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Additive Manufacturing --- Significantly reduces schedule and cost
– a new paradigm for industrial manufacturing
With Additive Manufacturing parts are built by melting thin layers of powder. Material is added instead of removed, as is the case in traditional machining.
Each layer is melted to the exact geometry defined by a CAD model. Additive Manufacturing allows for building parts with very complex geometries without tooling, fixtures and without producing any waste material.
Drivers for Additive Manufacturing
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Housing combining lattice structures and solid sections
Choosing Additive Manufacturing for production provides great benefits for the entire production value chain. The geometrical freedom allows you to engineer/design your part as you envision it, without manufacturing constraints. This can be translated to extreme light-weight designs, reduced part counts or improved bone ingrowth for an orthopedic implant . It is also a fast production route from CAD to a physical part with a very high material utilization and without the need to keep expensive castings or forgings on stock.
A green technology
In addition to the freedom in design and cost-efficiency, Additive Manufacturing is, due to its high material utilization, an energy-efficient and environmentally friendly manufacturing route.

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National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute (NAMII)
What is Additive Manufacturing?
Additive manufacturing, often referred to as three-dimensional (3D) printing, is a way of making products and components from a digital model, and is being applied in a wide range of industries including defense, aerospace, automotive, medical, and metals manufacturing. Like an office printer that puts 2D digital files on a piece of paper, a 3D printer creates components by depositing thin layers of material one after another using a digital blueprint until the exact component required has been created. There are many different technologies for additive manufacturing, and each one is best suited to different product applications and requirements.
Some of the technologies have been used for rapid prototyping for decades, but new developments are allowing them to be used for actual production.
Key benefits of additive manufacturing are that it enables shorter lead times, mass customization, reduced parts count, more complex shapes, parts on demand, less material waste, and lower lifecycle energy use. The Department of Defense envisions customizing parts on-site for operational systems that would otherwise be expensive to make or ship. The Department of Energy anticipates that additive processes would be able to save more than 50 percent of energy use compared to today’s ‘subtractive’ manufacturing processes.
The NAMII Mission
The focus of the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute (www.NAMII.org) is to accelerate additive manufacturing technologies to the U.S. manufacturing sector and increase domestic manufacturing competitiveness by:
 Fostering a highly collaborative infrastructure for the open exchange of additive manufacturing information and research.
 Facilitating the development, evaluation, and deployment of efficient and flexible additive manufacturing technologies.
 Engaging with educational institutions and companies to supply education and
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 training in additive manufacturing technologies to create an adaptive, leading workforce.
Serving as a national institute with regional and national impact on additive manufacturing capabilities.
Linking and integrating US companies with existing public, private or not-for-profit industrial and economic development resources, and business incubators, with an emphasis on assisting small- and medium-sized enterprises and early-stage companies
(start-ups).
First Year Accomplishments
NAMII’s first-year efforts focused on bringing together its many member organizations, establishing its Innovation Factory, further developing the roadmaps for the Institute and its initiatives, and starting research & development projects. Highlighted achievements include the following.
 Partnered with 79 member organizations, including companies, universities, community colleges, and non-profit organizations; implemented a governance model and

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 elected a Governance Board, Executive Committee, and Technical Advisory Board; adopted a membership agreement and an organization charter.
Hired a Director, four Deputy Directors, and an Innovation Factory Manager to execute the mission.
Established the Innovation Factory in Youngstown, Ohio, which included refurbishing a building and installing numerous 3D printing systems and ancillary equipment entrusted to NAMII by its members.
Funded seven research & development projects to be conducted by seven teams
 including 35 industry, university, and non-profit organizations.
Engaged with members to develop an industry-driven technology investment strategy that builds upon previous technology roadmaps and strategy documents and targets high-
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 value investments that are most appropriate for public-private partnership investments.
Developed plans for education and workforce training and outreach.
Began generating concepts and requirements for a website that will facilitate innovation and collaboration.
For further updates, see the NAMII website at namii.org
.
Membership
As of its one-year anniversary in August 2013, NAMII included the following organizations as members, with dozens of additional membership applications in-process:
Companies : 3D Systems, Abbatron, Alcoa, Allegheny Technologies Inc., APEX CNC Swiss
Inc., Applied Systems and Technology Transfer, Automated Dynamics, Bayer Material Science,
BioDevice Design, Boundary Systems, Catalyst Connection, ExOne, FMW Composite Systems,
Fourth Economy, , General Electric Global Research, Innovation Works, Johnson Controls,
Kennametal, Kent Displays, Liquid X Printed Metals, Lockheed Martin, Lubrizol, M-7
Technologies, Moog, Northrop Grumman, nScrypt, Optomec, OSRAM Sylvania, Oxford
Performance Materials, PTC Alliance, POM/DM3D Technology, rp+m, RTI, Solid Concepts,
Stratasys, Stratonics, Timken, Touchstone Research Lab, United Technologies Research Center,
Wohlers Associates
Universities : Carnegie Mellon University, Case Western Reserve University, Kent State
University, Lehigh University, Missouri University of Science and Technology, Penn State
University, Robert Morris University, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology,
University of Akron, University of Connecticut, University of Pittsburgh, University of Texas-
Austin, University of Texas – El Paso, University of Toledo, Wright State University
Youngstown State University
Community Colleges : Northampton Community College, Westmoreland County Community
College
Non-Profit Organizations : Association for Manufacturing Technology, Ben Franklin
Technology Partners, Concurrent Technologies Corporation, Delaware Valley Industrial
Resource Center, Energy Industries of Ohio, Greenleaf Corporation, IRC Network, JumpStart
Inc., Manufacturing Advocacy and Growth Network (MAGNET), Manufacturing Resource
Center, NorTech, Northeastern PA IRC, Northern Illinois Research Foundation, Northwest
Pennsylvania Industrial Resource Center, Ohio Aerospace Institute, Robert C. Byrd Institute,
Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME), TechSolve Inc., Youngstown Business Incubator.
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Historical Background
As part of his plan to catalyze a nationwide network of regional manufacturing innovation institutes, President Obama also acted to launch an institute that would further U.S. capabilities in an important emerging manufacturing technology and to pilot principles and approaches to guide the design and operation of the NNMI. Five federal agencies — the Departments of
Defense, Energy, and Commerce, the National Science Foundation, and NASA — jointly committed to invest in a pilot institute.
On May 9, 2012, the federal government issued a solicitation for proposals from teams led by non-profit organizations or universities to establish an Additive Manufacturing Innovation
Institute. The solicitation sought proposals, including technical and business plans, detailing steps to accelerate research, development, and demonstration in additive manufacturing and transition technology to manufacturing enterprises within the United States.
On August 16, 2012, after a competitive process, the Administration announced the selection of a new consortium led by the National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining
(NCDMM) to establish the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute (NAMII).
For more information:
NAMII web page
We Can’t Wait: Obama Administration Announces New Public-Private
Partnership to Support (White House press release) Obama Administration Announces New
Public-Private Partnership to Support Manufacturing Innovation, Encourage Investment in
America (Department of Commerce press release) NCDMM is Chosen to Manage National
Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute (NCDMM press release) Additive Manufacturing
(Department of Commerce fact sheet)
Acting Secretary of Commerce Rebecca Blank’s remarks at National Additive Manufacturing
Innovation Institute pilot announcement, Youngstown, Ohio
5

Additive Manufacturing Changes Everything:
how things are made, who makes them, where they are made, and even what is made.
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Globally, emerging manufacturing technologies are driving what some have called the “third industrial revolution
1 .” The U.S. has established the
Advanced Manufacturing Partnership
(AMP) to invest in the technologies and skills that will support a dynamic domestic advanced manufacturing sector that creates high-quality jobs and encourages companies to invest in the
United States.
One of these technologies, additive manufacturing, is not actually new, having existed in some form since the 1970s. However, recent advances in sensors, micromechanics, computational modeling and simulation, and materials have accelerated this technology, making it more mainstream. Need is also driving innovation, as additive manufacturing could help move manufacturing processes back “on shore.” As complex parts become easier to build, and the equipment and skills needed to build them become ubiquitous, individuals and countries could conceivably produce technologies, never before possible.
Designer Materials
A material's properties and overall performance are determined by its chemical composition, crystalline state, and underlying micro-architecture. These characteristics force engineers to accept certain trade-offs when choosing a material for a specific application. This concession made by engineers may soon be a thing of the past because of
Livermore-developed manufacturing practices that can produce designer materials with previously unattainable properties. Read more.

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Design Optimization for Additive Manufacturing
Recent advances in material design and fabrication have enabled production of customizable materials for a wealth of applications. Towards this end, Livermore researchers, in collaboration with external patners, are developing prototype additive manufacturing techniques to build highly optimized materials. The techniques allow designers to alter the 3D micro-architecture of a material to control its structural, functional, thermal, or other properties. As a result, materials can be made stronger, lighter, tougher, and more resistant to natural forces and external conditions, such as temperature fluctuations. Read more .
Multimaterials and Complex Parts
Imagine a part composed of multiple materials that can be made without seams or joints. Or a component with intricate shapes and complex geometry that can be fabricated as a single unit. By eliminating the weakest parts of components, the seams and joints, the products we use every day could be transformed. The ability to build complex geometries would make new products possible.
Read more.
Metal Additive Manufacturing
Researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory are embarking on new research that will transform manufacturing processes by introducing metal additive manufacturing with the ultimate goals of reducing material waste, cost, manufacturing footprint, and significantly reducing the time required to manufacture parts. Read more.

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Computational Methods for Rapid Certification
When bringing a new product to market, often the most costly and time-consuming step in the process is certification. Sometimes, the entire process--which usually involves developing several prototypes and multiple physical test certification cycles--may be abandoned because the risk of failure is too high to justify the investment. Certifying a product while in the design phase, then immediately fabricating it for final testing, would greatly reduce development times and cost. Digital manfacturing may soon make this possible. Read more.

Who Will Set The Standards For The Additive Manufacturing Industry?
Gary Anderson posted on September 23, 2013 | Comment | 2557 views
As a follow-up to " Additive Manufacturing Industry Needs Standards " by Kyle Maxey, I thought
I'd mention one of The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) grant winners that may be of interest to investors in 3D printing stocks. First, I’d like to quote one of the leading industry authorities, Terry Wohlers, on the importance of standards for real-time process monitoring during 3D printing: " Standards for processes and materials need to be created so that design engineers can specify AM with confidence. Systems need to include real-time process monitoring and control. System speed, maximum part size and costs must improve.”
Now it appears the NIST grant winners, as a consortium of Universities, non-profit organizations, private and publicly-traded companies, are going to be addressing this industry need. The goal “is to produce a “3D Quality Certificate” that would index in-process measurements to part geometry and properties.”
It probably comes as no surprise that the competitively awarded grants were won by large, well known industry players such as Oak Ridge National Laboratory, General Electric (Aviation and
Inspection Technologies), Lockheed Martin, Pratt & Whitney, Northrup Grumman, and Boeing.
But there is another company that will be part of this project that 3D printing investors might find interesting. I have confirmed through Mark Cola, CEO of Sigma Labs Inc., (SGLB), that they are also one of the grant winners via their wholly-owned subsidiary B6Sigma.
9

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Sigma Labs Inc. has been making inroads in the industry with notable player GE Aviation. Greg Morris, (GE Aviation’s business development leader), had this to say about Sigma
Labs while beta testing their patented real-time inspection hardware/software suite, “PrintRite3D”.
“Today, post-build inspection procedures account for as much as 25 percent of the time required to produce an additively manufactured engine component. By conducting those inspection procedures while the component is being built, GE Aviation and Sigma Labs will expedite production rates for GE’s additive manufactured engine components like the LEAP fuel nozzle.”
(see GE Aviation press release ) Sigma Labs plans to have their PrintRite3D system ( download
PDF here ) ready for launch next year. With the results that beta testing of PrintRite3D with GE
Aviation has shown, their grant award last week by NIST to set the standards for real-time process control for additive manufacturing, and planned commercialization of PrintRite3D next year, I believe Sigma Labs (SGLB) is “one to watch”. Disclosure: I own shares of Sigma Labs
Inc. I have not been paid by any company or any third party for this article.

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Additive Manufacturing to Complete New London Building
Kyle Maxey posted on September 24, 2013 |
Comment | 1001 views
Swedish construction firm Skanska is adding 3D printed components to the cladding of a building project. Designed by architect Fletcher Priest, the building at 6 Bevis Marks is a 16 story structure crowned by an enormous glass-covered courtyard.
To support this dome, the architects at Fletcher Priest created a series of 8 unique tree-like columns that sprout from the courtyard floor and branch out to beams supporting the glass above.
Because of their unique branching structure, advanced construction techniques were going to be needed to build the nodes that hide the bolted connection points for each of the columns branches. At first Skanska engineers envisioned the columns’ nodes being constructed from cast steel. However, since that process would require 8 separate casts, each of which would only ever produce 1 node, the engineers decided to scrap that plan and went looking for another method of production.
That’s when they came across SLS printing.
The architets and engineers agreed that the SLS
3D printing technique would deliver the aesthetic

13 and structural requirements that the project demanded.
In a process that took nearly 3 weeks, engineers created each of the nodes for the columns of the
Bevis Marks’ courtyard by printing them in sections and then joining them as they were mounted on the column. “We’re very excited by
[using 3D printing] – it’s the first time the company has used the technique,” said Skanska project manager Jonathan Inman. “
[And] we’re currently talking to other clients about other opportunities for 3D printing.”
While architects have been intrigued with the possibility of using 3D printing to create both aesthetic and structural components, Fletcher Priests project might be the high-profile case study that pushes printing to the fore in this innovative industry.

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NASA aims to eventually buy 3D Printed Engine Parts From U.S. Manufacturers
By Pat Host
NASA has started a test program that could eventually qualify 3D printed metal rocket engine components from United States manufacturers for use in the agency’s space vehicles.
“We want to be able to go into any shop in the U.S. that prints metal parts and buy parts from them and feel comfortable putting them in rocket motors,” Ken Cooper, NASA’s advanced manufacturing team lead, told Defense Daily in a recent interview. Cooper said NASA is putting together a design guidelines document on how to design a 3D printed metal part for optimal performance. Cooper said the agency is designing something similar to a “milspec,” or a specification standard for U.S. manufacturers, and that NASA hopes to have the draft guideline specification available by the end of the 2013 for public review. The qualification effort started about 13 months ago, Cooper said, when NASA Marshall installed a laser melting machine and started building test samples for testing at multiple temperatures and in different environments. Cooper said NASA Marshall’s next milestone is getting out a specification for alloy 718, a nickel chrome alloy, by the end of 2013. Alloy 718 has been the focus of the first year of testing for NASA Marshall, he said. Although NASA’s Marshall
Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., has been involved in 3D printing for over 20 years,
Cooper said the technology has finally evolved to the point where it can make full strength metal parts.

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Brad Bullard, NASA’s combustion devices team lead, told Defense Daily other components in the works for this 3D printing qualification program include various types of injectors, engine nozzles and other parts critical to rocket engine performance. NASA spokeswoman Tracy
McMahan said yesterday the agency will soon test an engine nozzle made at Marshall via the
3D printing process at NASA Stennis Space Center in Mississippi.
As part of the qualification test, NASA in August live-fired its largest 3D printed rocket engine component, an injector, during an engine firing that generated a record 20,000 pounds of thrust, according to a NASA statement. The injector delivers propellants to power an engine and provides the thrust necessary to send rockets into space.
During the injector test, which
NASA said was conducted at pressures up to 1,400 pounds per square inch in a vacuum and at almost 6,000 degrees Fahrenheit, liquid oxygen and gaseous hydrogen passed through the component into a combustion chamber and produced 10 times more thrust than any injector previously fabricated using 3D printing.
Bullard said the injector was made of Inconel 625, a nickel-based super alloy, and was roughly 9.5 inches in diameter by about five inches tall, or similar in size to injectors that power both small and large rocket engines, like the RS-25, NASA said in a statement. Bullard said it took the printer about 28 days to create the injector, much shorter than the six months it would take to manufacture the part conventionally, McMahan said recently, as NASA was able to skip many of the brazing and welding processes. Cooper said what used to be a large assembly for conventional manufacturing has been reduced to one homogenous piece due to
3D printing. NASA said minimizing the number of components is key to reducing the

cost of rocket parts. This injector had only two parts, whereas a similar injector tested earlier
16 had 115 parts. Fewer parts require less assembly effort, which means complex parts made with
3D printing have the potential for significant cost savings.
The 3D printed component testing is part of NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) affordability initiative-- developing ways to build rockets safer and cheaper. NASA also has another major 3D printing milestone on deck--it wants to have its first 3D printer flying in space by June 2014. Niki
Werkheiser, NASA’s lead for 3D printing in zero gravity, said in a video posted Aug. 12 on
NASA Marshall’s YouTube channel the goal for the agency’s 3D printing effort is to have it used on the International Space Station (ISS), where important parts can be in short supply.
If parts break or get lost, Werkheiser said, crew members have to wait for replacement parts or take advantage of multiple spares, which require vital storage space. “The idea here is that we will, on demand, be able to print replacement of spare parts as needed,” Werkheiser said. “We can have the prints pre-loaded onto the printer or we can upload directly from the ground.”
A 3D printed injector as it looked immediately after it was removed from the selected laser melting printer, left, and after inspection and polishing. Photo: NASA.

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Additive Manufacturing is Reinventing the Way We Work
Play Video
GE WORKS / BUILDING / ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING
100k Additive parts will be manufactured by GE Aviation by 2020
1k lbs Potential reduction in weight of a single aircraft engine through additive production
300+ 3D printing machines currently in use across GE
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Transforming manufacturing, one layer at a time
GE Researchers have been developing new technology in additive manufacturing for over 20 years. We see additive manufacturing as the next chapter in the industrial revolution. GE is committed to connecting with other innovators and growing a global additive ecosystem to accelerate the growth of this emerging industry.

How We Build
GE has a full-scale additive manufacturing facility in Cincinnati, Ohio, focused on the development and scale up of new alloys, processes and parts for additive use. We have a global team of 600 engineers at 21 sites driving additive and other advanced manufacturing technologies.

19
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What We Build
GE is focused on the development of parts and components in additive across its business portfolio. First applications will be a fuel nozzle for GE’s newest jet engine, the CFM
Leap. In Healthcare, GE researchers have developed a way to print ultrasound transducers that will dramatically reduce time and manufacturing costs versus manufacturing techniques used today.

Where We're Going
To ignite the next industrial revolution, an ecosystem that spans the additive manufacturing supply chain will be required to make it happen. The key challenges are how do we increase the speed of manufacturing and how do we scale up the size of the industry to meet both large and small scale industrial applications. Together we have an opportunity to create thousands of new businesses that create thousands of manufacturing jobs in additive manufacturing. Are you in?
019 Additive fuel nozzles to be installed on every CFM LEAP engine (over 4500 sold)
Follow @GE on Twitter
10 Breakthrough Technologies of 2013
MIT Technology Review includes additive manufacturing in a list of the top ten breakthrough technologies this year, showing how GE is on the verge of using 3-D printing to make parts for airplane engines.

Read More
Next Story
Agent of good. See how GE Healthcare is designing software to help hospitals build connected operations and reduce patient wait times.
20
Go to next story
See how GE Works

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Additive Manufacturing Users Group - AMUG educates and advances the uses and applications of additive manufacturing technologies.
AMUG is an independent, industry-wide users group that gives its members a forum for learning, information exchange and establishing professional connections. No matter what additive manufacturing technology you use, AMUG is here to assist you in getting the most from the technology and achieving all that is possible.
As a member, you have access to a wealth of knowledge and experience. Build from it to optimize operations, overcome challenges and avoid potential problems.
How do we do all that? We bring together our members at the annual conference . Our members exchange ideas and experiences in technical sessions, workshops and casual conversations.
Once there, you will find the event to be open, inviting and friendly. So, mark your calendars
— April 6 - 10, 2014, Tucson, Arizona.
Conference
Our event is open to all owners/operators of additive manufacturing equipment. The annual event features an exhibition as well as a technical conference where industry leaders present fresh ideas and cost-effective solutions for additive manufacturing and 3D printing.
 Technical Presentations

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 AMUG expo
 Awards Banquet
 Networking
April 6 - 10, Tucson, Arizona more...
Sponsors
The AMUG Conference is made possible by the generous contributions of sponsors who help underwrite the annual event. In return, sponsors are featured throughout the event and promoted in member communication. For details on our sponsor program, visit the sponsorship page.
AMUGexpo
In conjunction with the conference, we feature an AMUG expo , which is a unique opportunity for AM-related vendors to exhibit and showcase products and services to a very focused market segment. more...
News
9/12/13: 2014 Conference Registration Now Open
AMUG's online registration for Tucson, Arizona, conference now available.
more...

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3D printing From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For methods of applying a 2D image on a 3D surface, see pad printing . For methods of printing
2D parallax stereograms that seem 3D to the eye, see lenticular printing and holography .
An ORDbot Quantum 3D printer.
Timelapse video of a hyperboloid object (designed by George W. Hart ) made of PLA using a
RepRap "Prusa Mendel" 3D printer for molten polymer deposition.

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Part of a series on the
History of printing
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Woodblock printing (200)
Movable type (1040)
Printing press (1454)
Etching ( ca.
1500)
Mezzotint (1642)
Aquatint (1768)
Lithography (1796)
Chromolithography (1837)
Rotary press (1843)
Hectograph (1869)
Offset printing (1875)
Hot metal typesetting (1886)
Mimeograph (1890)
Screen printing (1907)
Spirit duplicator (1923)
Inkjet printing (1956)
Dye-sublimation (1957)
Phototypesetting (1960s)
Dot matrix printer (1964)
Laser printing (1969)
Thermal printing ( ca.
1972)
3D printing (1984)
Digital press (1993)
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Additive manufacturing or 3D printing
[1]
is a process of making a three-dimensional solid object of virtually any shape from a digital model . 3D printing is achieved using an additive process , where successive layers of material are laid down in different shapes.
[2]
3D printing is also considered distinct from traditional machining techniques, which mostly rely on the removal of material by methods such as cutting or drilling ( subtractive processes).

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A materials printer usually performs 3D printing processes using digital technology. The first working 3D printer was created in 1984 by Chuck Hull of 3D Systems Corp.
[3]
Since the start of the 21st century there has been a large growth in the sales of these machines, and their price has dropped substantially.
[4]
According to Wohlers Associates, a consultancy, the market for 3D printers and services was worth $2.2 billion worldwide in 2012, up 29% from 2011.
[5]
The 3D printing technology is used for both prototyping and distributed manufacturing with applications in architecture, construction (AEC), industrial design , automotive, aerospace , military, engineering , civil engineering, dental and medical industries, biotech (human tissue replacement), fashion, footwear, jewelry, eyewear, education, geographic information systems, food, and many other fields. It has been speculated
[6]
that 3D printing may become a mass market item because open source 3D printing can easily offset their capital costs by enabling consumers to avoid costs associated with purchasing common household objects.
[7]
Contents
[ hide ]
 1 Terminology
 2 General principles o 2.1 Modeling
 o 2.2 Printing o 2.3 Finishing
3 Additive processes o 3.1 Extrusion deposition o 3.2 Granular materials binding o o
3.3 Lamination
3.4 Photopolymerization
 4 Printers o 4.1 Printers for domestic use o 4.2 Printers for commercial and domestic use
 5 Applications
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 o 5.1 Industrial uses
 5.1.1 Rapid prototyping
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5.1.2 Rapid manufacturing
5.1.3 Mass customization
5.1.4 Mass production
5.2 Domestic and hobbyist uses o o 5.3 Clothing o 5.4 3D printing services
 o 5.5 Research into new applications
 6 Intellectual property
7 Effects of 3D printing o 7.1 Space exploration o 7.2 Firearms
8 See also
9 References
10 Bibliography

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11 Further reading
12 External links
Terminology[ edit ]
Although scientists and technicians have long been fascinated with the idea of replicating technology, it was not until the 1980s that the concept of 3D printing really began to be taken seriously.
[8]
. The man most often credited with inventing the language of 'modern' 3D printer is
Charles W. Hull , who first patented the term 'stereolithography' (defined as "system for generating three-dimensional objects by creating a cross-sectional pattern of the object to be formed") in 1984.
[9][10]
The term additive manufacturing refers to technologies that create objects through a sequential layering process. Objects that are manufactured additively can be used anywhere throughout the product life cycle, from pre-production (i.e. rapid prototyping ) to full-scale production (i.e. rapid manufacturing ), in addition to tooling applications and post-production customization.
In manufacturing , and machining in particular, subtractive methods are typically coined as traditional methods. The very term subtractive manufacturing is a retronym developed in recent years to distinguish it from newer additive manufacturing techniques. Although fabrication has included methods that are essentially "additive" for centuries (such as joining plates, sheets, forgings, and rolled work via riveting, screwing, forge welding, or newer kinds of welding), it did not include the information technology component of model-based definition. Machining
(generating exact shapes with high precision) has typically been subtractive, from filing and turning to milling and grinding.
General principles[ edit ]
3D model slicing.
Modeling[ edit ]
Additive manufacturing takes virtual blueprints from computer aided design (CAD) or animation modeling software and "slices" them into digital cross-sections for the machine to successively use as a guideline for printing. Depending on the machine used, material or a binding material is deposited on the build bed or platform until material/binder layering is complete and the final 3D model has been "printed."

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A standard data interface between CAD software and the machines is the STL file format . An
STL file approximates the shape of a part or assembly using triangular facets. Smaller facets produce a higher quality surface. PLY is a scanner generated input file format, and VRML (or
WRL) files are often used as input for 3D printing technologies that are able to print in full color.
Printing[ edit ]
To perform a print, the machine reads the design from an .stl file and lays down successive layers of liquid, powder, paper or sheet material to build the model from a series of cross sections. These layers, which correspond to the virtual cross sections from the CAD model, are joined or automatically fused to create the final shape. The primary advantage of this technique is its ability to create almost any shape or geometric feature.
Printer resolution describes layer thickness and X-Y resolution in dpi (dots per inch),
[ citation needed ] or micrometers. Typical layer thickness is around 100 micrometers (µm), although some machines such as the Objet Connex series and 3D Systems' ProJet series can print layers as thin as 16 µm.
[11]
X-Y resolution is comparable to that of laser printers. The particles (3D dots) are around 50 to 100 µm in diameter.
Construction of a model with contemporary methods can take anywhere from several hours to several days, depending on the method used and the size and complexity of the model. Additive systems can typically reduce this time to a few hours, although it varies widely depending on the type of machine used and the size and number of models being produced simultaneously.
Traditional techniques like injection molding can be less expensive for manufacturing polymer products in high quantities, but additive manufacturing can be faster, more flexible and less expensive when producing relatively small quantities of parts. 3D printers give designers and concept development teams the ability to produce parts and concept models using a desktop size printer.
Finishing[ edit ]
Though the printer-produced resolution is sufficient for many applications, printing a slightly oversized version of the desired object in standard resolution, and then removing material with a higher-resolution subtractive process can achieve greater precision.
Some additive manufacturing techniques are capable of using multiple materials in the course of constructing parts. Some are able to print in multiple colors and color combinations simultaneously. Some also utilize supports when building. Supports are removable or dissolvable upon completion of the print, and are used to support overhanging features during construction.
Additive processes[ edit ]
Rapid prototyping worldwide 2001
[12]

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The Audi RSQ was made with rapid prototyping industrial KUKA robots.
Several different 3D printing processes have been invented since the late 1970s. The printers were originally large, expensive, and highly limited in what they could produce.
[13]
A number of additive processes are now available. They differ in the way layers are deposited to create parts and in the materials that can be used. Some methods melt or soften material to produce the layers, e.g. selective laser melting (SLM) or direct metal laser sintering (DMLS), selective laser sintering (SLS), fused deposition modeling (FDM), while others cure liquid materials using different sophisticated technologies, e.g. stereolithography (SLA). With laminated object manufacturing (LOM), thin layers are cut to shape and joined together (e.g. paper, polymer, metal). Each method has its own advantages and drawbacks, and some companies consequently offer a choice between powder and polymer for the material from which the object is built.
[14] Some companies use standard, off-the-shelf business paper as the build material to produce a durable prototype. The main considerations in choosing a machine are generally speed, cost of the 3D printer, cost of the printed prototype, and cost and choice of materials and color capabilities.
[15]
Printers that work directly with metals are expensive. In some cases, however, less expensive printers can be used to make a mould, which is then used to make metal parts.
[16]
Type Technologies Materials
Extrusion
Fused deposition modeling
(FDM)
Thermoplastics (e.g. PLA , ABS ), HDPE , eutectic metals, edible materials
Wire
Electron Beam Freeform
Fabrication (EBF
3
)
Almost any metal alloy
Granular
Direct metal laser sintering
(DMLS)
Almost any metal alloy
Electron beam melting
(EBM)
Selective laser melting
Titanium alloys
Titanium alloys , Cobalt Chrome alloys ,

29
(SLM)
Selective heat sintering
(SHS) [ citation needed ]
Stainless Steels , Aluminium
Thermoplastic powder
Selective laser sintering
(SLS)
Powder bed and inkjet head 3D printing
Plaster-based 3D printing
(PP)
Laminated
Light polymerised
Thermoplastics powders
Plaster
, metal powders
Laminated object manufacturing (LOM)
Paper , metal foil
Stereolithography (SLA) photopolymer
, plastic film
Digital Light Processing
(DLP) photopolymer
, ceramic
Extrusion deposition[ edit ]
Fused deposition modeling: 1 – nozzle ejecting molten plastic, 2 – deposited material (modeled part), 3 – controlled movable table.
Main article: Fused deposition modeling
Fused deposition modeling (FDM) was developed by S. Scott Crump in the late 1980s and was commercialized in 1990 by Stratasys .
[17]
With the expiration of patent on this technology there is now a large open-source development community this type of 3D printer (e.g. RepRaps ) and many commercial and DIY variants, which have dropped the cost by two orders of magnitude.
Fused deposition modeling uses a plastic filament or metal wire that is wound on a coil and unreeled to supply material to an extrusion nozzle, which turns the flow on and off. The nozzle

30 heats to melt the material and can be moved in both horizontal and vertical directions by a numerically controlled mechanism that is directly controlled by a computer-aided manufacturing
(CAM) software package. The model or part is produced by extruding small beads of thermoplastic material to form layers as the material hardens immediately after extrusion from the nozzle. Stepper motors or servo motors are typically employed to move the extrusion head.
Various polymers are used, including acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), polycarbonate (PC), polylactic acid (PLA), high density polyethylene (HDPE), PC/ABS, and polyphenylsulfone
(PPSU). In general the polymer is in the form of a filament, fabricated from virgin resins.
Multiple projects in the open-source community exist that are aimed at processing post-consumer plastic waste into filament. These involve machines to shred and extrude the plastic material into filament.
FDM has some restrictions on the shapes that may be fabricated. For example, FDM usually cannot produce stalactite-like structures, since they would be unsupported during the build.
These have to be avoided or a thin support may be designed into the structure which can be broken away during finishing processes.
Granular materials binding[ edit ]
The CandyFab granular printing system uses heated air and granulated sugar to produce foodgrade art objects.
Another 3D printing approach is the selective fusing of materials in a granular bed. The technique fuses parts of the layer, and then moves the working area downwards, adding another layer of granules and repeating the process until the piece has built up. This process uses the unfused media to support overhangs and thin walls in the part being produced, which reduces the need for temporary auxiliary supports for the piece. A laser is typically used to sinter the media into a solid. Examples include selective laser sintering (SLS), with both metals and polymers
(e.g. PA, PA-GF, Rigid GF, PEEK, PS, Alumide , Carbonmide, elastomers), and direct metal laser sintering (DMLS).
Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) was developed and patented by Dr. Carl Deckard and Dr. Joseph
Beaman at the University of Texas at Austin in the mid-1980s, under sponsorship of DARPA .
[18]
A similar process was patented without being commercialized by R. F. Housholder in 1979.
[19]
Selective Laser Melting (SLM) does not use sintering for the fusion of powder granules but will completely melt the powder using a high-energy laser to create fully dense materials in a layerwise method with similar mechanical properties to conventional manufactured metals.

31
Electron beam melting (EBM) is a similar type of additive manufacturing technology for metal parts (e.g. titanium alloys ). EBM manufactures parts by melting metal powder layer by layer with an electron beam in a high vacuum. Unlike metal sintering techniques that operate below melting point, EBM parts are fully dense, void-free, and very strong.
[20][21]
Another method consists of an inkjet 3D printing system. The printer creates the model one layer at a time by spreading a layer of powder ( plaster , or resins ) and printing a binder in the crosssection of the part using an inkjet-like process. This is repeated until every layer has been printed. This technology allows the printing of full color prototypes, overhangs, and elastomer parts. The strength of bonded powder prints can be enhanced with wax or thermoset polymer impregnation.
Lamination[ edit ]
Main article: Laminated object manufacturing
In some printers, paper can be used as the build material, resulting in a lower cost to print.
During the 1990s some companies marketed printers that cut cross sections out of special adhesive coated paper using a carbon dioxide laser, and then laminated them together.
In 2005, Mcor Technologies Ltd developed a different process using ordinary sheets of office paper, a Tungsten carbide blade to cut the shape, and selective deposition of adhesive and pressure to bond the prototype.
[22]
There are also a number of companies selling printers that print laminated objects using thin plastic and metal sheets.
Photopolymerization[ edit ]
Stereolithography apparatus.
Main article: Stereolithography
Stereolithography was patented in 1987 by Chuck Hull . Photopolymerization is primarily used in stereolithography (SLA) to produce a solid part from a liquid.This process dramatically

32 redefined previous efforts, from the Photosculpture method of François Willème (1830-1905) in
1860
[23]
through the photopolymer process of Mitsubishi`s Matsubara in 1974.
[24]
In digital light processing (DLP), a vat of liquid polymer is exposed to light from a DLP projector under safelight conditions. The exposed liquid polymer hardens. The build plate then moves down in small increments and the liquid polymer is again exposed to light. The process repeats until the model has been built. The liquid polymer is then drained from the vat, leaving the solid model. The EnvisionTec Ultra
[25]
is an example of a DLP rapid prototyping system.
Inkjet printer systems like the Objet PolyJet system spray photopolymer materials onto a build tray in ultra-thin layers (between 16 and 30 µm) until the part is completed. Each photopolymer layer is cured with UV light after it is jetted, producing fully cured models that can be handled and used immediately, without post-curing. The gel-like support material, which is designed to support complicated geometries, is removed by hand and water jetting. It is also suitable for elastomers.
Ultra-small features can be made with the 3D microfabrication technique used in multiphoton photopolymerization. This approach traces the desired 3D object in a block of gel using a focused laser. Due to the nonlinear nature of photoexcitation, the gel is cured to a solid only in the places where the laser was focused and the remaining gel is then washed away. Feature sizes of under 100 nm are easily produced, as well as complex structures with moving and interlocked parts.
[26]
Yet another approach uses a synthetic resin that is solidified using LEDs .
[27]
Printers[ edit ]
Printers for domestic use[ edit ]
RepRap version 2.0 (Mendel).

33
MakerBot Cupcake CNC.
Airwolf 3D AW3D v.4 (Prusa).
Several projects and companies are making efforts to develop affordable 3D printers for home desktop use. Much of this work has been driven by and targeted at DIY /enthusiast/ early adopter communities, with additional ties to the academic and hacker communities.
[28]
RepRap is one of the longest running projects in the desktop category. The RepRap project aims to produce a free and open source software (FOSS) 3D printer, whose full specifications are released under the GNU General Public License , and which is capable of replicating itself by

34 printing many of its own (plastic) parts to create more machines.
[29]
Research is under way to enable the device to print circuit boards and metal parts.
Because of the FOSS aims of RepRap, many related projects have used their design for inspiration, creating an ecosystem of related or derivative 3D printers, most of which are also open source designs. The availability of these open source designs means that variants of 3D printers are easy to invent. The quality and complexity of printer designs, however, as well as the quality of kit or finished products, varies greatly from project to project. This rapid development of open source 3D printers is gaining interest in many spheres as it enables hyper-customization and the use of public domain designs to fabricate open source appropriate technology through conduits such as Thingiverse and Cubify. This technology can also assist initiatives in sustainable development since technologies are easily and economically made from resources available to local communities.
[30]
The cost of 3D printers has decreased dramatically since about 2010, with machines that used to cost $20,000 costing less than $1,000.
[31]
For instance, as of 2013, several companies and individuals are selling parts to build various RepRap designs, with prices starting at about €400 /
US$500.
[32] The price of printer kits vary from US$400 for the Printrbot Jr. (derived from the previous RepRap models), to US$599 for the RoBo 3D Printer to over US$2000 for the
Fab@Home 2.0 two-syringe system.
[32]
The Shark 3D printer comes fully assembled for less than US$2000. The open source Fab@Home project
[33]
has developed printers for general use with anything that can be squirted through a nozzle, from chocolate to silicone sealant and chemical reactants. Printers following the project's designs have been available from suppliers in kits or in pre-assembled form since 2012 at prices in the US$2000 range.
[32]
Printers for commercial and domestic use[ edit ]
The development and hyper-customization of the RepRap-based 3D printers has produced a new category of printers suitable for both domestic and commercial use. The least expensive assembled machine available is the Solidoodle 2, while the RepRapPro's Huxley DIY kit is reputedly
[ weasel words ]
one of the more reliable of the lower-priced machines, at around US$680.
There are other RepRap-based high-end kits and fully assembled machines that have been enhanced to print at high speed and high definition. Depending on the application, the print resolution and speed of manufacturing lies somewhere between a personal printer and an industrial printer. A list of printers with pricing and other information is maintained.
[32]
Most recently delta robots have been utilized for 3D printing to increase fabrication speed further.
[34]
Applications[ edit ]
Three-dimensional printing makes it as cheap to create single items as it is to produce thousands and thus undermines economies of scale . It may have as profound an impact on the world as the coming of the factory did....Just as nobody could have predicted the impact of the steam engine in 1750 —or the printing press in 1450 , or the transistor in 1950 —it is impossible to foresee the long-term impact of 3D printing. But the technology is coming, and it is likely to disrupt every field it touches.
— The Economist , in a February 10, 2011 leader [35]

35
An example of 3D printed limited edition jewellery . This necklace is made of glassfiber-filled dyed nylon. It has rotating linkages that were produced in the same manufacturing step as the other parts.
Additive manufacturing's earliest applications have been on the toolroom end of the manufacturing spectrum. For example, rapid prototyping was one of the earliest additive variants, and its mission was to reduce the lead time and cost of developing prototypes of new parts and devices, which was earlier only done with subtractive toolroom methods (typically slowly and expensively).
[36]
With technological advances in additive manufacturing, however, and the dissemination of those advances into the business world, additive methods are moving ever further into the production end of manufacturing in creative and sometimes unexpected ways.
[36]
Parts that were formerly the sole province of subtractive methods can now in some cases be made more profitably via additive ones.
Standard applications include design visualization, prototyping/CAD, metal casting, architecture, education, geospatial, healthcare, and entertainment/retail.
Industrial uses[ edit ]
Rapid prototyping[ edit ]
Main article: rapid prototyping

36
Full color miniature face models produced on a 3D Printer.
Printing going on with a 3D printer at Makers Party Bangalore 2013, Bangalore
Industrial 3D printers have existed since the early 1980s and have been used extensively for rapid prototyping and research purposes. These are generally larger machines that use proprietary powdered metals, casting media (e.g. sand), plastics, paper or cartridges, and are used for rapid prototyping by universities and commercial companies.
Rapid manufacturing[ edit ]
Advances in RP technology have introduced materials that are appropriate for final manufacture, which has in turn introduced the possibility of directly manufacturing finished components. One advantage of 3D printing for rapid manufacturing lies in the relatively inexpensive production of small numbers of parts.
Rapid manufacturing is a new method of manufacturing and many of its processes remain unproven. 3D printing is now entering the field of rapid manufacturing and was identified as a
"next level" technology by many experts in a 2009 report.
[37] One of the most promising processes looks to be the adaptation of laser sintering (LS), one of the better-established rapid prototyping methods. As of 2006, however, these techniques were still very much in their infancy, with many obstacles to be overcome before RM could be considered a realistic manufacturing method.
[38]
Mass customization[ edit ]
Companies have created services where consumers can customize objects using simplified web based customization software, and order the resulting items as 3D printed unique objects.
[39][40]
This now allows consumers to create custom cases for their mobile phones.
[41]
Nokia has released the 3D designs for its case so that owners can customize their own case and have it 3D printed.
[42]
Mass production[ edit ]

37
This section requires expansion . (November 2012)
The current slow print speed of 3D printers limits their use for mass production . To reduce this overhead, several fused filament machines now offer multiple extruder heads. These can be used to print in multiple colors, with different polymers, or to make multiple prints simultaneously.
This increases their overall print speed during multiple instance production, while requiring less capital cost than duplicate machines since they can share a single controller. Distinct from the use of multiple machines, multi-material machines are restricted to making identical copies of the same part, but can offer multi-color and multi-material features when needed. The print speed increases proportionately to the number of heads. Furthermore, the energy cost is reduced due to the fact that they share the same heated print volume. Together, these two features reduce overhead costs.
Many printers now offer twin print heads. However, these are used to manufacture single (sets of) parts in multiple colors/materials.
Few studies have yet been done in this field to see if conventional subtractive methods are comparable to additive methods.
Domestic and hobbyist uses[ edit ]
This section requires expansion . (May 2012)
As of 2012, domestic 3D printing has mainly captivated hobbyists and enthusiasts and has not quite gained recognition for practical household applications. A working clock has been made
[43] and gears have been printed for home woodworking machines [44] among other purposes.
[45] 3D printing is also used for ornamental objects. Web sites associated with home 3D printing tend to include backscratchers, coathooks, etc. among their offered prints.
The open source Fab@Home project
[33]
has developed printers for general use. They have been used in research environments to produce chemical compounds with 3D printing technology, including new ones, initially without immediate application as proof of principle.
[46]
The printer can print with anything that can be dispensed from a syringe as liquid or paste. The developers of the chemical application envisage that this technology could be used for both industrial and domestic use. Including, for example, enabling users in remote locations to be able to produce their own medicine or household chemicals.
[47][48]
Clothing[ edit ]
3D printing has spread into the world of clothing with fashion designers experimenting with 3Dprinted bikinis, shoes, and dresses.
[49]
In commercial production Nike is using 3D printing to prototype and manufacture the 2012 Vapor Laser Talon football shoe for players of American football, and New Balance is 3D manufacturing custom-fit shoes for athletes.
[49][50]
3D printing services[ edit ]
Some companies offer on-line 3D printing services open to both consumers and industries.
[51]
Such services require people to upload their 3D designs to the company website. Designs are

38 then 3D printed using industrial 3D printers and either shipped to the customer or in some cases, the consumer can pick the object up at the store.
[52]
Research into new applications[ edit ]
Future applications for 3D printing might include creating open-source scientific equipment
[53][54] or other science-based applications like reconstructing fossils in paleontology , replicating ancient and priceless artifacts in archaeology , reconstructing bones and body parts in forensic pathology , and reconstructing heavily damaged evidence acquired from crime scene investigations. The technology is even being explored for building construction .
In 2005, academic journals had begun to report on the possible artistic applications of 3D printing technology.
[55]
By 2007 the mass media followed with an article in the Wall Street
Journal
[56]
and Time Magazine, listing a 3D printed design among their 100 most influential designs of the year.
[57]
During the 2011 London Design Festival, an installation, curated by
Murray Moss and focused on 3D Printing, was held in the Victoria and Albert Museum (the
V&A). The installation was called Industrial Revolution 2.0: How the Material World will Newly
Materialize .
[58]
As of 2012, 3D 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 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.
[59]
Several terms have been used to refer to this field of research: organ printing, bio-printing, body part printing,
[60]
and computer-aided tissue engineering , among others.
[61]
A proof-of-principle project at the University of Glasgow , UK, in 2012 showed that it is possible to use 3D printing techniques to create chemical compounds , including new ones. They first printed chemical reaction vessels , then used the printer to squirt reactants into them as "chemical inks" which would then react.
[46]
They have produced new compounds to verify the validity of the process, but have not pursued anything with a particular application.
[46] Cornell Creative
Machines Lab has confirmed that it is possible to produce customized food with 3D
Hydrocolloid Printing.
[62]
The use of 3D scanning technologies allows the replication of real objects without the use of moulding techniques that in many cases can be more expensive, more difficult, or too invasive to be performed, particularly for precious or delicate cultural heritage artifacts
[63]
where direct contact with the molding substances could harm the original object's surface.
An additional use being developed is building printing , or using 3D printing to build buildings.
This could allow faster construction for lower costs, and has been investigated for construction of off-Earth habitats.
[64][65]
Employing additive layer technology offered by 3D printing, Terahertz devices which act as waveguides, couplers and bends have been created. The complex shape of these devices could not be achieved using conventional fabrication techniques. Commercially available professional grade printer EDEN 260V was used to create structures with minimum feature size of 100 µm.
The printed structures were later DC sputter coated with gold (or any other metal) to create a
Terahertz Plasmonic Device.
[66]
In 2013, Chinese scientists began printing ears, livers and kidneys, with living tissue.
Researchers in China have been able to successfully print human organs using specialized 3D bio printers that use living cells instead of plastic. Researchers at Hangzhou Dianzi University

39 actually went as far as inventing their own 3D printer for the complex task, dubbed the
“Regenovo” which is a "3D bio printer." Xu Mingen, Regenovo's developer, said that it takes the printer under an hour to produce either a mini liver sample or a four to five inch ear cartilage sample. Xu also predicted that fully functional printed organs may be possible within the next ten to twenty years.
[67][68]
In the same year, researchers at the University of Hasselt , in Belgium had successfully printed a new jawbone for an 83-year-old Belgian woman. The woman is now able to chew, speak and breathe normally again after a machine printed her a new jawbone.
[69]
In Bahrain , large-scale 3D printing using a sandstone -like material has been used to create unique coral -shaped structures, which encourage coral polyps to colonize and regenerate damaged reefs . These structures have a much more natural shape than other structures used to create artificial reefs , and have a neutral pH which concrete does not.
[70]
Intellectual property[ edit ]
3D printing has existed for decades within certain manufacturing industries and many legal regimes, including patents , industrial design rights , copyright , and trademark can apply.
However, there is not much jurisprudence to say how these laws will apply if 3D printers become mainstream and individuals and hobbyist communities begin manufacturing items for personal use, for non profit distribution, or for sale.
Any of the mentioned legal regimes may prohibit the distribution of the designs used in 3d printing, or the distribution or sale of the printed item. To be allowed to do these things, a person would have to contact the owner and ask for a licence, which may come with conditions and a price.
Patents cover an idea, a technique, and generally last 20 years. So if a special type of wheel is patented, then printing and selling such a wheel would be illegal. Two questions which are less clear are whether printing for personal use would be restricted, and whether distributing designs would constitute infringement or a relate offence such as incitement to infringe.
Copyright covers an expression
[71]
and often last for the life of the author plus 70 years thereafter.
[72]
If someone makes a statue, they may have copyright on the look of that statue, so if someone sees that statue, they cannot then distribute designs to print an identical or similar statue.
When a feature has both artistic (copyrightable) and functional (patentable) merits, when the question has appeared in US court, the courts have often held the feature is not copyrightable unless it can be separated from the functional aspects of the item.
[72]
Effects of 3D printing[ edit ]
Additive manufacturing, starting with today's infancy period, requires manufacturing firms to be flexible, ever-improving users of all available technologies in order to remain competitive.
Advocates of additive manufacturing also predict that this arc of technological development will counter globalisation , as end users will do much of their own manufacturing rather than engage in trade to buy products from other people and corporations.
[13]
The real integration of the newer additive technologies into commercial production, however, is more a matter of complementing traditional subtractive methods rather than displacing them entirely.
[73]
Space exploration[ edit ]
As early as 2010, work began on applications of 3D printing in zero or low gravity environments.
[74]
The primary concept involves creating basic items such as hand tools or other

more complicated devices "on demand" versus using valuable resources such as fuel or cargo space to carry the items into space.
Additionally, NASA is conducting tests to assess the potential of 3D printing to make space exploration cheaper and more efficient.
[75]
Rocket parts built using this technology have passed
NASA firing tests. In July 2013, two rocket engine injectors performed as well as traditionally constructed parts during hot-fire tests which exposed them to temperatures approaching 6,000 degrees Fahrenheit (3,316 degrees Celsius) and extreme pressures.
40
Firearms[ edit ]
In 2012, the U.S.-based group Defense Distributed disclosed plans to "[design] a working plastic gun that could be downloaded and reproduced by anybody with a 3D printer."
[76][77]
Defense
Distributed has also designed a 3D printable AR-15 type rifle lower receiver (capable of lasting more than 650 rounds) and a 30 round M16 magazine.
[78]
Soon after Defense Distributed succeeded in designing the first working blueprint to produce a plastic gun with a 3D printer in
May 2013, the United States Department of State demanded that they remove the instructions from their website.
[79]
After Defense Distributed released their plans, questions were raised regarding the effects that
3D printing and widespread consumer-level CNC machining
[80][81]
may have on gun control effectiveness.
[82][83][84][85]
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Joint Regional Intelligence Center released a memo stating that "significant advances in three-dimensional (3D) printing capabilities, availability of free digital 3D printer files for firearms components, and difficulty regulating file sharing may present public safety risks from unqualified gun seekers who obtain or manufacture
3D printed guns," and that "proposed legislation to ban 3D printing of weapons may deter, but cannot completely prevent their production. Even if the practice is prohibited by new legislation, online distribution of these digital files will be as difficult to control as any other illegally traded music, movie or software files." [86]
Internationally, where gun controls are generally tighter than in the United States, some commentators have said the impact may be more strongly felt, as alternative firearms are not as easily obtainable.
[87]
European officials have noted that producing a 3D printed gun would be illegal under their gun control laws,
[88]
and that criminals have access to other sources of weapons, but noted that as the technology improved the risks of an effect would increase.
[89][90]
Downloads of the plans from the UK, Germany, Spain, and Brazil were heavy.
[91][92]
Attempting to restrict the distribution over the Internet of gun plans has been likened to the futility of preventing the widespread distribution of DeCSS which enabled DVD ripping .
[93][94][95][96]
After the US government had Defense Distributed take down the plans, they were still widely available via The Pirate Bay and other file sharing sites.
[97] Some US legislators have proposed regulations on 3D printers, to prevent them being used for printing guns.
[98][99]
3D printing advocates have suggested that such regulations would be futile, could cripple the 3D printing industry, and could infringe on free speech rights.
[100][101][102][103][104][105][106]
See also[ edit ]
Design portal

41
 3D modeling
 3D scanner


Additive Manufacturing File Format
 Cladding (metalworking)
Mcor Technologies Ltd


RepRap Project
 Fab lab
Fab@Home
 List of common 3D test models


List of emerging technologies
 Organ-on-a-chip
Self-replicating machine


Tissue engineering
 Milling (machining) - computer controlled machine production
Numerical control - DIY machine production
 Replicator (Star Trek)
 X3D - royalty free file format suitable for 3D Printing
References[ edit ]
1.
2.
Jump up ^ The engineer: The rise of additive manufacturing
Jump up ^ "3D Printer Technology – Animation of layering" . Create It Real.
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Jump up ^ François Willème's "photosculpture" method consisted of photographing a subject from a variety of angles (but all at the same distance from the subject) and then projecting each photograph onto a screen, whence a pantagraph was used to trace the outline onto modeling clay. See:
 Beaumont Newhall (May 1958) "Photosculpture," Image , 7 (5) : 100-105.

Available on-line at: Eastman House.org
.
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Bibliography[ edit ]


Vincent; Earls, Alan R. (February 2011). "Origins: A 3D Vision Spawns Stratasys, Inc.
Today's Machining World's new feature "Origins" tells us the stories of how successful technologies, companies and people got their start. This month we interview a pioneer of rapid prototyping technology, Scott Crump, the founder and CEO of Stratasys Inc" .
Today's Machining World (Oak Forest, Illinois, USA: Screw Machine World Inc) 7 (1):
24–25.
Albert, Mark [Editor in Chief] (2011-01-17). "Subtractive plus additive equals more than
( − + + = > ): subtractive and additive processes can be combined to develop innovative manufacturing methods that are superior to conventional methods ['Mark: My Word' column—Editor's Commentary]" . Modern Machine Shop (Cincinnati, Ohio, USA:
Gardner Publications Inc) 83 (9): 14.
Further reading[ edit ]
 Stephens, Brent; Parham Azimia, Zeineb El Orcha, Tiffanie Ramos (November 2013).
"Ultrafine Particle Emissions from Desktop 3D Printers" . Atmospheric Environment 79 :
334–339. doi : 10.1016/j.atmosenv.2013.06.050
. Retrieved 13 August 2013.
 Easton, Thomas A. (November 2008). "The 3D Trainwreck: How 3D Printing Will Shake

Up Manufacturing". Analog 128 (11): 50–63.
Wright, Paul K. (2001). 21st Century Manufacturing . New Jersey: Prentice-Hall Inc.
External links[ edit ]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: 3D printing
 3D printed gun breaches tight gov security in Israel
 Rapid prototyping websites at the Open Directory Project


Fabbers
 3-D printing at MIT
3D Printing: The Printed World from The Economist

 Comparison chart of 3D printers


How to Fabricate a Toy Model from Scratch


Jay Leno's 3D Printer Replaces Rusty Old Parts
 Rapid Manufacturing for the production of Ceramic Components
How does 3D printing work?
(from physics.org)
Overview of recent 3D printing applications (from Dezeen magazine)
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