How is it like to download a coffee table? Or at least a digital model of a coffee table that you could customize and then you just print it out.
Mind it, it is not a picture of a coffee table but an actual, physical three-dimensional object that lives in your living room. Well, it is all possible. It is the world of 3D printing and it is going to change everything. It will redefine the way we think about innovation, design, manufacturing and distribution.
Simply put, 3D printing is the process of making 3 dimensional, solid objects from a digital file. 3D printers bridge the gap between the digital and physical worlds. It uses very thin layers of plastic, which are as thin as a sheet of copy paper, to build an object from the bottom up. Unlike other forms of manufacturing where the excess is carved, cut or melted away, leaving a ton of waste. It creates a new item by adding only what is needed.
And 3D printing isn’t limited to plastics. Already, you can print stuff to glass,metal, food and even organs.
We are heading towards limitless customization. The promise of 3D printing is huge. We can print any object we can imagine, and have it in our hand in just matter of hours. And in immediate future, it could mean that with today’s desktop machine we can print our favourite sunglasses, phone case and our coffee mugs. Your printer can also print the jewelry line you always want to make, but couldn't afford to produce. You can print your car. Build your house in 24 hours with big size 3D printers. It is not only convenient but also is cheaper.
So with 3D printers we can think about all the possible applications. But all of these great products have one thing in common-rigidity. That means they are going to keep that shape once we print them, unless we heat the object under a flame or cut it through a hacksaw. But with the advent of called 4D printing everything could change!
That’s right, its one D better! 4D printers can create programmable matter, which will allow us to create object that could reshape them or self assemble over time.
Skylar Tibbits, the man who really came up with this idea of 4D printing, has created programmable sheet material. A successful demonstration at MIT lab already showed that a sheet of plastic, when submerged in water, can clench up into the sheet of a cube. And a cube is just the beginning!
Think about it on the really big scale. What about skyscrapers and bridges. If we could make them out of smart materials like smart beans and smart bricks, they could heal themselves after weather damage or prepare for something massive like an earthquake.
That’s a long way of course, but it is always fun to play with possibilities. This whole new subject should give us a pause and also excite us at the same time. We are at the cusp of something very new and amazing.
The best part is that if you lose your brain thinking about it , you can always print another one.Welcome to the amazing world of 3D and 4D printing. Are you ready for the invention of this magnitude? I have already planned to print a new dress and and a toy for my little one.
Below are three resources you may like to explore
- My article on 4D Printing that was published on InformationWeek in Sep,14
- How the world will change with 3D and 4D Printing? [slides on Slideshare]
- Skylar Tibbits TED talk on 4D printing
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