3D Printing Vital Organs

3D printing is a very interesting technology coming out from the underground technology world - people are starting to learn about some of the crazy advances. I'll vaguely cover what 3D printing is before I get into the advancements of this technology. Essentially, 3D printing goes something like this: A 3D computer file will be created by an artist or engineer. This file will then be brought to a 3D printer, or the machine that manufactures through 3D printing. The intelligent computer on the 3D printer will take into account the exact dimensions and curves of the computer model. The printer will then begin to lay down layers of material. This material could range from plastics, ceramics, to metals - even precious metals. The material will be in very fine powder form. The 3D printer will lay down these layers of powder in increments as small as a few microns (the diameter of a human hair is usually about 20 microns) and it will begin to fuse the powders together in accordance to the design. The powders will be fused together through an adhesive chemical, or through a laser melting process. As each individual miniature layer fuses, another layer will be stacked on top. After enough layers, you will be left with a final product through 3D printing. So in a nutshell, it is the layer by layer fusion of powder that results in a finished product.

The technology is a pretty interesting way to manufacture products, prototypes, and smaller scale objects. There are over 60 materials to choose from, so there is plenty of variety! I'm going to cover ho this technology is affecting the medical industry. 3D printing has played its part and has been used by biomedical engineers on occasion over the last few years. For example, an 83 year old woman needed facial reconstruction. Engineers and doctors in Belgium printed her a titanium jaw implant which made the process much easier. Many dentist clinics have their own 3D printer and rely heavily on it for the fabrication of teeth, crowns, and implants. 3D printing has even played a similar role for hearing aid companies. These 3D printers can develop products at extreme detail to each individual user.

The next step within this industry is kind of scary. It involves playing God in a sense. This technology has the power to save so many lives in the near future! What I'm talking about is regeneration. 3D printing has used "bio-ink," otherwise known as cells, to be stacked in a layer by layer process. Machines are beginning to construct usable body parts! So far, only simple parts like blood vessels, urethras, and bladders have been developed, but it has so much potential. Imagine 10 years from now when you need to regenerate a lung, kidney, or vital organ; imagine being able to walk to the local 3D printing shop and have it taken care of! It is an amazing though to be able to produce organs whenever necessary. Just imagine that you're having heart failure, and doctors wouldn't have to apply for an organ donor, but would simply order to have a heart manufactured from one's own tissues?

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Video Games and 3D Printing

3D printing is a pretty cool technology out there nowadays. This technology was typically focused at engineering firms and product development teams, or specialized groups like NASA, but now it is becoming a little bit easier for everyone to use. First off, what is 3D printing? I'll try not to dwell on this question too long, but I'll give you an idea. Before a product can be 3D printed, it has to be drawn up on the computer by an engineer or a designer. This computer file will then be sent to a 3D printer, where the intelligent computer on the printer will recognize the dimensions. The printer will then begin to use ink jet technology to lay down layers of material, sometimes smaller than a fraction of hair. (And I mean the diameter of a hair too) As each layer of material is stacked up, it will be fused together through laser melting technology, or an adhesive chemical. As the layers keep coming down, the machine will continue to fuse the layers together through melting it with a laser or adhesive chemicals. By the time hundreds of layers have come down, a product will be created! That is 3D printing in a nutshell: layer by layer assembly of material, and the fusion of that material in accordance to the 3D design.

Now that all sounds flashy and all, but what can it do? Well, 3D printing has a wide variety of applications in the world. It has been used for prototyping product ideas for quite a while. Very precise parts have been developed for special engineering projects. 3D printing is active in the world of technological advances; for example: it is assisting in the development of paper thin solar strips. 3D Printing is also very active in the medical world - a titanium jaw has been replicated, prosthetics have been developed, and even functional artificial body parts have been made, such as urethras, bladders, and veins. There is no doubt that 3D printing has played a role in the world we know today, but it also targets a very specific demographic of people.

3D artists and gamers have been targeted by 3D printing, as it is an inexpensive way for them to create their creations! 3D software is pretty easy to get a hold of, so almost anyone can at least try to develop products or characters. I want to mention one "software" in particular. The game Minecraft sticks out to me. If you haven't heard of it, it is a cheesy game in which you are essentially an architect, putting together hundreds of little blocks together of assorted detail, which make a landscape. So basically, it is a game that allows for the creation of massive landscapes with poor graphics. This game is very popular on the internet. Lately, a software known as Mineways has been created to extract the "landscapes" from this game for 3D prints. So 3D printing services like Kraftwurx, shapeways, or sculpteo will create your Minecraft creations!

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How 3D Printing Is Impacting The World

3D printing is beginning to get very powerful among quite a few industries. This technology is responsible for quite a few advancements in the medical world, the engineering industry, the prototyping business, architectural businesses, and even renewable energy. 3D printing consists of a specialized form of manufacturing, which is either taken care of through adhesive chemicals, or laser melting technologies. Let me elaborate.

For a product to be 3D printed, a design has to be created on the computer by a designer or engineer. The design will then be sent to a 3D printer, and then the intelligent computer on the printer will take all of the dimensions into account when creating the product. There are many forms of 3D printing, but the underlying process goes something like this: a layer of material will be laid down on a build envelope, similar to a table or flat surface within the printer. This layer of material will be a fraction of the diameter of a human hair in most cases. The material will be laid down in accordance to the original computer image. The 3D printer will then lay down an additional layer on top of the initial layer, and it will fuse the layers together in accordance to the design. The layers will be fused by either an adhesive chemical, or through a laser melting process. As hundreds of these miniature layers stack up, a final product will emerge. This product will be designed in accordance to the computer file, and will be to the exact scale designed.

So, in a nutshell, 3D printing is the layer by layer stacking process of material. These materials can consist of thermoplastics, ceramics, metals, or pretty much anything. Precious metals like gold and silver are used in 3D printing, as well as hard metals like titanium or Inconel.

This all sounds flashy, but what can 3D printing actually accomplish? 3D printing has been involved with quite a few industries and has accomplished some significant feats. This technology has helped product developers for decades when it comes down to creating a prototype version, prior to creating thousands of products. This is great for development teams that need to make sure a design is functional. This technology has helped engineering firms across the world through its manufacturing process; being able to create only 1-2 pieces in materials which are incredibly concise for specific purposes is huge! 3D printing has worked in the background with many firms, and it would be something that you would hear NASA doing. It's not too expensive, so plenty of other firms are using it as well.

This technology has impacted the medical industry to a great extent so far. It has been used for prosthetics, and has been used for implants like teeth, crowns, hearing aids, and a full titanium jaw has been created. 3D printing is playing a role in the regeneration of organs and body parts! Although so far only simple parts have been created, like urethras, bladders, and veins, but this could be the future of organ regeneration!

3D printing is even playing a role in the renewable energy business. Xerox has found a way to melt silver at a temperature lower than plastic, so that we can print silver on plastic or film! What does this mean? We have the potential to begin printing circuits, inductors, conductors, etc. This means that we could potentially begin printing paper thin solar panels! The possibilities are endless.