Computers And The New Wave Parts Manufacturing

3-D print technology has significantly altered over the years. With the help of Computer-Aided Designs, millions of items can be created via printing them 3-Dimensionally. Whatever you can imagine, you can make! These magnificent machines have become more affordable and extremely useful, making them a revolutionary tool in the arts of Medicine, Science, and Engineering. From prosthetics to everyday items (plates, mugs, etc.) these machines can make them all easily and affordable; but nevertheless, can a machine like this have no drawbacks or complications?

Three dimensional (3D) printing, also known as additive manufacturing, is taking the world by storm and is said to be “the next big thing”, the next revolution, or as big as the Internet. President Barack Obama stated in his 2013 State of the Union address that 3D printing has the potential to revolutionize the way we make almost anything (Gross, 2013). However, will 3D printing have a positive effect on the future of our society looking at the effects on the manufacturing businesses, healthcare, and consumer home printing? To answer this question we will explore the current technology and how it is currently being used in manufacturing businesses, healthcare, and consumer home printing and, prospects for future use in these areas. We will explore the limitations and advantages of the 3D printing technology. Referencing trade journals, textbooks, popular opinion, and expert opinions in the fields of business, management, engineering, and computer technology to evaluate the societal effects of 3D printing for our future.

To start off with a basic definition a 3D printer is a machine ranging in size from a pen to that of a tank (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2697306/Oar-Fully-functioning-plastic-boat-created-using-worlds-biggest-3D-printer.html). They create the desired design by continously spraying or to a surgical precision laying layers of material on top of each other layer to form the design that was created through one of the many programs made to create 3D printer designs. 3D printers can use a multitude of sources to create their three dimensional final products. These sources can include but are not limited to plastic polymers, titanium, aluminum, iron, steel, and almost any ductile metal or propane product that can be heated and placed without forming into a gas or melting to a point of no return. Of course these aren’t just typical polymers or metals they have been mixed with other certain chemicals and materials to give the materials new found properties. The cost of these 3D printers can be anywhere from $140 dollars all the way up to $846,000 (3ders.org). These are just the consumer models! Take a second to imagine the industrial and prototype models which are even bigger and more complex. When making the product the 3D printer creates it in a chamber where an arm like machine continuously lays material and forms the

Updated Group Thesis Statement: 3D printing has revolutionized healthcare by increasing availability, customization, production and lowering the costs of pharmaceuticals, organs, and prosthetics.

“Although 3-D printers are not yet a standard part of home-computing equipment, the latest generation of devices, such as Cube® by 3D Systems, the Cubex™ or Makerbot’s Replicator™2X - which retail for between one and three thousand US dollars - are bringing the possibility of home manufacturing one step closer to reality” (Jewell). Now the biggest difference between traditional manufacturing and 3D printing will be the emergence of mass customization. Goods will be, “infinitely more customized, because altering them won’t require retooling, only tweaking the instructions in the software. Creativity in meeting individuals’ needs will come to the fore, just as quality control did in the age of rolling out sameness” (D'Aveni). When you have a product that is printed out individually from software with your own customization, then there would be no reason in buying a product that will look like something another person can own because of its ordinary accessibility. Creating physical 3D models in a fast, easy and affordable way has great potential, especially when you can do it in the comfort of your home.

3D printing is changing the world we live in today. Business Insider calls 3D printing “The Next Industrial Revolution” (Rega). Imagine having the capability of producing any product you want at your fingertips within minutes; it is now possible because of 3D printing. Simply put, 3D printing is the process of creating real objects by “printing” chosen substances layer by layer until the desired product is made, therefore 3D printing is sometimes referred to as additive manufacturing. There are endless possibilities with 3D printing from the medical field, to manufacturing, automobiles, to airplanes, and also personal use. 3D printed objects are going to be an integrated part of everyday life.

3D printing can’t compete with mainstream manufacturing technologies with respect to cost and time for manufacturing. It may take anywhere between a few minutes to several hours to manufacture a product using 3D printing depending upon the material used, size and complexity. It is also possible that 3D printing companies might lock in consumers through proprietary supply chain channel which might increase the cost of ownership.

What if there was a machine that could make anything, in any combination of materials with infinite complexity, enabling users to manufacture goods instantly at home? There would no longer be a need to go to a store or order a product online, saving people time and money. Fortunately, this technology was invented 33 years ago and is known as 3D printing (Reichental). It is a reality today to create, 3D scan, or download 3D blueprints for any physical object and manufacture them affordably in the home. With such technology, it is possible for anyone to produce high quality products without having to buy them. This revolutionary technology is proving to be a game changer in the world of manufacturing, but it is causing many to question the ethics of hyper-localized manufacturing and the ability for anyone to make anything. 3D printers are generating controversy surrounding the ownership of designs, copyright laws, patent infringement, democratized counterfeiting, and illegal possession. 3D printing is ushering in a new industrial age, but is challenging the current US patent system and compromising intellectual property rights, requiring reform to support next generation design and manufacturing systems.

3D printing has many advantages over traditional construction methods. With the help of 3D printing, an idea can transform a designer’s computer to actual finished product or component, potentially skipping many of traditional manufacturing steps, which includes procurement of parts, creation of moulds, creation of parts using different moulds, welding metal parts together, machining to carve parts from blocks of material and final assembly. It also reduces the amount of material wasted in manufacturing and creates difficult objects with complex geometric structures like fractals which can add strength, or are natural in shape, may reduce weight, or increase functionality. In a typical metal manufacturing, for example,

We are living in the era of technology, where every decade there is a better and newer invention. Some are good for the environment, for example, the hybrid car. Others become a staple for people of all ages, such as the iPhone. But there is one invention that has gone virtually unnoticed for quite some time, until now. This technology is known as 3-D printing. This type of technology is so versatile that engineers from completely different fields can all benefit from its use. It can revolutionize the way we make everything from prosthetic limbs to a functioning car. Going back about 40 years, the focus for 3-D printing has mostly been targeted toward making consumer items. The investments in this technology were also directly linked to computer software. But in the past few years this has been slowly shifting as engineers are discovering the immense benefits of 3-D printing. Due to the lower price tag and versatility, the possibilities are endless. In behalf of the vast amount of prototypes it can develop, innovators worldwide have flocked to the idea of 3-D printing.

The impact of 3D printing can already be seen in both industrial and consumer markets [2]. The 2015 Wohlers Associates report stated that 32.5% of all Additive manufactured objects were used for functional components. Additionally, the report detailed the 3D printing industry accounted for $5.165 billion of revenue [4]. The aviation, medical, automotive, and manufacturing industries are currently utilizing 3D printing [4-9]. Airbus, within the aviation industry, recently produced the world’s largest 3D printed cabin component. The component produced is a dividing wall that sits between the passenger seating and galley. General Electric is currently 3D printing jet engine fuel nozzles and forecast that 100,000 parts will be created by their Aviation division using 3D printers by 2020 [10]. Since 2014 NASA has been researching the ability to print on demand components in space utilizing a 3D

According to techrepublic.com, the popularity of 3D printing is expected to grow up to 75 percent within the next year which will create a huge rise in popularity of the new technology. Because of this, a new market of 3D printing will begin to grow and emerge very rapidly due to curiosity which makes this new technology a huge effecting factor on the economy. 3D printing is the process of additive manufacturing which creates objects by using a nozzle with a ABS plastic filament, melting the plastic, and layering the plastic in the appropriate locations in order to create an object. Though it is a relatively simple process, it takes a lot of calibration and fine tuning and the end result can be breathtaking. Because of the rapid growth and popularity of this new technology, many different people, commercial manufactures to household families, are curious to get their hands on a 3D printer. Since the technology is bound to change the way people and businesses handle daily tasks, 3D printing may have some negative economic effects such as hurting international trade with other countries and harmful health effects due to the chemicals used in the printing process. Though these are harmful to the economy, there are even more positive effects such as helping provide clean water for 3rd world countries, producing customized products for less money, and creating extra educational aids for impaired students. Because this technology is so new and still evolving, especially in public

In a consumer’s perspective, 3D printers are convenient to anyone. People don’t have to go to stores or online to buy parts for their machines. They only need the materials and blueprints in order to create anything they want. This technology helps people to save time, energy and money.

With a lot of hype around 3D printing, lets see what makes it a disruptive technology.

3D printing is a technology that was invented in the early 1980s by a man named Charles Hull (Ventola, 2014). Since its creation, 3D printing has branched into many different aspects of the world and is being utilized in fields like the automotive industry, medicine and is even being used for everyday purposes. Later on, Charles Hull founded a company called 3D Systems which developed the first ever 3D printer. In 1988, Hull and his company 3D Systems, put forth the first commercially available 3D printer. From this point on, 3D printing would be advanced and evolved to the point where it would have the opportunity to create a revolutionary impact on the world we