We've all used a printer, whether
it's the inkjet in our bedroom or the school's laser printer.
But imagine what it would be like to press PRINT and watch a brand
new scooter appear, or an electric guitar like your favourite rock
band's.
Science fiction? Not for
long...
This October, the 3D Printshow London
2012 revealed some of the latest creations from designers,
architects and engineers. Even the band playing at the event
was using a violin and guitars designed and printed from a
computer!
For comic book and movie fans, the
specials effects team that made Iron Man's mask for the Avengers film was on
display. The mask was made using, you guessed it, 3D
printing...
From music to fashion, gardening to
motor racing, this technology may well change the way things are
made forever.
What is 3D
Printing?
As long ago as the 1980's, several
companies were developing ways of producing 3-dimensional objects
with printers connected to computers.
One of the first methods was
invented by Charles Hull and is called stereolithography. It uses a liquid resin to
build up the design layer by layer. The resin hardens when
ultraviolet light shines onto it, and each layer sticks to the ones
above and below it.
Nowadays there are lots of methods of 3D printing using plastics, metals,
paper, ceramic powder and more.
All the different methods have
several things in common:
- They start with an object created in a computer using a
Computer Aided Design (CAD) program, or scanned into a
computer with a 3D Scanner.
- This digital design is then sliced into hundreds of
thousands of 2D layers.
- The file is sent to a 3D printer which produces the object one
layer at a time.
You can find out more about the
process here.
Since 3D printing was first
developed the technology has come on in leaps and bounds. Objects
with moving parts can now be produced, and in the future it may be
possible to print everything from new body parts to chemical compounds.
That may not happen for a while,
but check out this report by Christopher Barnatt from Nottingham
University in which he presents some highlights from the London
2012 show.
You'll be amazed, we promise!