Print Everything

There’s a technology that’s maturing right under our noses. It has the potential to disrupt a number of industries and few are taking notice. The technology is 3D printing and it promises to do for objects what the printing press did for words.

3D printing is a form of additive manufacturing technology where a three dimensional object is created by successive layers of material. 3D printers are generally faster, more affordable and easier to use than other additive manufacturing technologies. 3D printers offer product developers the ability to print parts and assemblies made of several materials with different mechanical and physical properties in a single build process. Advanced 3D printing technologies yield models that closely emulate the look, feel and functionality of product prototypes. (Wikipedia)

To get a better sense of what this means – and why the tech is closer than you think – consider the following video (hat tip to BoingBoing) of this normal desktop printer that’s been hacked to enable 3D printing.

On the surface, it doesn’t look terribly impressive, but bear in mind that this widget was produced with a common inkjet printer. Someday, we’ll break a mug and be able to print a replacement.

On to bigger things

This 3D-file is the result of a project in which a 1000-year-old Viking belt buckle was laser scanned and 3D printed to achieve a copy of the unique archaeological artifact. (By 'Creative Tools' at Flickr. Click the image to learn more)

But it’s not about mugs. If Enrico Dini has his way, we’ll print out buildings, too (hat tip to Pyroman).

Dini’s machine marks a vital step change from the shoebox-size 3D printing of today, to tomorrow’s ability to print complete structures on site. Although others have been working hard on the prototype, Dini’s machine is ahead of the pack, with the Architectural Association beating several others to get to the first marketable version. (Abrahams)

The article is absorbing not merely because of the tech, but because of the frustrated genius that’s driving this particular effort. On Dini’s approach:

Today though he is beating recalcitrant parts of it with a hammer. Enrico refers to a pin system for calibrating the height of the frame as ‘this fucking device’. He is exasperated by its limitations. ‘My machine is stupid,’ he fumes. (Abrahams)

Oddly, this builds confidence for me. It reinforces my stereotypes about creative, driven personalities that won’t settle. I hope. Maybe I just admire people that willing to hold their work to impossibly high standards.

The even bigger picture

The real promise lies in decentralized infrastructure. Our modern existence is tied up in complicated supply chains that may not withstand disruptive pressures. Long term technological thinking requires that we consider both supply chain simplification and also redundancies (the enemy of hard-core capitalism).

3D printing holds some promise where this is concerned. For a whole slew of items we’ve come to rely upon, we won’t need long, thin, supply-chain extending all over the earth. At least, that’s the hope.

And once these printers can print more printers, we’ll really be on to something.