Free Republic

Self-repairing pipes. Printed organs. Bulletproof t-shirts. Seriously?In April I was asked to speak at the annual TED conference in Vancouver (following Bill Gates…gulp) on the topic of 3D printing production and its implications. I have detailed my thoughts on why the shift to 3D printing production is not only likely but inevitable in articles one, two and three in this series for Forbes. Now, let’s take a step into a fascinating future, where daily life will be shaped by several powerful forces directly related to 3D printing production. What it will be like to live in a 3D-printed world? Imagine...

US-based 3D bioprinting firm Organovo has set itself a challenge that could transform the future of medicine, and although the technology is still in its infancy and the challenges complex, the company's founder and CEO Keith Murphy says his firm is in it for the long haul. "Biotechnology is a very compelling space as you have the ability to impact people's lives," Murphy tells IBTimes UK. "I want to see patients benefiting. We want to help drugs get to patients faster, to get liver tissues [to prolong liver function] and to help people with chronic liver problems." While 3D printing...

3D printing production is just scratching the surface of the multi-trillion dollar global manufacturing industry. But its dominance is already inevitable.ï„¿ï„¿ This is because modern manufacturing, despite numerous technological and process advances over the last century, is still a very inefficient global system. TodayÂ’s world of mass production is based on one simple rule: the more things you make, the lower the cost of each of those things. We have literally pushed this equation to its extreme limits. This approach was dramatically accelerated by Henry Ford, arguably the most impactful character in the industrial revolution. For starters, Ford proved out...

The automobile industry has been relatively stagnant for the past several decades. While new car designs are released annually, and computer technology has advanced by leaps and bounds, the manufacturing processes and the effects that these processes have on our environment have remain relatively unchanged. Over the past decade or so, 3D printing has shown some promise in the manufacturing of automobiles, yet it has not quite lived up to its potential, at least according to Kevin Czinger, founder and CEO of a company called Divergent Microfactories (DM). Today, at the OÂ’Reilly Solid Conference in San Francisco, Kevin Czinger...

While there are currently many developments being made across the entire additive manufacturing industry, among others that have been standing out as of late have consisted of 3D printing applications that are of either very large scale or very small scale applications. So far, the smaller applications have mainly consisted of research into nanoscale 3D printing for purposes such as biomedical engineering applications including cell scaffolding while the larger applications have been focused on creating architectural structures such as those that can be created in any geographical area using found materials. Needless to say, the developments surrounding these scaled applications...

A few weeks ago, Londoners were able to eat at the world’s first 3D printed, pop-up restaurant. In early June, a German-based company introduced the word’s first plug-and-play food printer, which may be ready for shipping as early as 2016. With the lowering cost to produce this technology, making it increasingly accessible, 3D printing could fundamentally change our relationship with food. Simply put, the process uses ingredients to generate three-dimensional meals by placing layers of compounded food on top of each other. Since 2012, the food industry has used this technology to produce ubiquitous products like candy, chocolate, pizza, noodles...

Strength. That’s the first word that comes to mind when most of us think about 3D printing in metal. And expense is usually the second–but when it comes to fixing up a nation’s fighter jet, thrift is most likely not an issue. And if you were up against a constant adversary like North Korea, you’d want the best, most secure repairs possible for the main fleet’s F-15K fighter jet–especially if you were the one flying it. When it came to the attention of the South Korean Air Force powers that they needed to modify and repair two high-powered turbine components...

Haven’t you heard? You can make your own 3D filament nowadays from plastic granules (10X cheaper than filament), or even by recycling old plastic! Except if you’re recycling plastic you will have to shred it first… [David Watkins] came up with a different way of shredding plastic. Typically we’ve seen shrunken versions of giant metal shredders used to dice up plastic into granules that can be melted down and then extruded back into filament. These work with a series of sharp toothed gears that kind of look like a stack of circular saw blades put together inside of a housing....

Did you know the U.S. government has rolled out a big new federal program to revive the U.S. manufacturing sector? The proposed budget for this new effort now surpasses $2.4 billion, and, surprisingly, it has received a level of bipartisan support that hasn't been seen for years, if not decades, for manufacturing. This new program has a big mouthful of a name -- the National Network for Manufacturing Innovation or NNMI -- and it's targeted at correcting one of the most fundamental weaknesses in America's manufacturing infrastructure: our waning competitiveness in manufacturing technologies. I call this project "top secret" because...

With all technology, prices tend to come down as time goes on. This was seen within the personal computer market and the 2-dimensional printer market, and now we are starting to really see this happen within the 3D printing space as well. Whether you are a consumer and you love the fact that prices continue to drop, or if you are a manufacturer and you hate it, we can probably expect this trend to continue at least a little bit longer. Just 2 years ago, if you wanted a desktop 3D printer, you were looking at spending four figures. There...

3-D printing, or additive manufacturing, is likely to revolutionize business in the next several years. Often dismissed in the popular mindset as a tool for home-based “makers” of toys and trinkets, the technology is gaining momentum in large-scale industry. Already it has moved well beyond prototyping and, as I explain in a new HBR article, it will increasingly be used to produce high-volume parts and products in several industries. Since I prepared that article, new developments have only strengthened the case for a 3-D future – and heightened the urgency for management teams to adjust their strategies. Impressive next-generation technologies...

The advent of three-dimensional (3D) printing has generated a swell of interest in artificial organs meant to replace, or even enhance, human machinery. Printed organs, such as a proto­type outer ear developed by researchers at Princeton University in New Jersey and Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, was on the agenda at the Inside 3D Printing conference in New York on 15–17 April. The ear is printed from a range of materials: a hydrogel to form an ear-shaped scaffold, cells that will grow to form cartilage, and silver nanoparticles to form an antenna. Printed body parts brought in US$537 million...

There is tremendous progress being made within the area of 3D bioprinting. In fact, there are companies working to print human organs as we speak, and within the next decade such organs may, if we are lucky, be available for human transplantation. With that said we still are a ways away from such an accomplishment. There are multiple obstacles researchers must first overcome. When considering the organ printing space in general, the printing of complicated vascular networks is the main obstacle currently preventing progress. On the other hand, when printing cellular musculoskeletal tissues the main obstacle in this space is...

NEW YORK, NY, Apr 29, 2015 – Graphene 3D Lab Inc. will announce details of a newly-developed water-soluble 3D filament at the Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters’ (CME) Canada Makes: Additive Manufacturing Forum at Mohawk College in Hamilton, Ontario on April 30, 2015. The water-soluble filament is the latest in a line of specialty-functional filaments that Graphene 3D is introducing to the 3D printing industry. Elena Polyakova, chief operating officer of Graphene 3D, will present details on the new water-soluble filament and discuss the effect of graphene-enhanced materials for the 3D printing industry. Water-soluble filaments are primarily used to occupy negative...

It may seem a touch misleading in name, but scientists at the University of Wollongong say they’re creating what they call 4D printing. The fourth dimension they refer to is time and shape shifting as the researchers have begun to develop 3D printed materials capable of morphing into new structures – post production – as those materials are influenced by the addition of external stimuli such as water or heat. The team at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Electromaterials Science say these new materials are able to transform themselves from one shape into another, and they see applications for...

A Chinese engineering firm that claims it built 10 houses in less than 24 hours last year using a 3D printer has unveiled the world’s tallest “printed” building. The five-story apartment building is on display next to a 1,100-square-foot mansion—also created on a 3D printer—in Suzhou Industrial Park in Jiangsu province. The mansion’s furniture and decorations also were made on a 6.6- by-10-meter tall printer, which uses an "ink" composed of glass fibers, steel, cement, hardening agents, and recycled construction waste to build one layer at a time for builders to assemble. The apartment building took a day to print...

The not-especially-modestly titled Industrial Revolution III (IR3) is a next-gen 3D printer that will not only print out your designs, but will assemble them with your non-printable components to create fully functional, sophisticated products in one streamlined process. Creator Buzz Technology claims that this will encourage the reuse of neglected household items and electronics into new, useful items while advancing the development of 3D printing in professional and at-home maker scenes. According to the IR3′s creators, UK-based Buzz Technology, the 3D printer features a pick and place head that “enables it to produce fully assembled, working products incorporating electronics, motors,...

New York Congressman Steve Israel and a photo of an AR-15 which includes 3D printed parts.Gun rights groups from Defense Distributed to the NRA to Come and Take It Texas will not be pleased with the latest piece of proposed legislation from Congressman Steve Israel. Israel, a representative from New York state, first called for legislation to ban 3D printed guns. Israel’s bill has gotten little traction at this point, but he says he’s not about to give up the fight.In fact, Israel says he’ll be reintroducing legislation aimed at banning 3D printed, or for that matter, all fully-plastic firearms....

Manufacturing industries need to embrace 3D printing, which will have an even bigger impact on economies and society than the internet, an Australian technology specialist says. Steve Sammartino is a digital entrepreneur and venture capitalist who advises business on how to adjust to disruptive technologies and the digital revolution. While most of us have heard about 3D printing and its potential to improve medical treatments and manufacturing processes, Mr Sammartino says 3D printing will be far more than a niche tool. He says it will transform everything about the way we live within a matter of years. Speaking to The...

Most of us are aware of the KISS principle: Keep it simple, stupid! And while simplicity is certainly a theme in many 3D printers, they are anything but stupid—and created by those who are the polar opposite—with ingenuity in abundance—which they use to share new innovations with the world. One quite simply has to give up with wondering what the collective ‘they’ will come up with next and just roll with the idea that the possibilities in 3D printing are infinite. And as progress in the industry and the community of makers marches on daily and hourly, it’s hard not...