Why You Should Care About 3-D Printing
By Denise Resendez
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| Photo by: MakerBot Industries |
We have spoken about 3D printing and 3-D printers before; about the various applications that are possible right now, and about some amazing things that could become a reality in future. It sounds a little like something out of a Sci-Fi film that you can simply create objects – three dimensional objects with limited or full utility by the simple press of a button and yet this could well become reality in the not so distant future.
So why should you care about 3D printers? You may think that 3-D printing has no application in everyday life unless one is an inventor, but you would be wrong. These unique printers are revolutionizing various different spaces – education, medicine, space travel, fashion, technology, transport and more. 3 D printers could be at your own doorstep sooner than you think!
Amazing Things 3D Printers Can Do
Again this may seem like something from Faceoff, but surgeons are now using these machines to guide facial reconstructive surgery. The printers ‘print’ face replicas for face transplant procedures. They factor in various aspects such as the bone structure of the skull, grafts and metal plates.
They not only make the surgical procedure more accurate with better outcomes, but also can help shorten the length of the procedure itself. In a case where a person’s jaw has been destroyed and has to be reconstructed from bone sourced from other parts of the body, a 3D printer can be used. If a piece of rib or leg bone is to be used for the reconstruction, the device can help cut the bone in a highly precise manner.
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| Via Shapeways.com |
Movable dinosaur robots is again a concept that seems to belong to the realm of fantasy, but scientists at Drexel University in Philadelphia have developed a way to 3D print scaled-down prehistoric skeletons of extinct creatures. These recreations are based on scans of real dinosaur fossils. Artificial muscles and tendons are grafted on to these scaled down skeletons, and there you have a smaller sized replica of an 80 ton monster! Similarly replicas of historical figures can be recreated with the help of a 3 d printer – King Tut reincarnated, anyone?
Marine biology is another area where 3 D printing is being utilized – replicas of the predatory dragon fish are being studied in labs rather than having to dive to great depths in complete darkness using high pressure tanks.
Currently there is a Brazilian orthotics company that has been able to has use 3D printing technology to print tiny plastic replicas of fetuses still in utero; a rather unusual keepsake of pregnancy!
Amazing Things 3D printers Will Do In The Future
These marvelous printers can ‘print’ biological tissue. Already a Sand Diego startup is able to create functioning liver tissue; we can infer from this that the day is not far when an entire working organ for the human body can be created using technology similar to this. Fabricated ears and prosthetic limbs could one day be created – not for human beings but also for animals. The possible applications for beloved family pets are only now being considered and explored.
3 d printers could also be producing edible products sometime in the near future. Sea scallops, cookies and banana-flavored gelatin have already been ‘printed’; perhaps a steak dinner may emerge from such a device one day. You could also be wearing shoes made from consumer grade leather that came out of a 3-d printing machine. These printers could likely limit the environmental costs associated with the farming and meat industries, experts envisage.
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| Via Inside3D |
3D printing has obvious applications for the car and auto sector. 3 d printing could not only create prototypes and models but actual auto parts as well. Home ware products, defense applications and weaponry, wearable tech, clothes and more can come out of these printers in future.
If you had a 3D Printer, what would you want to use it for? Let us know in the comments below!
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