After the Consumer Electronics show, I wanted to know more about how people are actually using the technology, so I set out to find some ordinary folk using 3D. I know the astronauts have found ways to create replacement parts while in space, and doctors are creating prosthetics, but are we getting to the point of having a 3D printer in your home? From the people I found this past week, it’s already here for some and getting closer for others.
Continued from 3D Printing is changing our world – part two:
Prototyping products
From Northwestern University in Evanston, IL, Jackie Wu says, “I’m a grad student studying Robotics. I use 3D printing to help launch my first robotics startup, Eight Six Ninety-One Technologies, for an indoor flying security camera that we are raising a Kickstarter for next month. We are able to rapidly prototype and change up iterations for things that don’t work (too unstable, too heavy, etc.).”
Maxim Wheatley, Co-Founder / Chief Product Officer at LifeFuels explains, (Among other things…) “We print out prototypes purely to test out aesthetic and ergonomic aspects. Although something in CAD might appear to look great and feels comfortable in your hands, you can’t know until you really do it. With 3D printers, we can do this quickly and rather inexpensively. We also enjoy printing out components and concepts to have design discussions around, and also to demonstrate and excite to the rest of our team. Showing people an image is one thing, discussing something that they can hold in their hands is entirely another!”
Jeremy Irons, Design Engineer with Creative Engineering LLC in Bronxville, NY also extols the virtues of having a 3D printer in-house. “One time a client was in a time crunch and needed to fix a problem with a product that was about to go into production. We quickly engineered a solution, but had to test multiple iterations to make sure we got it exactly right. The processes to get this part made would typically take a week, but we had an in-house 3D printer. I was able to print the part in one hour, test it, make changes to the CAD, and repeat about 5 times. That was about 5 weeks of work and waiting packed into a day and the client was stoked we were able to help them out so quickly to get the product into manufacturing on time.”
Buying and selling 3D models
According to Michael Becce with MRB Public Relations, CG Trader is the world’s fastest growing marketplace for 3D models. People can both purchase models like this model for a ring created by Temix, or they can sell their own designs to others.
Schools stretch minds and budgets with 3D printers
Joshua M. Pearce, Ph.D.,Associate Professor at Michigan Tech Open Sustainability Technology Lab relates,” We have done a lot with 3d printing and education at the college and high school level by training teachers (who) then bring it to their classrooms.”
“At the university we use it to print lab equipment and save 90-99% — this enables us to do a lot more with less — but also drops the cost of research grade scientific tools that anyone can have access to them – from 5th graders to people in the developing world. See examples here: http://www.appropedia.org/Open-source_Lab.”
Christine Archer with Amtek Company, Inc. says, “A lot of people think of 3D printing as it relates to engineering programs in schools. While this is oftentimes a popular application, schools are also finding ways other departments can take advantage of the investment in a 3D printer. Art teachers are teaching students to design using 3D CAD software and then print their creations rather than going the traditional route of making molds. Theatre departments are turning to 3D printing for prop and set design. That’s the great thing about 3D printing – there are so many applications for the technology, and probably many more no one has even thought of yet.”
The argument and counter argument
While everyone above seems comfortable with their 3D printers, I did not delve into how long they each took to learn their application. Just like any program, from Photoshop to iMovie, there is a learning curve.
Ricky Twiggs Jr., founder of Unchained Thought Enterprises, LLC is concerned that the learning curve is something many people don’t consider. Telling about his firm, he says, “We are an emerging consulting company that specializes in 3D Printing and Genetically Modified Organisms. I have been involved in 3D
Printing for about 5 years, ever since I came up with a medical device (diabetic pump). With the rise of popularity, mainly driven by the media, 3D Printing is quickly becoming a household name and in some cases is in a household. The entry level price now for a 3D Printer is around $400 to $2700, depending on your wallet, but surprisingly they are all pretty efficient as long as the consumer takes their time to learn their machine. Most of the time the ones below $600 have to be built from a kit. The ones about $700 are usually pre-assembled.”
“I find that a lot of my clients are not really small businesses. A lot of small businesses cannot afford the allocation of profits to be used for a machine that requires much more experience then the average
person/business knows about. It requires 3D modeling experience, unless the user only wants to use premade objects from Thingiverse or Grabcad. However, that can only last so long. What if the person wants to create
something I there own or for a friend? This requires more work from either a professional 3D program such as Solidworks or a free program such as Tinkercad. This is the major problem, there still needs to be a large education movement of the intricacies of 3D printing.”
Ari Zoldan, CEO, Quantum Media Group, LLC counters that, “Although advanced 3D printers are on the market, consumers are likely not going to be the first ones to purchase this equipment. 3D printers are
an innovative technology that can create parts of cars, houses, and even food, but how many people do we see walking around the streets with a printer made bag of potato chips?”
“While the 3D printer may not appeal to the average consumer just yet, recreational and educational facilities have opened their eyes to the great potential of 3D printers. The Wadleigh Memorial Library in Milford,
New Hampshire for example, has been one of the many to purchase a 3D printer for public use. With low cost and great innovative potential, anyone can go inside the library and use their 3D printer. Schools,libraries, and small and large business offices, are noticing the tremendous benefit of the addition of 3D printers.”
“Teachers can encourage students to be creative in geometry, librarians can guide visitors to engage in their innovative interests, and businesses can add 3D printers to their offices as a new and cool element.”
Are you using 3D printing at home? If so, please leave a comment and share how you are using it.