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25 Industries
3D Printing
Could Transform
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3D printing is efficient and highly
customizable, and has potential applications
across a wide range of industries.
While 3D printing technology for consumer products has yet to
live up to the hype, it's thriving in the industrial world.
The technology enables rapid prototyping, which means that
teams developing a new product can quickly experiment with
different designs and materials, accelerating the product's path to
market. It's also highly customizable and resource-efficient.
The 3D printing space has seen significant fundraising growth
since 2013, with big manufacturing corporates like GE and
Siemens investing heavily. Global spending on 3D printing will
reach nearly $12B in 2018, according to IDC forecasts.
As the technology permeates more design studios and factory
floors, the potential applications are virtually endless.
From construction to pharmaceuticals to food, we take a look at
the industries that 3D printing could disrupt.
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Architecture and Constrution
Education
Food
Prosthetics
Pharmaceutical Drugs
Automotive
Art
Furniture
Packaging
Firearms
Drones
Medical Implants
Conservation
Space Tech
Manual Transportation
Agriculture
Aviation
Archaeology and Cultural Preservation
Consumer Electronics
Toys
Entertainment
Fashion and Accessories
Defense
Music
Regnerative Medicine
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Table of
Contents
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Architecture and Construction
Applications of 3D printing in architecture and construction
are developing rapidly. The technology has become relatively
widespread in the project design stage architects can print
models of properties, commercial real estate, and infrastructure.
In the future, development and engineering teams could have
easy access to full-scale 3D printed models to test new designs
and materials.
The Dubai Future Foundation debuted what it claimed was the
first 3D-printed building in 2016. The city-state says that by 2025,
25% of its new buildings will be made using 3D printers.
3D-printed houses have been unveiled in several cities, including
Austin, Texas. They are highly energy efficient and can be built in
a matter of days, at a fraction of the cost of traditional residential
construction. Companies, non-profits, and governments are
collecting data on the longevity of these houses to determine how
and when they could become widely available.
This has major implications for the speed and accuracy of construction.
For example, emergency housing could be 3D printed immediately
after a natural disaster. Machine construction of infrastructure
projects could eliminate the risks that come with human error.
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Education
3D printing has the potential to modernize classrooms and better
prepare students for technical careers.
Educators can produce visual aids like artifact replicas to
bring a lesson to life. Students can engage in hands-on learning
experiences that bring theory into the real world.
In higher education, 3D printing holds potential not only for
engineering students, but also for those in departments like art,
medicine, and anthropology.
MakerBot is one of the most prominent players in 3D printing for
education. Its printers come with hundreds of STEAM (science,
technology, engineering, art, and mathematics) lesson plans.
MakerBots are now available in 5,000 schools throughout the US.
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Food
The main value of 3D food printing lies in convenience and
customization. As specialized diets become more commonplace,
3D-printed food is poised to enable more personalized
on-demand eating experiences.
Originally limited to sugary, processed confections, the
technology has made strides to encompass a much wider range
of options. Now, some commercial kitchens have embraced 3D
printing, and a handful of companies have debuted at-home 3D
food printer prototypes.
Big names in 3D food printing include Beehex, a pizza printer that
serves large food service operations, and Yissum, a company that
employs a natural, calorie-free fiber to bind food components.
Natural Machines' Foodini can print a variety of foods using
natural ingredients, so long as they are able to be pureed. Natural
Machines claims that the possibilities are unlimited. The Foodini
is currently available for commercial kitchens, with a goal to bring
it to home cooks in the future.
Some food companies are already using 3D printing in their
production process. Dairy-free milk startup Perfect Day, for
example, uses 3D printing to make dairy proteins without cows.
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Prosthetics
Many doctors are optimistic about 3D printing's potential to
make prosthetic limbs, braces, and other mobility devices
more accessible.
In the US, prosthetics are typically priced anywhere from $5,000
to $50,000, and the process of obtaining one can take months.
3D printing drastically cuts costs and production time
a 3D-printed prosthetic can typically be made in a single day.
For people who wear prosthetics, the quality and comfort of the
device determines the activities that they can engage in on a daily
basis, so customization is paramount. 3D printing technology is
well suited to meet that need.
3D printing could help bring prosthetics to those most in need,
especially in developing countries affected by conflict or disease.
Volunteer organization Enabling the Future uses 3D printing to
make the $50 e-NABLE mechanical hand.
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Pharmaceutical Drugs
3D printing could allow drugs to be manufactured according to an
individual patient's needs and preferences.
Drug characteristics like shape, color, design, strength, release profile,
and distribution of ingredients cannot be easily modified in conventional
manufacturing processes. Now companies like vitamin startup
Multiply Labs, which leverages 3D printing to build made-to-order
personal supplements, are demonstrating the power of printing pills.
The technology could also affect injectable drugs. MIT
researchers have invented a new printing technique to develop
microparticles that deliver multiple, time-staggered doses of a
drug from a single vaccination.
There are significant regulatory hurdles that will need to be
overcome before 3D drug printing goes mainstream. The FDA's
Office of Testing and Research is further exploring applications of
3D printing for drug products.
To date, there is only one FDA-approved, 3D-printed drug: Spritam,
an anti-epileptic seizure medication, is designed to disintegrate within
seconds after swallowing. The producer, Aprecia Pharmaceuticals,
claims that the drug's unique structure cannot be achieved through
conventional manufacturing.
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Automotive
The automotive industry was one of the pioneers of 3D printing.
For automakers, the technology offers faster, more cost effective
product development cycles and end products that are strong
and lightweight.
So far, automotive companies have primarily used 3D printing
for pre-production tasks. As consumers demand more digitally
connected and environmentally friendly vehicles, the technology
has allowed automakers to design, test, and validate new
concepts faster than ever before.
Automotive companies are increasingly using 3D printing to
manufacture spare parts, jigs, and interior elements. This can
decrease reliance on external vendors and speed up the path
to market.
Several automakers have debuted prototypes that are produced
almost entirely by 3D printing. Italian company X Electrical
Vehicle says that that it will bring the first mass-produced
3D-printed car to market in 2019.
Automakers from Ford to BMW are exploring how to leverage
the technology for customization. Today, producing small
batches of customized auto parts and tooling is often cost
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prohibitive because they are formed with molding, which requires
a significant up-front investment.
3D printing eliminates the need for molding in many cases, so big
players like Stratasys could eventually enable fully customized
vehicles to reach a mainstream market.
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Art
Many in the art community have been quick to embrace 3D
printing. Today, an artist can draw a design by hand and then 3D
print it using materials like metal, glass, and ceramics.
In 2014, the Smithsonian Institution's National Portrait Gallery
revealed a 3D-printed portrait of President Obama. Other artistic
feats enabled by 3D printing include a sculptural replica of a
classic Van Gogh's "Sunflowers," and a project that analyzed the
entirety of Rembrandt's work.
MIT's Media Lab is envisioning a future in which it's possible to
create a 3D photorealistic representation of anything, regardless
of its complexity.
3D printing also can make art more accessible outside of
museums. Versus Art, for example, uses 3D printing to create
textured reproductions of famous paintings and displays them for
schools. Unlike in museums, students are able to touch the replicas
and feel the exact brush strokes used by the original artists.
Some have noted that 3D printing art brings up a host of ethics
and copyright concerns.
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Furniture
Designing furniture has traditionally required significant time and
investment. 3D printing simplifies the process, allowing designers
to test concepts more quickly and offer customers lower prices.
A custom table that would typically cost thousands of dollars
could cost just a couple hundred when printed.
3D printing also works well for controlling the density of a material,
which means that it can produce more lightweight furniture.
Groups at IKEA and MIT are among those working on bringing
3D-printed furniture to a mass market.
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Packaging
With 3D printing technology, packaging companies can
quickly develop new packaging designs and new equipment
to manufacture packaging. Anubis 3D, for example, invented
a 3D-printed robotic arm that assembles its packaging
more efficiently.
3D printing can also be used to fuse product and packaging.
Energy drink company Smart Cups has developed 3D-printed,
biodegradable cups that contain some of the drink ingredients.
The drink is created by adding water to the cup.
In the future, CPG brands could offer customers fully
customizable packaging options using 3D printing.
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Firearms
3D printing has seen some recent controversy due to its
applications in firearm production.
The issue started dominating headlines in July 2018, after the
Department of Justice announced a settlement with startup
Defense Distributed allowing the company to release digital
blueprints for 3D-printed guns. A federal judge has since delivered
the company a temporary restraining order.
Gun safety advocates and law enforcement officials have been
especially concerned about the printing of plastic guns that could
go undetected by metal detectors.
Just as governments have not been able to fully eliminate
counterfeit currency, it may be impossible to completely stop
3D-printed guns especially as printing technology becomes
more accessible.
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Drones
Drones are made up of several small parts that often need
replacing, making them good candidates for 3D printing.
Today, consumers can buy ready-made printable drone kits
online. If their drone crashes, they can 3D print spare parts
like propellers, antenna holders, and protective equipment.
Commercial manufacturers could someday print the entire
frame of a drone, with parts uniquely customized for specific
use cases.
US Army researchers have teamed up with the Marines to
develop 3D-printed UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) that
soldiers could customize for specific missions. They envision
that soldiers could have the UAV printed within 24 hours of
entering mission parameters.
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Medical Implants
Customization is crucial to medical implants. Each person's
anatomy is different, and in surgical settings, time is of the
essence. 3D printing could be leveraged to drastically improve
healthcare outcomes in cases involving implants.
A research project in Australia produced a system for bone cancer
surgery in which an implant is 3D printed just as the cancerous
bone is being removed. In this case, speed of production is a
game changer a situation that would normally require two
operations can be condensed into one.
In the US, the FDA recently approved a 3D-printed spine implant
created by Centinel Spine.
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Conservation
From artificial corals to prosthetics for wildlife, 3D printing has
proven useful in environmental conservation.
Because 3D printing is fast and can use a wide range of natural
materials, it may serve as a viable alternative to traditional
environmental restoration techniques. Scientists are even using
3D-printed tags to track species in danger of extinction.
3D printing has been heralded as an environmentally friendly
method of manufacturing in general. Printers can be
programmed to use only the minimum amount of materials
needed to make a product, and they can perform well with a
variety of recyclable materials.
However, many environmentalists point out that more research
needs to be done on the technology's energy consumption and
emissions footprint.
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Space Tech
The value proposition for 3D printing in the space tech industry is
clear: 3D printing can produce strong, lightweight equipment, and
with companies racing to explore space, rapid prototyping is key.
The CEO of Relativity Space believes that the future of space
tech lies in 3D printing. The company is one of a handful of space
tech players that are using 3D printing to build better rockets with
less capital.
Like Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin and Elon Musk's SpaceX, Relativity
has its eyes on Mars, and has stated that 3D printing will be
critical to scaling a society there.
NASA has also been looking into how it can harness 3D printing:
it has released open source models of printable projects, such
as the Apollo 11 landing site.
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Manual Transportation
For human-powered transportation methods, a vehicle's design
and materials have big implications on its speed and safety. For
example, carbon road bikes, favored by Tour de France cyclists,
are typically expensive and labor intensive.
Startup AREVO is using 3D printing to develop carbon fiber bikes,
which it claims require almost zero human labor.
Consumers are using 3D printing to make bicycle components,
accessories, spare parts and sometimes the entire bike. In
the future, cyclists might pull over at a rest stop and print a
replacement part for their bicycle, or a new customized helmet.
Consumer-focused 3D printing company MakerBot recently
debuted a functional 3D-printed skateboard. Skateboard
enthusiasts could select the specific material, design, and
technical elements that they want in a new skateboard and have it
3D printed within a few days.
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Agriculture
3D printing has a lot to offer agriculture, an industry that relies
on sturdy hardware and often takes place in isolated areas.
Farm equipment is made up of several small parts. If a piece
breaks during a harvest, the time it takes to get a replacement
delivered can be problematic. 3D printing presents an
opportunity to be more self-sufficient, especially for smaller farms.
Some farmers In Myanmar, an area with poor infrastructure and
limited access to quality tools, are using 3D printing to prototype
new tools.
In the US, 3D printing has the potential to disrupt battles
around Right to Repair legislation. If farmers were able to print
machinery themselves, they would no longer be beholden to
large machinery companies.
It's possible to imagine future scenarios where rural farmers are
able to print any spare part they may need, eliminating costly
trips to the supply store. They could experiment with printing
materials beyond metal, like recycled plastic, and develop a
circular economy.
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Aviation
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) predicts
that 7.2B passengers will travel by air in 2035. To keep up with
demand, aircraft manufacturers need to reduce costs and boost
fuel efficiency.
Giants like GE Aviation and Boeing are increasingly looking to 3D
printing to develop the aircrafts of the future.
GE developed the GE Catalyst, a new turboprop engine, using 3D
printing. The engine's designers were to combine 855 separate
parts into just 12.
Boeing announced that it will start using 3D-printed titanium parts
to construct the 787 Dreamliner jet, which could eventually save
up to $3M on each jet.
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Archaeology and Cultural
Preservation
Archaeologists often face challenges with getting access to
ancient artifacts. Traveling to see an artifact can be costly, but
not being able to examine it up close can impede research.
With 3D printing, archaeologists can share digital data files so
that anyone can print an accurate replica of an artifact. The
printed replica can then be handled and studied freely by
researchers, students, or the public.
A joint partnership between Harvard, Oxford, and the Dubai Future
Foundation recently unveiled a 3D-printed replica of the Palmyra
Triumphal Arch, an ancient ruin that was destroyed by the Islamic
State in 2015.
In Peru, archaeologists took the mummified remains of an ancient
priestess and reconstructed her appearance using 3D printing.
In the future, museums could 3D print entire heritage sites,
bringing the past to life with a level of accuracy that has not been
possible before.
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Consumer Electronics
Manufacturing devices like smartphones, tablets, and fitness
trackers typically involves several steps of assembly orchestrated
to enable mass production.
Manufacturers can use 3D printing to create devices as a single
part, with no assembly required. This is possible because printers
can combine conductive ink with the metals and plastics that
make up a product's exterior.
3D printing also offers greater freedom in design because it can
eliminate the need for flat circuit boards, allowing for devices of
all different shapes and sizes. The customization capabilities
of 3D printing could make it especially powerful for consumer
electronics, a space where made-to-order products are rare.
Today, consumer electronics manufacturers are using 3D printing
systems like Optomec to make antennas, sensors, and other
product elements. In the future, 3D printing could enable smaller,
sleeker, more customized consumer electronics to be made with
less waste.
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Toys
Digitization already has transformed the toy industry, with
manufacturers racing to create tech-enabled toys and compete
with screens for children's attention.
Now, 3D printing is part of the mix. Parents can print Legos,
action figures, and board games at home with devices like the
LulzBot Mini at-home printer.
A team at Michigan Technological University estimated that
consumers could save $60M per year in toy purchases by printing
toys themselves. They can also personalize toys and make
creations that aren't commercially available.
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Entertainment
The entertainment industry is harnessing 3D printing technology
to make eye-catching props, characters, and sets.
Set and prop designers often make numerous iterations of work
for their producers before getting approval. Rapid prototyping and
small batch production through 3D printing could go a long way in
making these processes more efficient.
Several high-profile films have employed 3D printing. A costume
designer from Marvel's Black Panther revealed that the team used
a Stratasys 3D printer to produce some of the costumes used in
the film.
The Oscar-nominated animated film Anomalisa relied on rapid
prototyping with 3D printers to create interchangeable faces and
expressions for the puppets used in their stop-motion animation.
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Fashion and Accessories
The rise of fast fashion has already disrupted the fashion
industry's seasonality, and 3D printing has the power to further
accelerate production. It also allows consumers to get involved
in designing the clothes they wear.
Because 3D printing works well with hard materials, it was
introduced to the fashion industry with jewelry, shoes, and
embellishments. Brands like Adidas, Reebok, and New Balance
all have launched 3D printing initiatives.
Many fashion houses, enabled by 3D technology companies like
CLO, are now using 3D scanning and 3D printing to create custom
products. Designer Iris Van Herpen unveiled a collection of
3D-printed garments during a show at Paris Fashion Week 2018.
Despite 3D printing's potential in the fashion industry, there
are limitations to what it can do with soft materials and
non-geometric shapes. Some envision a hybrid future in which
3D printing works in tandem with traditional methods to leverage
the best of both worlds.
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Defense
Timing and precision are critical in the defense space. Militaries
around the world, including the US Army, the British Army, the
Israeli Defense Forces, and the Chinese People's Liberation
Army, are experimenting with 3D printing to augment their
operational capabilities.
The US Department of Defense included funding for 3D printing
technology in the 2018 US military budget. The Subcommittee
on Emerging Threats and Capabilities described "significant
possibilities that additive manufacturing, or 3D printing, will
provide to the Department of Defense, both in revolutionizing
the industrial supply chain, as well as in providing radically new
technological capabilities."
The US military already has debuted a few notable 3D printing
projects, including a grenade launcher and a drone. This
concerted interest will likely drive companies that serve the
US military to further invest in the development of 3D printing
technology as well.
3D printing could also enable soldiers to produce their own
medicine and supplies on location.
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Music
The shape and material of an instrument determines its sound.
While 3D printing has yet to see major traction in the music
industry, it could enable new possibilities for instrument design,
composition, and sound.
Instrument manufacturers have started experimenting with 3D
printing, unveiling creations like a titanium violin and a set of
customized string instruments.
Printed instruments could become more common as 3D printing
technology develops to work with more materials outside of
plastic and metal. 3D printing could also help musicians access
spare parts while on tour.
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Regenerative Medicine
Scientists and doctors working in regenerative medicine have long
dreamed of being able to print replacement organs and tissues for
humans. Demand for organ transplants far exceeds supply.
"Bioprinting" refers to the use of 3D printing to make materials that
imitate those found in the human body. It can produce tissue, bone,
blood vessels, and potentially whole organs.
In the near term, bioprinted materials could provide a new way to
test drug safety without animals or clinical trials. L'Oreal is already
experimenting with 3D-printed skin to test its cosmetics products.
3D printed tissue has historically failed to connect properly with
blood vessels to receive oxygen and nutrients, but researchers are
now developing printed tissue that could survive in a human body.
This could have implications for conditions ranging from kidney
failure to arthritis to infertility.
While there is a long way to go before bioprinting can serve human
patients, there have been successful trials with mice. Scientists at
Northwestern University implanted 3D-printed ovaries in a mouse
that went on to reproduce and nurse.
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