Graphics Reference
In-Depth Information
can be programmed. If the details of a physical object are captured in a design
ile, the digital “raw material” of the design is modular, made of tiny discrete
on-screen bits of light, or pixels.
3D printing technologies will close the gulf that divides the virtual and
physical worlds. Of course, a skeptic would quickly point out that the digital
and physical worlds already intersect at several points. After all, design and
manufacturing processes have been driven by computers for decades. Mass
production these days is nearly fully automated (except for the last step—the
human-intensive assembly line).
The convergence of the virtual and physical worlds will be a slow and
subtle process. It will happen in phases. First we will gain control over the
shape of physical things. Then we will gain new levels of control over their
composition, the materials they're made of. Finally, we will gain control over
the behavior of physical things.
Control over shape
A 3D printer can carefully interpret a digital design ile, bringing us one step
closer to tapping into the rich creativity and freedom of the virtual world.
If you watch an animated movie, it's clear that the scene on-screen was cre-
ated on a computer. Dinosaurs roam through modern subway stations. Flying
robotic soldiers shaped like buzzards shoot deadly lasers at whatever crosses
their path.
If a movie switches back and forth between animation and reality, to the
viewer it's immediately apparent that there's a clear demarcation between
the rich computer-rendered world that's the product of several fertile imagi-
nations… and real life. One way to appreciate the promise and peril of 3D
printing is to ponder the tyranny and rigid rules that govern the material
world. Since 3D printers build objects in layers, they can make shapes that
were once possible only in nature. Curves, hollows, and complicated inside
chambers become possible.
The challenge is that atoms come together in unpredictable ways. A digi-
tal design can look stunning on the computer screen, but literally collapse
when manufactured, unable to survive the discipline of gravity and materials
limitations. In contrast, the digital world offers our imaginations intoxicating
lexibility and creative freedom. The digital world eagerly embraces forms that
are impossible in real life.
