SO TODAY- Mind blown. I can't wait for the future.
So one of the jobs I am applying for in Germany is in a printing company. They are actually pretty cool, I love their graphics and stuff, and they seem like a really cool company. And yes, its printing, but their aim is to make printing cool, sexy and most important EASY.
Anyway I had to do some research for them into the future of, well, lots of things. And now, I just want it to be the future already. Its going to be so cool!! I did a little article on 3D printers, which I had heard of, but had no idea how they worked. It sounds so boring but it is so mental!?!?!
The printer- probably one of the least sexy things ever. But its going to be leading the pack baby. The humble printer, famous for its awkward connections and networks, has been developed to print three dimensionally.
Also known as 'additive manufacturing',
3D printing quite literally creates three dimensional copies of
whatever object you programme it to. How can this work? Certainly,
the concept of it seems to blow a comprehension fuse for most people.
Instead of the traditionally combining together of material,
whether by cutting, shaping, bending, sticking, a 3D printer deposits
material, layer by layer. This successive layer upon layer of
material eventually builds up into a perfect replica. The printer is 'told' what to print
after the object is scanned and broken down into layers by an
accompanying computer programme. Within the computer programme, the
user can select any changes they would like to make- sizes, colours,
etc. Most incredibly, moving parts can be replicated with absolutely
no problem.
WHAT!!!!?!?!?!
Suddenly the lonely and unreliable
printer I used at school seems a long
way away. Is this the end of the car mechanic charging a fortune for
ordering a 'difficult to get' piece? Traditionally, manufacture is
an expensive business, with the cost of tools, labour and materials
to consider. In order to make something worthwhile economically,
companies had to turn production into a huge venture to make it
economically viable. However, with the 3D printer, that is no
longer the case. One off products are suddenly financially viable and
small level production is a economic option.
Does
this mean that anything
can be replicated? Well certainly, at the rate of development, this
shouldn't be too far into the future. Currently, one limitation is
that of printer material, although metal printing is quickly
improving. Soon, will we be able to create perfect replicas, with a
combination of materials?
What will this mean
in a socio-economic sense? Certainly, there will be an increased
demand for designers, IT specialist, engineers and logistic experts.
However, it will also eliminate the requirement for many low-level
manufacturing jobs. Repetitive jobs, combining pieces or riveting
for example, can all be done by the printer. This is seemingly the
one disadvantage to an otherwise perfect venture.
Certainly, 3D
printing can seem a little futuristic to the average person on the
street, however it is already being utilised by an unbelievable
number of industries. So far, it has been used in jewellery
production, industrial design, architecture, automotive construction,
aerospace industries, footwear development, education, geographic
information systems, civil engineering and medical and dental
industries.
Indeed, in Japan,
3D printing has been used to create the ridiculously popular 3D photo
booth. Instead of a 2D print of your image, users receive a mini 3D
replica of themselves. This bit of fun also has potential uses in
the future, and really just highlights how far this technology has
come.
I just....I just.....I just can't get my mind around this. Is this a big joke?!?!! A big, fucking awesome, joke?!!?
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