3D printing techniques are finally reaching their full potential and are now being employed in the manufacturing and medical industries and sociocultural sectors that promote commercial 3D printing. In the previous decade, there has been a lot of buzz about the possibilities that can be realized by using 3D printing as one of the primary manufacturing methods.
3D printing has advanced greatly in recent years and can now play critical roles in a variety of fields, the most important of which being manufacturing, medical, architecture, custom art, and design. For a long time, the problem with 3D printing has been that it has high entry costs, making it unprofitable for mass-manufacturers when compared to traditional procedures. Recent market trends, however, indicate that this is finally changing. In recent years, the market for 3D printing has experienced some of the fastest growth in the manufacturing business.
1 MANUFACTURING AND PROTOTYPING
3D printing started off as a way to speed up prototyping. A single mould for a typical injection-molded prototype could cost hundreds of thousands of dollars and take weeks to make. If you’re trying to improve your design with each new version, that’s a lot of work. Traditional manufacturing lead times are substantially reduced by 3D printing technology, which allows a prototype to be built in hours rather than weeks and at a fraction of the cost. The automobile and aerospace industries are only two examples of businesses that have benefited from developments in 3D printing technology.
On big scales, traditional manufacturing is the most cost-effective. 3D printing (also known as “additive manufacturing” in manufacturing circles) is excellent for circumstances when a product will not be mass-produced since it allows for the relatively inexpensive fabrication of a product in much smaller amounts or on a case-by-case basis. In a similar vein, improvements in rapid prototyping (RP) technology have led to the creation of materials and methods such as Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) and Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS) that are suited for the production of a product’s final version, not simply its prototype. This is referred to as “rapid manufacturing.”
2 RAPID MANUFACTURING
Advances in RP technology have resulted in the introduction of materials that are suitable for final fabrication, allowing for the direct manufacture of finished components. One advantage of 3D printing for quick manufacturing is the low cost of producing small quantities of parts.
Rapid manufacturing is a relatively new technique of production, and many of its procedures have yet to be verified. In a 2009 research, numerous experts identified 3D printing as a “next level” technology that is now entering the sector of rapid production. One of the most promising procedures appears to be the adaption of some of the more well-established fast prototyping technologies, such as selective laser sintering (SLS) or direct metal laser sintering (DMLS). However, as of 2006, these approaches were still in their early stages, with numerous challenges to solve before RM could be deemed a viable manufacturing method.
Patent disputes have been filed over the use of 3-D printing in manufacturing.
3 MEDICINE AND PROSTHETICS
One of the fastest-growing adopters of additive manufacturing is the medical and dentistry industry. This trend appears likely to continue, with 97 percent of medical AM experts believing that the use of 3D printing will continue to grow within the industry. The applications of additive manufacturing for the medical industry are diverse and wide-reaching, spanning from medical gadgets to prostheses and even bioprinting.
3D printing is an excellent tool for designing or improving medical equipment designs. Medical device producers have more latitude in creating new goods thanks to low-cost rapid prototyping, which helps to bring new medical equipment to market much faster.
The medical industry can use 3D printing to make patient-specific gadgets. Devices like prosthesis and implants, for example, can be made faster and more economically than with standard manufacturing methods.
4 BIOPRINTING
While 3D printing cannot yet be used to print biological parts, it can be utilized to generate artificial living tissues with features that are similar to natural tissue.
Bioprinting is a technology that is used for research and testing and has a lot of potential in regenerative medicine. 3D bioprinters overlay living cells, referred to as bio-ink, to simulate organ tissues instead of utilising plastics or metals. 3D bioprinting is already being utilised to create prosthetic cartilage, skin, and bone, as well as blood arteries and cardiac patches.
Organovo is a medical laboratory and research firm based in the United States that is investigating the use of 3D printing to create bioprinted tissue. Its bioprinting technology converts donor organ cells into bio-ink. These cells are then laid down layer by layer to create tissue in small areas. These 3D printed tissues may offer a more efficient approach to evaluate new medications and therapies, eliminating the need for animal testing or dangerous clinical trials.
5 BEAUTY & COSMETICS
While 3D printing has long been associated with industrial manufacturing, the technology is now making its way into the cosmetics business.
Chanel, a French fashion house, is one of the companies exhibiting 3D printing’s promise, having released the world’s first 3D-printed mascara brush in 2018. The brush’s design has been improved thanks to 3D printing; for example, the rough, granular texture promotes the mascara’s adhesion to the lashes. Although 3D printing is new to the cosmetics business, pioneers such as Chanel have demonstrated how the technology has the potential to change the way cosmetics are made.
6 DIGITAL DENTISTRY
Digital dentistry, or the use of digital technologies in dental practice, is revolutionizing the industry. Digital technologies are gradually replacing traditional procedures for creating dental impressions, with desktop 3D printing equipment, 3D scanners, and materials becoming more available. Dental labs can develop dental products like crowns, bridges, and bite splints that perfectly match a patient’s anatomy by combining intraoral scanning and 3D printing.
Because personalized dental surgical guides are generated using 3D printing, the rate of success in dental implantology can also be raised. The quality and accuracy of dental work improves as a result of this. These surgical guides can be made more quickly and at a lower cost. Over 50,000 surgeries have been done utilising surgical guides created on Formlabs’ SLA and SLS desktop machines, according to the company.
7 AUTOMOBILE
For decades, the automotive industry has been harnessing the power of 3D printing. 3D printing has shown to be incredibly useful in quick prototyping, and it has drastically reduced design and lead times for new automobile models. Within the industrial industry, 3D printing has also improved the manufacturing workflow. Specialized jigs, fixtures, and other tooling that might be required for a single automobile part, particularly when high-performance machines are involved, used to necessitate a slew of custom tools, adding expense and complicating the process overall.