Graphics Reference
In-Depth Information
2
A machine that
can make almost
anything
What would you make if you had a machine that could make anything?
In England a technician scans the feet and ankles of Olympic
sprinters and puts the data into a computer. The computer does a few quick
calculations. The technician 3D prints new track shoes that are customized
for each athlete's unique body shape and weight, gait and tastes.
On the other side of the world, NASA test-drives a version of its Mars Rover
in the Arizona desert. On board the Rover are several custom-made 3D printed
metal parts. Many of these parts have complicated shapes made of curves and
inner hollows that could not have been manufactured by anything other than
a 3D printer.
In Japan, an expectant mother wants to create the ultimate commemoration
of her irst ultrasound. Her doctor edits her ultrasound image and 3D prints
a precise, highly detailed replica of the fetus. The result, an avant-garde 3D
printed plastic tribute to the tiny fetus, encased for posterity in a block of
hard transparent plastic.
These modest manufacturing miracles are already taking place. In the not-
so-distant future, people will 3D print living tissue, nutritionally calibrated
food, and ready-made, fully assembled electronic components. This topic is
about a new way of making things. In the following chapters, we explain 3D
printing technologies and design tools in simple language. For readers of a
technical bent, a few chapters delve deeper into the details of 3D printing's
current and future. We then explore the downstream implications—economic,
personal, and environmental.
3D printing opens up new frontiers. Manufacturing and business as usual
will be disrupted as regular people gain access to power tools of design and
production. Intellectual property law will be brought to its knees.
 
Search WWH ::




Custom Search