The 3D printing revolution offers specialized solutions, quickly. Each layer is printed from an outline, stacking each particle atop the other in order to create the product. This is slower than using molds however creates a platform in which each product is tailored to specific boundaries that can be input into a CAD program. This gives the creator immense creative power and the ability to specialize products.
These CAD programs can be found for free online. There are several open source 3D printing sites as well that allow you to print their templates as well as edit them to your heart’s desire. If you’d rather pay for the program, there are several perks, however it isn’t necessary.
3D Printing Filament Creation Testing
For a material to be used in 3D printing, it has to pass three different tests.
The initial extrusion into filament, second extrusion, and trace-binding during the 3D Printing process, then finally appropriateness for the end use application as a 3D Printed object.
Current 3D printing materials include but are not limited to:
- Sintered powdered metal
- Carbon fiber
- Carbon nanotubes and graphene
- Nitinol
- Stem cells
- Conductive carbomorph
- Concrete, food, yarn
3D bioprinting allows us to create compatible organs as needed instead of depending on donors. We are able to print skin cells for patients. Prosthetics are much cheaper when 3d printed. We can 3D print buildings to accommodate the homeless with sustainable yet sturdy materials. Online shopping will be revolutionized with at home 3D printers capable of printing the products they need.
The capability to empower the poor to create sustainable alternatives are enormous with 3D printers. With open source 3D renderings, it is possible to create a fully self sustaining home for less than 25k.
The need for stores filled with premade merchandise is obsolete. We can 3D print whatever it is we want, in the fashion we choose, with the materials we seek.
The necessity for education of 3D rendering is immediate. With this knowledge, it is possible to invent or create anything you can render. This technology opens up the opportunity for an inclusive, technologically advanced civilization which utilizes the ideas of all people for the sake of all people.
Earth Organization for Sustainability: Cascadia 