Featured image by Kyrylo Glivin
3D printing has come a long way since Charles Hull invented the process. Local businesses such as Home Depot, Best Buy, and Staples, as well as internet retailers such as Amazon, now sell 3D printers.
The fashion industry, the medical industry, the machine industry, and many others have benefited from 3D printing. This technology is also known as additive manufacturing.
This piece looks at a few positive outcomes 3D printing has given us.
RELATED ARTICLE: HOW AI IS REVOLUTIONIZING 5 MAJOR INDUSTRIES
1. 3D Printing Makes Healthcare More Affordable
This technology has brought about an enormous difference in healthcare by delivering effective medical services. For example, dental care has begun using custom CNC machining. Dentists can print out and produce models of dental replacements. Orthodontic laboratories in particular rely on this technology.
Additionally, prosthetic parts made with 3D printers provide replacement body parts for patients who are missing them. Additionally, these marvelous printers can also print various organs. These advancements have brought tremendous advantages to the medical field.
2. It Has Brought Changes to Cultural Preservation
Additive manufacturing has also transformed our experiences of cultural heritage. As the protectors of cultural artifacts, museums must enforce a strict do-not-touch policy. However, 3D printing makes it possible for museum visitors to more closely interact with duplicates of rare historical and cultural objects.
Students also benefit from being able to handle objects duplicated with 3D printers. For example, they can learn to more easily identify extinct species such as dinosaurs. They can even print out the creatures’ various bones and assemble them. The engagement sparks creativity while it also provides a fun learning activity.
3. 3D Printing Provides Advantages to Schools and Students
In fact, students seem to be among the biggest beneficiaries of 3D printing. For example, it promotes design thinking by encouraging students to create their own models. Also, 3D printers in schools allow students to learn about mental health and robotics by creating tactile models.
RELATED ARTICLE: CUBESAT CAMERAS: A REVOLUTION IN SPACE TECHNOLOGY
4. It Provides Housing for Endangered Species
Since the invention of 3D printers, the technology has become more reliable, efficient, faster, and cheaper.
To give an example, Australian entrepreneur Alex Goad focused his talents on coral reefs. His main aim was to promote the preservation of marine species. To this end, he designed a Modular Artificial Reef Structure (MARS).
This structure helps to preserve coral reefs, which have been damaged due to rising water temperatures. Since coral reefs provide habitats for marine species, these fragile creatures are now at risk. However, thanks to Goad’s design, 3D printing is providing more housing for these endangered species.
On an ironic side note, this technology has also begun providing housing for human beings, too.
The Benefits of 3D Printing Are Myriad
We have mentioned only a few of the benefits of this technology. It is a valuable resource today, bringing to reality multiple products that were not even possible in years past. This advancement in technology has helped us grow economically, environmentally, and socially. It now even provides benefits for our health. In short, 3D printing is revolutionizing not only manufacturing but also our world, in myriad ways.
RELATED ARTICLE: FUTURE BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES IN SPACE