AM’s impact on firearms involves two dimensions: new manufacturing
methods for established companies, and new possibilities for the making
of do-it-yourself firearms. In 2012, the US-based group Defense
Distributed disclosed plans to design a working plastic 3D printed
firearm “that could be downloaded and reproduced by anybody with a 3D
printer.” After Defense Distributed released their plans, questions
were raised regarding the effects that 3D printing and widespread
consumer-level CNC machining may have on gun control effectiveness.
Surgical uses of 3D printing-centric therapies have a history beginning
in the mid-1990s with anatomical modeling for bony reconstructive
surgery planning. Patient-matched implants were a natural extension of
this work, leading to truly personalized implants that fit one unique
individual. Virtual planning of surgery and guidance using 3D printed,
personalized instruments have been applied to many areas of surgery
including total joint replacement and craniomaxillofacial reconstruction
with great success. One example of this is the bioresorbable trachial
splint to treat newborns with tracheobronchomalacia developed at the
University of Michigan. The use of additive manufacturing for serialized
production of orthopedic implants (metals) is also increasing due to the
ability to efficiently create porous surface structures that facilitate
osseointegration. The hearing aid and dental industries are expected to
be the biggest area of future development using the custom 3D printing
technology.
In March 2014, surgeons in Swansea used 3D printed parts to rebuild the
face of a motorcyclist who had been seriously injured in a road
accident. In May 2018, 3D printing has been used for the kidney
transplant to save a three-year-old boy. As of 2012, 3D bio-printing
technology has been studied by biotechnology firms and academia for
possible use in tissue engineering applications in which organs and body
parts are built using inkjet printing techniques. In this process,
layers of living cells are deposited onto a gel medium or sugar matrix
and slowly built up to form three-dimensional structures including
vascular systems. Recently, a heart-on-chip has been created which
matches properties of cells.
In 2018, 3D printing technology was used for the first time to create a
matrix for cell immobilization in fermentation. Propionic acid
production by Propionibacterium acidipropionici immobilized on
3D-printed nylon beads was chosen as a model study. It was shown that
those 3D-printed beads were capable to promote high density cell
attachment and propionic acid production, which could be adapted to
other fermentation bioprocesses.
In 2005, academic journals had begun to report on the possible artistic
applications of 3D printing technology. As of 2017, domestic 3D printing
was reaching a consumer audience beyond hobbyists and enthusiasts. Off
the shelf machines were increasingly capable of producing practical
household applications, for example, ornamental objects. Some practical
examples include a working clock and gears printed for home woodworking
machines among other purposes. Web sites associated with home 3D
printing tended to include backscratchers, coat hooks, door knobs, etc.
3D printing, and open source 3D printers in particular, are the latest
technology making inroads into the classroom. Some authors have claimed
that 3D printers offer an unprecedented “revolution” in STEM
education. The evidence for such claims comes from both the low cost
ability for rapid prototyping in the classroom by students, but also the
fabrication of low-cost high-quality scientific equipment from open
hardware designs forming open-source labs. Future applications for 3D
printing might include creating open-source scientific equipment.
In the last several years 3D printing has been intensively used by in
the cultural heritage field for preservation, restoration and
dissemination purposes. Many Europeans and North American Museums have
purchased 3D printers and actively recreate missing pieces of their
relics. The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the British Museum have
started using their 3D printers to create museum souvenirs that are
available in the museum shops. Other museums, like the National Museum
of Military History and Varna Historical Museum, have gone further and
sell through the online platform Threeding digital models of their
artifacts, created using Artec 3D scanners, in 3D printing friendly file
format, which everyone can 3D print at home.
3D printed soft actuators is a growing application of 3D printing
technology which has found its place in the 3D printing applications.
These soft actuators are being developed to deal with soft structures
and organs especially in biomedical sectors and where the interaction
between human and robot is inevitable. The majority of the existing soft
actuators are fabricated by conventional methods that require manual
fabrication of devices, post processing/assembly, and lengthy iterations
until maturity in the fabrication is achieved. To avoid the tedious and
time-consuming aspects of the current fabrication processes, researchers
are exploring an appropriate manufacturing approach for effective
fabrication of soft actuators. Thus, 3D printed soft actuators are
introduced to revolutionize the design and fabrication of soft actuators
with custom geometrical, functional, and control properties in a faster
and inexpensive approach. They also enable incorporation of all actuator
components into a single structure eliminating the need to use external
joints, adhesives, and fasteners.