What’s 3D printing? | A Beginners’ Guide

13 min readMar 22, 2021

Produce everything on demand? In the future, 3D printing will not only be able to print spare parts, but also clothing and food …

Imagine a world where you can make anything you want on demand. You are hungry? Then print yourself a pizza! Do you want to surprise your girlfriend? Then print her the dress that she recently raved about to you — exactly her size with a small personalized text on the inside. Do you lack the tools to assemble the children’s new closet? Then print the hammer and the nails! If you decide to build your own house or buy a brand-new car, you won’t have to wait months and save money for decades.

The technology that makes all of this possible is called 3D printing. US President Barack Obama said at his State of the Union Address in 2013:

“3D printing […] has the potential to revolutionize the way we make almost everything”.

Complicated applications can be made in one piece, layer-by-layer. Companies will only manufacture their products when there is demand and then 100 times faster. The complexity of machines like cars and even rockets will decrease as their individual parts can be reduced from thousands to a few. Difficult assembly processes are eliminated. The free accessibility of printing also democratizes power. People are becoming more independent of companies because they can produce almost anything themselves on demand. Just like the industrial revolution, 3D printing will also have an immense impact on our everyday lives.

The technology, which has existed for 30 years, is now entering a stage in which it is first made available to the mass market. Similar to the early days of the computer industry, there is an increasing number of home printers. The market is growing beyond the industry. New printing processes are becoming more and more sophisticated. The increasing use leads to cheaper parts to manufacture. This increases demand and starts the cycle all over again.

Summary: Manufacturing turned upside down

Through new technologies such as artificial intelligence (keyword topology optimization), manufactured objects will reach a new level of efficiency. Materials are only used in the way they are needed for effectiveness and performance. Surprisingly, the designs calculated by algorithms have a very biological effect.
3D printing already brings massive time savings in the manufacture of parts. The start-up Relatively Space, for example, manages to reduce the production of rocket parts from 12 months to 7 days.
Many parts are nowadays manufactured individually by the industry and then painstakingly joined together to form an overall part. Complexity can be reduced through 3D printing, as parts are designed on the computer and then printed, layer by layer, in one piece. The open source scene is already busy sharing instructions on the Internet for all sorts of cool things that were previously very time-consuming to produce.
Both costs and staff are saved. Superfluous material is saved in production, while performance increases. There are no storage costs when printing on demand. Expensive logistics companies have to move fewer goods when you can print from the comfort of your home.
Printing processes are sometimes still very expensive because they are only used to a limited extent and are therefore not suitable for the mass market. The more the demand increases with improved technology, the cheaper the materials and thus the usage will become. The introduction of computers offers a nice analogy. Initially only used by large companies, we all know how it is used today.
Being able to manufacture everything at any time inevitably leads to security issues. Who controls what we’ll print? In May 2013 the first open source 3D printed weapon was fired. Even the firearms-friendly America reacted in shock. This illustrates the importance of limitations but the industry is still largely unregulated. Politicians and scientists have to find ways to make the best possible use of the potential of technology without allowing its dangers to go unchecked.

The disruptive power of 3D printing

What’s revolutionary about 3D printing is its endless applications. Although home users have yet to benefit much from the technology, various industries have been using additive manufacturing processes for prototyping and product development for decades. In the future, it can be assumed that printing processes will also be used in production and manufacturing. Looking even further, one day every household may have its own 3D printer.

Our industry as a driver of innovation

“I think there is a market for maybe five computers worldwide”
— Thomas Watson, Chairman IBM in 1943

Industry is one of the early adopters of 3D printing. From prototyping to building replacement parts, the industry recognized the potential early. Parts can be printed much faster than traditional manufacturing processes. Additionally, the lack of transportation buys additional time. Furthermore, a level of complexity in structure & materials can be achieved that has never been seen before in human history.

The combination of 3D printing with other new technologies such as artificial intelligence creates symbioses — for example in the form of Topology Optimization. The shape of objects is no longer defined by humans, but is adapted to circumstances and function in simulations. The result is lighter and more stable parts that have an almost biological effect on the observer.

One industry pioneer is Airbus, with 15 years of 3D printing experience. The aircraft manufacturer has collaborated with Liebherr, among others, to install a titanium hydraulic flight control component in one of its planes. German Railways is using 3D printing to maintain its trains. Last but not least, at Volkswagen, the world’s largest car manufacturer, tool production comes largely from printers.

Body modifications in tomorrow’s medicine with bioprinting & 3D prostheses

The medical possibilities of the future are breathtaking! Already, robotics is working hand in hand with our doctors. New technologies like Deep Learning will allow us to develop new cures and diagnose diseases both more accurately and earlier. 3D printing is now also making it easier for millions of people to replace damaged or missing body parts.

Bioprinting combines cells, compounds and biomaterials. The starting material that makes all this possible is called Bioink. This hydrogel can switch between liquid and solid states, depending on different conditions. The control of the conditions depends on the gel system and this is where bioprinting techniques differ.

The vision is to install 3D bioprinters in all hospitals worldwide. While people today are desperately waiting for organs that fit them, in the future it will be possible to “simply” print new organs from their body cells. The biggest problem with transplantation, that the body rejects foreign substances, will thus be circumvented.

Printed prostheses are another area of application in medicine. Whereas in the past these were bulky and only rudimentarily usable, for aesthetic reasons, artificial intelligence and robotics are enabling constantly improving motor functions. In the medium term, 3D printing will make prostheses both cheaper and more durable.

Start-ups like Open Bionics are opening up new worlds with design and functionality, as exemplified in science fiction. The look and feel of the arms is deliberately not designed to be human, but more reminiscent of Iron Men and other “heroes”. The wearer thereby highlights not his loss, but his individuality and can stage himself.

Open Bionics Hero Arm (Graphic: Open Bionics)

Creating the conditions for interplanetary travel

In recent years, startups such as Elon Musk’s Space X and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin have caused a stir in the, somewhat dusty, space industry, taking it private. In the process, Musk and his engineers have succeeded in disrupting decades-old technology. New technologies are playing a central role.

With 3D printing, public authorities and private companies alike have identified a key technology for the interplanetary future of mankind. It could be used to build new societies on other planets with scarce resources. Astronauts and robots alike could land there and then produce anything from tools to more robots to new rockets or entire cities. Building on-demand locally will also become imperative, because as it stands today, transporting materials between planets is still going to be damn expensive. While rocket launches used to cost $18,500 in the past, in 2019 they were only $2,720. Per kilogram, mind you! On-site assembly using additive printing methods is estimated to reduce material transportation by 60 to 90 percent.

The drop in rocket launch prices is due partly to reusable parts and partly to optimizations in materials. The best example is the Falcon 9, the first reusable launch vehicle. Since the first rocket launch, 63 years ago, launchers known as “throwaway rockets” have been separated in space and destroyed by re-entry into the atmosphere. The result: hundreds of millions of dollars worth of space junk per rocket. Space X’s Falcon 9, however, returns to Earth unscathed after transport.

“Being able to 3D print whatever structures or parts we need on-demand, using feedstock made from in-situ resources, will enable us to be independent of Earth, in that we could grow our own surface infrastructure and create our own spare parts as needed. Additionally, whatever we can produce on a planetary surface will not need to be sent from Earth and will save the time and cost of launching those materials — a game changer for NASA.”
— Jennifer Edmunson on Jacobs.com

Back in 2015, the NASA 3D Printed Habitat Challenge was launched for this purpose. The goal was to use the resources available on alien planets to conceptualize sustainable housing using 3D printing. The project went through various phases, from design and material technology to autonomous construction.

But a new generation of space-inspired startups like Relativity Space is thinking even further ahead. With its gigantic 3D printer called Stargate, the Californian company is printing entire rockets, reducing the number of individual parts from 100,000 for conventional rockets to around 1,000 — which reduces the costs but also the susceptibility to errors enormously. So fewer parts will be needed and more of them will be recyclable. Algorithms and simulations will build parts in the way they should be best designed for their function, using the fewest resources. Thus, despite decreasing weights, the stability of parts can increase.

Food Industry

Star Trek fans may remember the replicator. The machine that made the crew of the Starship Enterprise any food & drink they could think of at the push of a button.

As is often the case, science fiction has given us a glimpse into the future. The possibilities of 3D printing in the food industry are almost limitless and have the potential to completely disrupt this industry as well. However, our replicators are called ChefJet, Foodini and Chef3D. The latter printed the first pizza in 2006, commissioned by its developers BeeHex in collaboration with NASA. But printers have also produced chocolate, pasta and vegetables.

Meat still makes up a large part of our diet. Germany alone slaughtered around 763 million animals in 2019. Not to mention the poor animal husbandry conditions. With 3D printing, a new chapter could be started without humans having to change their habits. Startups like Redefine Meat are working on plant-based steaks that are 3D printed and still have the texture, taste, and appearance of beef steaks. This takes into account more than 70 criteria, including texture, juiciness, fat distribution and mouthfeel. Another method is cell-based 3D-printed meat. Israeli start-up Aleph Farms is a leader in this field, stimulating muscle generation from real bovine cells under laboratory conditions.

But production is only one side. Much of the food we produce is never eaten. Researchers at the United Nations (FAO) and other institutions estimate that 30 percent of agricultural land produces food that later ends up in our garbage cans. The higher the income, the more waste we produce. By producing food on demand, we could finally address this waste.

If we were also able to adapt our food ourselves at any time, without having to know much about cooking or biology, certain medical nutritional needs could be supported and our calorie consumption could be optimized. However, if we pursue these ideas further, we quickly come up against the issue of data protection. If every household had its own printer, the data collected by 3D printers about our diet would be highly interesting, and not just for our insurance companies.

The all-round salesman in his own 4 walls

Hardly anyone has changed our shopping behavior in recent decades as much as Jeff Bezos and Amazon. The world’s largest retailer sets standards. Whether with the 24/7 availability of its products, the incredible selection or its focus on customer satisfaction.

But these standards come at a price. Modern companies need gigantic warehouses to be able to deliver at any time. New models & collections are produced in large quantities without knowing in advance whether customers will buy. Between 8 and 20 percent of all products purchased in e-commerce are returned and companies have to either refurbish or dispose of them.

In contrast to the past, the market is evolving faster and faster. Bezos understood early on that focusing on future issues is elementary. His approach is different than perhaps suspected.

“I’m often asked what will change in the next ten years. What I’m rarely asked is probably even more important — and I encourage you to think about it — which is, ‘What’s not going to change in the next ten years?’ […] It’s impossible to imagine people saying to me, ‘Jeff, I love Amazon. I just wish you would deliver a little slower.’ Or, I love Amazon, I just wish your prices were a little higher.’”
- Jeff Bezos

If you put yourself in Bezos’ shoes, there are exciting applications for e-commerce in combination with 3D printing.

Delivery time: the goal of last mile delivery is to get packages to the recipient as quickly as possible. In large cities, Amazon, Zalando & Co have meanwhile taken the lead with same-day delivery. For the majority of retailers and the rural population, however, this is unrealistic. Delivery still usually takes several days or even weeks. With the installation of 3D printers, products could be produced directly in the nearest large city and delivered promptly. Delivery time could even be reduced to a minimum, assuming that every household had a printer.

Personalization: 25 to 50 percent of clothing purchased on the Internet is returned. A large proportion of these returns are the wrong size. In the future, the body will be measured during the shopping process, AI-generated salespeople will ask for preferences in conversations and use algorithms to calculate the perfect fit. Tailored, printed clothing will thus make the problem of “wrong size” returns obsolete. From shoes with orthopedic soles to wedding dresses, a product personalized to the customer will be created. Particularly creative people can also design their own garments and tailor them to their needs. The materials can be selected just as flexibly as we are used to nowadays.

Price: Until now, prices in e-commerce were often determined by high storage & delivery costs as well as mass production. In the future, technological advances in 3D printing will allow products to be created on demand. Costs will be kept to a minimum as the configuration of what is created can be controlled by software and changed in real time at any time. If customers do not print the products themselves at home, the items can be held until they are picked up by the transport company. The logistics centers thus become a short stopover and no longer a graveyard for unused products.

Adidas shows that this is far more than a distant future fantasy. The German sporting goods manufacturer has been using 3D printing to produce prototype shoes for about 16 years. So far, however, 3D technologies in the time-cost-benefit formula have not yet been suitable for mass production. That this will change is beyond question. Adidas is one of the main investors in Carbon 3D, which has developed a printing process called “Digital Light Synthesis” that is said to be 100x faster than conventional 3D shoe printing.

This investment in the fledgling 3D printing industry seems to be paying off. With the Futurecraft 4D, the first commercial version of their 3D shoe appeared in 2018. Adidas, however, is planning far beyond that.

“We are scaling a production. The plan will put us as the (world’s) biggest producer of 3D-printed products.”
- James Carnes, VP Strategy Creation Adidas

Beyond all the benefits, however, the commercial use of 3D printing raises serious questions. If anyone can theoretically print anything, who is still in control? Just as an incredible amount of positivity can be built with technology, easy access to weapons or drugs can do just the opposite. The scientists and technicians who create these opportunities will need to work with elected officials to find ways to enhance positive effects and reduce negative effects.

Architecture

3D printers offer architects* quick access to prototypes and models, allowing for better design. Printing entire buildings is no longer science fiction. Since 2014, from small settlements to villas and office buildings, structures have been created from printers. The NASA Habitat Challenge also simulated the scenario of printing homes on Mars.

Three advantages for the construction industry have emerged: 3D printed buildings are cheaper, faster to build and, in most cases, more environmentally friendly than conventional construction projects. Even now, without the existence of a mass market, companies like Icon, working with non-profit organizations in both developing and developed countries, can more easily provide homes to the destitute.

Given these possibilities, it is unsurprising that more and more companies and nations are taking advantage of the techniques. The United Arab Emirates aims to print a large percentage of its buildings by 2030. In 2019, Apis Cor in Dubai printed the largest building to date at 650 sqm2. The same company that won the NASA Habitat Challenge that same year.

Cool Stuff

All3dp.com is a very readable magazine about 3D printing. Highly recommended!
By the way, you can find an impressive list of printed house projects HERE at All3DP.

Sources

What’s 3D printing? | A Beginners’ Guide

Summary: Manufacturing turned upside down

The disruptive power of 3D printing

Our industry as a driver of innovation

Body modifications in tomorrow’s medicine with bioprinting & 3D prostheses

Creating the conditions for interplanetary travel

Food Industry

The all-round salesman in his own 4 walls

Architecture

Cool Stuff

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Written by Thilo Schinke

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