There might come a day
when we all have three dimensional (3D) printers in our homes. This could
happen very soon in fact. Currently at Staples a 3D printer called the Cube is
being sold for $1,299. Although this is a commercial grade printer that will
only print an object about a foot high, most 3D printers these days cost up to
$60,000 or more. The way these 3D printers work is through computer aided
design (CAD) software that tells the printer what to make based on
customization. The 3D printer takes the object created in the CAD software and
then uses essentially any material you choose, but most people use plastic or
metal. The printer takes the information from the computer software and begins
printing the object layer by layer using the material of your choice. One of
the most interesting aspects about 3D printing is that you can make moving
parts. The printer will include the essential moving parts as it prints (some
assembly required).
It is because of 3D
printings diverse properties that it has become increasingly popular over the
past few years. 3D printing was originally used to make prototypes for
manufacturers before going to production. For example, the car or cell phone
you own today was first built by a 3D printer before it was mass produced and
bought by you. Now not only is this technology used by business, but it is becoming
commonly used by people in industries like the medical field. There are doctors
you can go to today that can use a 3D printer to customarily print you a new
piece of tissue or even an organ. This is known today as bioprinting. Recently
scientists at Princeton have created a bionic ear that can hear better than a
normal human ear can (Huffington Post). With this technology, the medical field
can advance far beyond anything we could ever image. However, there are also
controversial components to 3D printing that can one day cause regulation on
what people can and cannot make.
This was brought to the
government’s attention when Defense Distributed founder Cody Wilson made the
first ever working 3D printed gun called the Liberator. This gun was made
completely out of plastic and was able to shoot live rounds. One of the main
problems with this came when Wilson decided to upload the CAD file for the gun
onto the internet for free. It was only up for a short period of time before
the government shut it down, but it still was able to be downloaded approximately
100,000 times. Many of those people who downloaded the file probably do not
have access to a 3D printer right now, but who knows what the future of 3D
printing will hold and like I said previously we could all own one someday. In
my opinion, even with all of its controversy surrounding the 3D printed gun, 3D
printing could help us look at other problems differently like medicine.
If you would like to learn more about 3D printing please
watch this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QD2Rdeo8vuE&feature=c4-overview&list=UUC552Sd-3nyi_tk2BudLUzA
Works cited
My understanding of 3D printers is pretty basic, but I understand the concept is to typically spray down layers of some material (typically plastic) until the desired object is created. How does this work with biological materials? I imagine it would be difficult to spray down layers of cells until you have a cohesive section of tissue, much less a functional organ. How would a theoretical 3D printed kidney function? Do they lay out some sort of scaffold and then grow the kidney around it, like scientists have attempted with artificial organic hearts? Or is it closer to 3D printing technology as we know it?
ReplyDeleteAlso, very cool post. I love 3D printers and look forward to the day where they become more widely available.