Since a few people expressed surprise at the 3D printing technology Rachel described in tonight's opening segment, I thought it might be worth a wee hour post on how a 3D printer works. Here's the somewhat famous Bre Pettis of MakerBot at last year's CES explaining how it works. Unlike the metal CNC machines you may have seen on those bike builder chopper shows on TV that cut away pieces from a solid block, the 3D printer is additive. So you enter the 3D design you want, the software breaks that into thin layers and then traces each layer with melted plastic, adding more thickness until your object is formed. The plastic comes in a spool, looking like a thick wire that feeds right into the printing head.
It used to be that the layers were relatively thick and you could see them in the final product so you'd have to finish them with a bit of sanding. But it looks like the new MakerBot Replicator is bragging about 100 micron layers that don't even need retouching.
You can make your own design or you can go to a catalog of pre-made designs. For MakerBot, that catalog is called the Thingiverse.
I keep referring to MakerBot because I think they're the best known maker of 3D printers, but at roughly $2000, they're definitely not the cheapest. RepRap is an open source 3D printer project. The idea is that once you have one, you can print out the parts to make another one. So as far as I can tell, you don't buy a RepRap printer from RepRap, you buy one (or just parts of one) from a third party. Poking around, the cheapest assembled one I found was $800.
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Jeff Dunham, comedian and ventriloquist, had a special about how he used his 3D printer to help him create his latest creation, Achmed Junior, or AJ, in just a few hours...
Preview of the Biography Channel's show, Jeff Dunham - Birth of a Dummy, that I referred to above... The 3D printer is mentioned briefly in the preview - "(AJ) was built with a new technology, that almost seems like science-fiction..." The actual show went into a lot more detail...
I think technology like this is great stuff. It's scary, too.
Eventually, the cost will come down as more folks, including businesses, find a use for a 3D printer. I can think of a number of applications for a 3D printer off the top of my head. Keys and Ice Scrapers and Thimbles, oh my!
Plastic Bazookas and RPG's anyone?
Seriously..I'm not joking.
With the right number of printers and a few crazy people you can maintain a small terrorist organization.
So what do we do? Regulate the purhase and use of these devices because of the potential it has to make mini weapons of destruction?
There are 'plans' on the internet for making a pistol.
http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/137269-the-3d-printed-gun-when-is-high-tech-too-hot-to-handle
Also in the news is a paralyzed woman who can control a prosthetic arm by thought alone.
Imagine, if you will, a combination of the two . . .
If they can figure out wood, we will all be luthiers.
I just HAVE to write how happy and relieved I am that Richard Engel and his team are ok! I'm sure all you guys are jumping for joy – or will be when you hear of it. I've been so worried all day. I remember the first time he was on Rachel's show all those years ago. They just clicked and became the best of friends right before our eyes. Then there was the story about him hanging around your story meeting and, once invited to join, eagerly began a long explanation of some situation, white board included, like he had to speak or burst! And his trips with Rachel were the best reporting ever on the mid-east. It's always so enlightening to hear his reports, and so reassuring to know you're getting the whole truth when he's reporting in the middle of the night from some dangerous place, but I've been worried about him for years. To see that tweet today confirmed my worst fears. Really didn't know if we'd see him again. So, so happy. I'm sure Rachel will have him on as soon as he's available. Looking forward to the reporting on this situation and to hearing whatever he has to say. (Happy dance!)
Richard Engel has always been one of my favorite reporters and I am so glad that he is now safe!
Remember the replicators that they had on star Trek, "Earl Grey, Hot" for food in the Ships cafeteria?
Ink Jet Printers are the stone age great grandfather of those fictional machines. Currently scientists are developing methods printing human organs, here is an 18 minute TED link on kidney production:
http://www.ted.com/talks/anthony_atala_printing_a_human_kidney.html
The basic idea of 3-D additive printing is also being explored with many other technologies. Here is a 6 minute video of a stand alone solar powered ink jet glass manufacturing machine:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Tsk-24UYFs0
Ink jets are also printing solar cells, as this acticle from MSNBC discusses:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41316632/ns/technology_and_science-future_of_energy/t/inkjet-printers-may-be-future-solar-cells/#.UNBmC2-x9u4
I also saw a video of a guy who proposed manufacturing homes with a large ink jet that was assembled on site.
This technology has the possibility to destroy the modern centralized manufacturing process. This is a leap frog technology. China is going directly to cell phone tower and leaping past land lines. India is exploring distributed solar power and leaping past the entire idea of an electrical grid. Perhaps Africa will developed in a self contained technology? They seem to have plenty of sun light.
When's the Holodeck going to be ready for mass production?
There is a college working on it. They put you in full body harness and place neural interface devise of your head. You then control the simulation by thinking.
I can't find the video but it is out there some where.
This technology is going to be huge over the next year. The reason isn't just that it can make so many things so fast; there's more to it. If consumers can have products made for them with a printer, what happens to the infrastructure for delivering and shipping those same things? What about the people who used to make them in factories? The entire supply chain for some products could be changed by 3D printing, eliminating some jobs and creating others. I read an article (http://empiricalmag.blogspot.com/2012/12/december-excerpt-creative-disruption-by.html) recently that puts it all into perspective, which is definitely worth a look for anyone who's interested in this.
I'm excited for the low-end desktop models as their resolution improves and their build volume goes up!
Jon
Founder of CNCKing.com
3D does not need any particular reason to get clarified its importance and popularity over coming next years because the trend goes the way it takes 3D with it and now the technology is improving day by day so we have so many thing to see in near future, 3D printing and other stuff is just a glance of it.
Regards
Muqtada Khalid
printing company