What is 3D printing?
3D printing or additive manufacturing (AM) process creates a physical object with layers of material, from a digital design. Three-dimensional printing is revolution in manufacturing, that will allow a vast majority of people to start creating things. 3D printing blurring the line between amateurs and professionals. Knowledge of simple 3D Software is all you need to start creating your own things and print them out into the real world. It helps individuals to grow into the business.
How does it work?
First of all, you need a digital model to bring it to the real world through 3D printing. These models are usually created with digital software like CAD (Computer Aided Design). There are many of softwares and each of them is for specific purpose of creation. You need to think about your goals,choosing 3D graphic software. They are diverse by creating interior, parts of body, car detailed and so on. One of the most popular in AutoCad, which enables you to create both parts for apparel, and architecture or interiors models. Then you just need to connect your computer to the 3D printer (usually through the USB cable or via Bluetooth) and start printing. However, you can create a CAD file using 3D scanner to copy already existing object.
Areas of 3D printing
- Aerospace. Engineers use 3D-printing to achieve rapid prototyping, tooling and some part manufacturing.
- Architecture. It has already moved from hand-drawing to AutoCad modeling about 15 years ago. It is easy to print 3D concept model from AutoCad within hours nowadays.
- Art. 3D modeling is a last trend on modern art. Artist always look for new ways of expression and digital fabrication is a great opportunity.
- Automotive. 3D printing help manufacturers and designers to create auto-parts faster and more accurately. Top car companies such as Audi, Honda, and BMW have already implemented this technology. SamrtTech believes that 3D printing in automobile industry will generate a combined $1.1 billion dollars by 2019.
- Engineering. 3D printing allows to test new prototypes with complex internal structured much faster in comparison to the traditional methods.
- Fablabs- fabrication laboratories. You can find a fable in every megapolis, which offers digital manufacturing technology workshops to both beginners and masters.
New York Fablabs:
- [Fat Cat Fab Lab, 224 West 4th Street #250, New York, NY 10014]
- [NYDesigns, 29-10 Thomson Ave, Long Island City, NY 11101]
- [Fashion Institute of Technology FabLab, Seventh Avenue at 27 Street, New York, NY, 10001-5992]
- Fashion. More and more famous apparel companies created 3D printing collections in recent years. Shoes, clothes, and accessories can be easily printed with printers using rubber material. 3D printing reduces also reduces time for manufacturing and let designer to do what they most like is design. Nike has introduced its 3D printed shoes in 2016 with slogan “At Nike the future is faster, and it’s 3D”
- Medicine. Company Ultimater uses bio 3D printers to make new hands and other parts of the body using the synthetic tissue for people in emergency cases. The printers for human organs creation is also in the development stage now.
- Jewelry. There are special printers which can create jewelry pieces by cutting plates of silver, gold, platinum, and other expense metal with the specific laser installed in them. There machines profitably replaces human labor. Tiffany is one of the companies which uses 3D printing.
- Manufacturing. 3d printing improves adaptation for customers’ needs by reducing development time, what lets it to penetrate into supply chain.
- Research. 3D printing in research enables faster breakthrough. Research councils are always looking to fund their projects, and the best way to do this is to make an impression with 3D model, which is costless and can represent event impossible figures for humanity.
- Education. 3D printing is being used in many schools to create interactive, mechanical and technical lessons. This inspires young minds and makes learning more fun.A revolutionary teaching tool, to help students prototype, create end-use parts and learn hands on. Students can print 3D models, which are hard to understand in 2D for better learning.