TECH SPECIAL ....................Things You Didn't Know Could Be 3D Printed

Things You Didn't Know Could Be 3D Printed





In essence, a 3D printer is similar to a regular printer ­ except that instead of ink, it uses a kind of plastic. And instead of printing on paper, it puts thin layers of plastic on top of each other to create a 3-dimensional object

Cars

Any car starts with a frame and Divergent Microfactories is using 3D printing technology to get it made. Rather than print an entire frame, this car, called the Blade, uses nodes (or joints). First, the nodes are 3D printed and then 3D printed carbon fiber tubes are fixed into the nodes to make a strong lattice structure. It translates into tremendous weight & time savings and it means that you can make a supercar with relative ease.

Buildings

A surprising area where 3D printing is being seen is in construction. All you need is a 20-foot tall 3D printer to build large walls and roof panels. Chinese company WinSun is doing exactly that. They have made (and sold) an impressive range of 3D printed buildings already. The advantages? A lower carbon footprint (since it can use recycled or waste materials) and lower costs.

A Foetus

Instead of just capturing a 3D or 4D ultrasound of their unborn child, some couples are taking things to the next level by commissioning a 3D printed, anatomically accurate replica of the live foetus, scanned from the mother's womb. It's called the `Shape of an Angel' and Japan-based Fasotec and Hiroo Ladies Clinic will make one for you for about US$1400. It uses a special technology called BioTexture.

Working

Lenses On Thingiverse, you can actually download complete 3D plans to make all sorts of things on any commercially available 3D printer. One of the creations by Yuki Suzuki is this working lens (currently made with an M mount for certain Canon cameras ­ but it can just as easily be altered to fit other kinds of cameras). The lens is acrylic and hand polished to a gloss to allow light to pass through.

Guitars

Originally envisioned by Scott Summit, 3D printed guitars actually turned out to a lot sturdier than the typical guitar (apart from `just' being playable). The bonus is the intricate, spiderweb-like designs that can be made thanks to the nature of construction. It takes more time, but the designers were also surprised at the `rich, full tonal range' that these guitars can create. Once we run out of wood to make musical instruments, this is what we can use.

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