W3: 3D Printers from the future?
In the present day, manufacturing technologies
have become much more advanced than what it was 50 years ago. After the
Industrial revolution, the field of manufacturing has been a hot topic and has
been heavily invested in by many parties. In the modern era, manufacturing
technology has also reached the hands of the average consumer in the form of 3D
printing. 3D printing is a type of manufacturing technology where a material,
usually a plastic filament, is injected according to the programmed route by the
computer to produce an object that is identical to the original 3D design on
the computer. 3D printing has a also become a hobby for many and some people
even used it to kickstart a career and business in manufacturing. Although the
current iteration of 3D printers are accessible, it is still not very
user-friendly at its current stage.
In the future, 3D printers would be much more
widespread as its use gets adopted by various fields. As more money is involved
in this industry, there is no doubt that its advancement would increase more
rapidly as more research and development is done on improving 3D printers.
Thus, the performance of 3D printers in the future would be faster, more
efficient and more reliable. Moreover, advancements will also be made in terms
of 3D printing materials. As of the future, materials would be made out of
polymers that are more lightweight, stronger or even more cost effective.
Biodegradable materials will also be more prevalent in 3D printing as it is
more sustainable and can be used in situations such as rapid prototyping.
Furthermore, 3D printers would have a
more simple interface and repairability where the layman can easily operate and
work on the 3D printer without needing a professional technician’s help. This
would allow 3D printers to be what normal paper printers are in the modern era.
To bridge the gap between the future vision of 3D printers and the modern era, research in sustainable material alternatives has to be done. Sustainable materials can be made out of organic materials such as starch, sugar or food waste. This enables the material to degrade as time passes and is not harmful towards the environment since the modern plastic filaments need composters in order to degrade them. The biodegradable materials also has to be cheaper as they are recycled or use materials with low costs. Other than that, the strength and flexibility should also be comparable to their plastic counterparts where the only difference is their degradability. Moreover, the simplification of the 3D printing process should also be top priority of 3D printing manufacturers. This allows 3D printing to be a one-click process where people without a deep understanding of 3D printers can just operate it following simple instructions. With that being said, the servicing of 3D printing should also be kept to a minimum by incorporating more self-adjusting parameters in the 3D printer. This allows the 3D printer to “fix itself” by running troubleshooting protocols to ensure that nothing is out of the ordinary for the 3D printer. By simplifying 3D printers, 3D printers can get one step closer to being more widespread among normal consumers and not just among hobbyists. Furthermore, 3D printing materials should also follow the trends of material science. As new polymers are being discovered, 3D printer filament manufacturers should take notice and consider using those materials as materials for plastic filaments. This is because newly discovered materials may be much more superior to modern polymers such as ABS and PLA in terms of strength and flexibility, Other than that, they may even be more cost effective and more easy to produce. With the use of more superior materials in 3D printing, more designs could be made using 3D printers as some designs require very strong materials to be practical and usable.
In retrospect, the inspiration for this blog is
based on my own research in 3D printer as I have been interested in 3D printing
for quite some time. Other than that, the problems faced by modern 3D printers
are also based on my own experiences and other 3D printer hobbyists. From
researching for this blog post, I have found out that 3D printers have a
promising future especially in the aspect of 3D printer filaments that are
stronger and biodegradable.
References
Princeton
University. (n.d.). 3D Printing [Photograph]. Council on Science and
Technology.
https://cst.princeton.edu/studiolab/equipment/3d-printing
Petch, M.
(2018). Biodegradable GROWLAY 3D printer filament can be used to grow mushrooms
or make cheese [Photograph]. 3D Printing Industry.
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