapeways, i.materialise. Here is a much larger list.	Designer Furniture
What does the future hold? One thing is very clear – at this stage we have no clue what the impact of this technology will be. So, your opinion is as good as mine or the experts: Mashable – Feb 2012 C Net News – Jun 2011 Economist – Feb 2011 The New York Times – Jan 2011 Want more reviews – see this	Full color dollhouse
Design of object and IP 3D printing requires a 3D computer model. These models are not easy to create. The question is who will create them? More important, how will you protect the IP? Here is a detailed discussion on this topic.	Scissor
Designer skull!	View using Consumerization of IT (CoIT) lens Suppose that 3D printers become cheap enough so that people start buying them like they buy any other gadget – what happens then? Does it not become an opportunity to advertise your products? Just allow customers to download design which has your branding on it. It would become another mad rush like creating iPhone application or being present in Facebook! That is Consumerization of IT.
Who Makes These Printers? 3D Systems Objet Startasys Desktop Factory (acquired by 3D Systems in Aug 2009) Z Corp (acquired by 3D Systems in Jan 2012) There are many more – see this list.	Full-size house?

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• Too much 3D hype, says 3D printing consultant
• How 3D Printing is now helping NASA get to space
• With 3-D printers, solid objects may be several clicks away

Filed under Trend · Tagged with 3D Creation Lab, 3D Printing, 3D Systems, Additive manufacturing, i.materialise, Objet, Print To 3D, Shapeways, Startasys, Tech Inc, Z Corp