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3D printing to focus on unique items like kidneys
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3D printing sounds like the stuff of science fiction: a technology that potentially can create any object of one’s imagination, even human organs, with just a few computer instructions.
To “Star Trek” fans, the technology may evoke memories of Captain Picard ordering his favorite cup of tea using a voice-activated replicator on the Starship Enterprise: “Tea. Earl Grey. Hot.”
But 3D printing is real and has generated new excitement these days.
While not exactly a “Star Trek” replicator, a 3D printer uses computer images to make — or “print” — three-dimensional objects.
People can create anything from plastic knickknacks, toys and jewelry to a prosthetic webbed foot for a crippled duck, a human kidney and even a gun — although whether the firearm will work effectively is a matter of debate.
3D printing has been around since 1983 when Charles Hull invented stereolithography, a process that builds objects one layer at a time. The technology was used by industries to rapidly develop prototypes, hard-to-find parts and unique designs.
Businesses saved time and money by being able to construct their own models, no matter how complex the build, instead of sending the job out.
In recent years, home 3D printers have begun to appear. They are simpler to operate, much cheaper and use non-toxic materials. Suddenly, a home factory is within every consumer’s reach.
In February, 3D printing got a boost from US President Barack Obama. During his State of the Union address, he singled out a Youngstown, Ohio, warehouse that was reopened as a state-of-the-art 3D printing lab. Obama said the technology has “the potential to revolutionize the way we make almost everything.”
He announced the launch of three more such hubs and asked Congress to help create a network of 15 sites. Obama was referring to the industrial use of 3D printers to revive America’s manufacturing sector, but the spotlight on the technology helped bring in a rush of products for the consumer market.
In May, office supplies chain Staples announced it would start carrying a 3D printer for consumers called the Cube. Made by 3D Systems, a company founded by Hull, the Cube costs US$1,300 at retail.
A far cry from the stark industrial 3D printers that used complicated computer-aided design software, the Cube is available in five cheery colors and is a “plug and play” device with “no training required,” according to Staples’s website.
In July, eBay launched a 3D printing service called eBay Exact where consumers can order customizable products. Prices range from US$9 for an iPhone case to US$350 for a metal ring. Even Amazon.com has a dedicated “store” for 3D printers and supplies now.
Meanwhile, Microsoft is jumping on the bandwagon by ading support for 3D printers in its upcoming Windows 8.1 update. Making a 3D object from your computer “will be as easy as writing a document in Word and sending it to print,” wrote Shanen Boettcher, general manager of the firm’s startup business group, in a June 26 blog post. “We want this to be so simple anyone can set up their own table-top factory.”
Hobbyist market
But just because 3D printers have become more affordable does not mean many consumers will take to them. Wharton practice professor David Robertson is not convinced it will be widely adopted by the general public.
“I’m not sure it will penetrate past the hobbyist market,” he says. Robertson, who teaches innovation and product development, should know. He owns two Makerbot 3D printers that cost a few thousand dollars each. The printers enable him to make such things as a Sumo robot toy for his son and sleeves for a lamp that broke. But he notes that 3D printing is better suited to special jobs rather than run-of-the-mill creations.
“The technology will be used in production in cases where demand is sporadic or where true customization is required,” notes Karl Ulrich, Wharton’s vice dean of innovation and professor of operations and information management.
One may not need a custom-made ice cream spoon, but customization will come in handy for a patient who needs a hip replacement, he says.
Engine parts and kidneys
3D printing is making a big impact in a variety of industries. These printers have been used to make chocolate, synthetic scaffolds for organ transplants, detailed prosthetic legs, aircraft, high-concept cars and even NASA rocket engine parts.
On July 24, the space agency announced the hot-fire test results of its two 3D-printed subscale injectors: They withstood 6,000 degrees Fahrenheit of heat without melting. While traditional injectors typically take six months to make and cost US$10,000, NASA said the printed injectors took three weeks to make and cost less than US$5,000.
3D printing has even been used to make a human kidney.
Surgeon Anthony Atala from Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine showed off a printed kidney at a 2011 TED conference. The 3D printer used living cells.
Atala had used similar technology 10 years earlier to successfully create a working bladder for Luke Massella, a spina bifida sufferer whose kidneys were failing. Massella joined Atala on the TED stage, testifying that his life has improved greatly since the transplant.
Adapted from Knowledge@Wharton, http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/. To read the original version, please visit: http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=3322
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