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The dream of 3D printing buildings is not a new one and, typically, it’s not a pretty one either. However, the visionaries at Branch Technology, a startup founded by architects in Chattanooga, Tennessee, want to change that—and they’ve built the world’s largest free form 3D printer to do it. The Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce flew me down to Tennessee to check out its gigabit internet and innovative startups. They paid for my hotel and fed me candied bacon.Branch’s mission is simple: Use 3D printing technology to create walls of any shape out of conventional construction materials. Building houses like this...

Over the last couple of years we have seen 3D printing progress at an incredibly rapid rate. One of the areas which excites us the most is the 3D printing materialÂ’s space where new materials are being utilized as a print medium nearly every week. What started out as ABS and PLA, a few different types of metal powders, and ordinary photosensitive resin, has quickly grown to include hundreds of new, interesting, innovative materials. From wood and metal composites, gl8to clay, food, and everything in between, new materials are what will drive 3D printing towards mainstream adoption. When printing with...

Experts gather at Vanderbilt to discuss the future of 3D printing with concrete.Every month or so an article comes out reporting that some new object has been made using 3D printing: Everything from jewelry to prosthetic devices to electronic circuit boards to assault rifles to automobiles has now been created in this fashion. The prospect that this revolutionary manufacturing method will have a major impact on how we construct the various concrete structures that dominate the modern built environment brought almost three dozen experts to the Vanderbilt University campus July 16-17 to identify the areas of research required to realize...

(SLIDE-SHOW-AT-LINK)A pioneering 3D-printed house just popped up in Xian, China - and Chinese company ZhuoDa “built” the two-story villa in less than three hours. Made up of six 3D-printed modules, the house was assembled like LEGO bricks before a live audience who were then invited to explore the interior. The modular fireproof home can withstand a magnitude-9 earthquake and is made from a special construction material the company is keeping secret. The company completed approximately 90 percent of the construction in an off-site factory before shipping the modular pieces to the installation site. The company completed approximately 90 percent of...

A few months ago, I had an opportunity to take the one hour drive from my home in Cape Coral, Florida, down I-75 to Naples, where I met a man named Andy Tran. Tran, who is the founder of Southwest FL 3D, peaked my interest with some of his 3D printing related posts on social media sites such as Instagram. Upon meeting Tran, I got a feel for his extraordinary passion when it comes to 3D printing, and left Naples knowing that it wouldn’t be the last I heard from him. Tran’s innovative mind has led him to come up...

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...