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to fabricate the parts by carving them by hand or using mass-manufacturing
techniques.
Failed prints. Are we switching to design by trial-and-error?
In a sign of things to come, if you visit any shop or lab that offers students
or engineers unlimited access to a 3D printer, any lat surface will be littered
with failed 3D printing experiments. There's a longer term upside to physical
debugging, however, in situations where complicated designs can't be prop-
erly examined using simulation software. As designs become more complex,
it's nearly impossible for even a skilled engineer to stare at it on a computer
screen and predict whether it will work in real life. Good computer modeling
software can help simulate a designed object's physical characteristics. But
there's still no substitute for the physical thing.
Quickly fabricated 3D printed prototypes can save waste on mass manu-
facturing assembly lines. By making a physical version of a digital design ile,
engineers and designers get one last chance to make sure their product plans
will work. Design problems and aesthetic shortcomings can be corrected before
the mass manufacturing machines kick into high gear, burning up precious
energy and churning out thousands of copies of a mistake.
3D printing technologies offer both promise and peril for the environment.
It would be disappointing if 20 years from now, Charles Moore were to ish
