A Grandmother Reflects on the ‘Miracle’ of 3D Printing

It would be easy for me, a grandmother with over 7 decades of living to my credit, to ignore 3D  printing and the Internet of Things (IoT), thinking I may be long gone by the time these revolutionary ideas really take hold.

But I’m not about to disregard one of the most compelling ideas to emerge in this era of change, considered by leading scientists to be the “Third Industrial Revolution”. After all, just by virtue of having access to the internet, and being able to type a few keywords into my browser, I can have a front row seat to what promises to be a thrilling journey.

3D printing is the manufacturing model that has seized the imagination of thousands of leading edge thinkers who appreciate the magnitude of its potential, and who understand how it fits into the Internet of Things. I am just beginning to understand its importance, how and why it has grown exponentially, how it will operate as a component of the IoT infrastructure, and how it will be a participant in the biggest shift in the history of humans.

While the concept of a 3D printer is revolutionary, and the steps that led to its first prototype took decades, the 3D printer, when you see it operate, seems a simple machine.

This seems so simple!

Basically, material (usually plastic wrapped on a spool) is heated, and then extended (pushed out) and fused layer by layer to build a three dimensional object. Here’s how it works, in a nutshell:

-Models are created with computer programs like TinkerCAD, or SketchUp
(which can be found free and uploaded).
-An STL (STereoLithography) file is created.
-This file converts the model into code the 3D printer understands.
-The code is then translated into a 3D form.

There are two main types of 3D desktop printers, Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) printer and Stereolithography (SLA) printers. Although they both create a physical product from a 3D model, the technologies are quite different, and involve different base materials, with FDM using plastic and SLA using resin. You can find more information about these processes here:

Whereas traditional manufacturing is a subtractive process, involving cutting out pieces from a block of material, 3D printing is an additive process, creating an object by adding layer upon layer of material. Because 3D printers use cheap materials and produce very little waste due to the ‘additive’ process, they are vastly more economically efficient than conventional manufacturing.

The Game Changer

But it is the use of Software directing the molten plastic, molten metal, or other feedstocks inside the printer to create a fully formed object, that sets this process apart from any other type of manufacturing. And that, more than anything else, is the game changer. A program can produce a single item, or 100,000 or more copies. Program data (the code) can be shared and integrated into the far-reaching IoT infrastructure (where free energy and distribution may be accessible).

Today’s 3D printers come with software on a disk or as a download. They are Windows compatible, and in many cases can work with macOS and Linux as well. (It is important to note that the early practitioners of 3D printing have made strides to ensure that the software used to program and print physical products remains open source.) The products range from near useless gadgets to bionic arms, musical instruments and even self-driving cars.

You can see where this is heading. It costs very little to produce designs, which in turn can produce products at very little cost, which can then be distributed and marketed cheaply. These measures have huge implications for the economic status quo of any country.

Words from ‘Inside’

Serious ‘makers’ and ‘hobbyists’ have been following the progress of 3D printers from the outset. Here is a comment from blogger Brian Palacios, reflecting on his introduction to 3D printing:

“When I first discovered 3D printing several years ago, I instantly knew it was magical. My mind was blown by the technology: an almost infinite amount of shapes can be “grown,” layer by layer, just by using a printer. This is going to be disruptive, I knew. It would empower entrepreneurs, freeing them from the constraints of traditional manufacturing.”

Lyndsey Gilpin, co-author of the book, Follow the Geeks, has also tracked the progress of 3D printing for years, and says:

“For better or worse, the 3D printing industry is poised to transform nearly every sector of our lives and jumpstart the next industrial revolution. Sound like a hyperbole? We’ve compiled a list of 10 major impacts the 3D printing ecosystem will have on businesses, consumers, and the global economy.”

An early hobbyist, Brian Proffitt said this in 2013:

“The Internet of Things promises that every object will eventually be hooked up to a network. And 3D printing promises that any object we can imagine, we can build—on site and on demand. And big data promises we’ll know everything there is to know about these networked objects.”

Jeremy Rifkin is the true authority on the Internet of Things, and I have left his prophetic words for last:

“A 3D printing process embedded in an Internet of Things infrastructure means that virtually anyone in the world can become a prosumer, producing his or her own products for use or sharing, employing open-source software. The production process itself uses one-tenth of the material of conventional manufacturing and requires very little human labor in the making of the product. The energy used in the production is generated from renewable energy harvested on-site or locally, at near zero marginal cost. The product is marketed on global marketing websites, again at near zero marginal cost. Lastly, the product is delivered to users in e-mobility transport powered by locally generated renewable energy, again at near zero marginal cost.”

From my perspective of a long life, I can view this as the opening of Pandora’s box, or as an exciting prospect of positive change. But I also know it doesn’t matter what we think or feel about it—its unstoppable, and its happening now.