15 Ubiquitous 3D Printing
The ability to “print” three-dimensional objects using a clever layering system has really come into its own over the past few years. Consumer-grade 3D printers have become widely available, and their costs have dropped considerably as they’ve grown in popularity.
But the biggest impact of the technology has been on industry: a large number of big manufacturing companies have adopted 3D printing in many of their processes, as it allows them to experiment faster than ever, and go from concept to production without having to re-tool completely should an idea not work out.
Today, the idea has been used in a staggering number of really smart applications that have very real implications for the way we will do things in the future.
For instance, did you know that a Russian company called Apis Cor 3D-printed a full-sized house in just 24 hours, at a cost of just $10 000, in the dead of the Russian winter? Well, it did – check it out on YouTube. And big companies like Ford, Boeing and General Electric have been 3D printing parts for cars, planes and spacecraft for years, cheaply yet efficiently. Ford, since the 1980s.
The materials being used are improving, too. In January of 2017, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology revealed that they’d managed to create 3D-printable graphene, an extremely thin material that’s ten times stronger than steel.
The implications are immense: being able to print objects cheaply and quickly yet which are lighter and stronger than those created through traditional manufacturing methods. Just think what lightweight yet strong materials will do for car safety, fuel efficiency, vehicle construction and costs.
The end (of our tech trends feature)
And that’s what’s already come to pass; 2017 will see even more development in the field. The top trends predicted for the year are thus not massive developments, but more a refinement of existing innovations. We can’t wait to see what else the future holds.
