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Contents contributed and discussions participated by kdavis5

kdavis5

How 3D Printing Will Change Our World | LondonBloggers.net - 2 views

  • The Pros If you imagine your life with a 3D printer at your disposal, you will likely come up with an endless list of things that you could do with it. There are simple, mundane applications, such as printing out tools or utensils that you might need around the house. Just think of a weekend project, like shelf-installation, and picture how much easier it would be to print out shelving or mounts at home. You could easily create jewelry that is one of a kind or produce quick toys for your kids or grandkids. Once you think of humanitarian uses for 3D printing, you will see the way that such a product has the potential to really change our world. If, for instance, volunteers had access to this technology at refugee camps, they could print out cots, plates, or even medical supplies as they needed them. This would allow them access to supplies on an unlimited basis and spare them from trying to route shipments around hostile locations. Education is another area that would benefit greatly from 3D printing technology. Art students could create sculptures from two-dimensional sketches and anatomy students could produce 3D models of the human body from textbooks. Think of how much easier it would be to understand physics or other abstract concepts if teachers could print out examples to illustrate important lessons.
    • kdavis5
       
      Pros of 3D Printers
  • The Cons Imagining all of the good that rescuers or humanitarian aid workers could do with 3D printing is just as dramatic as thinking of all of the things that bad people could enact with this capability. For every volunteer whom you envision helping the sick, there is a dictator who would love to create more nefarious instruments at will. Already, a Texas company has embarked on distributing downloadable, free models for usable firearms online. The mission of this company is to make the free printing of firearms and bullets available to anyone in the world. This group all but admits that they are curious about sparking international revolutions with this technology. Such applications of 3D printing step around gun laws and could easily be extended to grenades or bombs or landmines…the problems go on and on. As with most new technology, 3D printing could change the world–for better or for worse. In the end, it is up to us to decide if we will use this technology to promote peace and goodwill or to start a war.
    • kdavis5
       
      The Cons of 3D Printers
kdavis5

The Pros and Cons of 3D Printing « Phil for Humanity - 2 views

    • kdavis5
       
      Advantages of 3D Printers
  • Manufacturing Options: 3D printing provides a wide variety of manufactured products, including customizable products and even an individual’s personal designs. Rapid Prototyping: Products can more quickly go from just a design to an actual prototype. Manufacturing Speed: Just like the previous advantage, the manufacturing speed for a large number of final products is equally fast. Reduced Costs: Even though the initial setup costs are higher, 3D printing has become cheaper than cheap labor in third world countries. Additionally, the costs of 3D printing are still decreasing, with the potential of 3D printers in homes in the near future. Furthermore, the costs of customized products are the same for mass production products. Warehousing: With traditional manufacturing technologies, it is much faster and cheaper to manufacture additional products that you probably know that you will eventually need. However with 3D printing, only products that are sold need to be manufactured, thus warehousing of excess inventory is significantly less needed. More Jobs: More engineers are needed to design and build 3D printers, and more technicians are needed to maintain, use, and fix 3D printers too. Additionally, with the lower cost of manufacturing, more designers and artists would be able deliver their products to the market. Even more domestic jobs for shipping these products should be created too. Medical: One of the innovative products that 3D printing may provide is the manufacturing of customizable human body parts or organs. While these usages are still experimental, the potential advantages are huge. Imagine doctors quickly building and replacing critical organs, such as the heart, lungs, or liver that will have almost no chance of donor rejection, since the organs will be built using the patients’ unique characters and DNA.
    • kdavis5
       
      Disadvantages of 3D Printers
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  • With the advantages of 3D printing, mankind may be entering a new post-industrial manufacturing age where products are significantly cheaper and built quicker than ever before, however the disadvantages of 3D printing needs to be known to be better understood and mitigated against.
  • Fewer Manufacturing Jobs: As with all new technologies, manufacturing jobs will decrease. This disadvantage can and will have a large impact to the economies of third world countries, especially China, that depend on a large number of low skill jobs. Limited Materials: Currently, 3D printers only manufacture products out of plastic, resin, certain metals, and ceramics. 3D printing of products in mixed materials and technology, such as circuit boards, are still under development. Copyright: With 3D printing becoming more common, the printing of copyrighted products to create counterfeit items will become more common and nearly impossible to determine. Dangerous Items: 3D printers can create dangerous items, such as guns and knives, with very little or no oversight. More Useless Stuff: One of the dangers of 3D printers is that they will be used to create more useless stuff that is bad for the environment and wallets. Fortunately, there are new methods of automatically recycling objects made by 3D printers that hold promise of better recycling in the future. Size: Currently, 3D printers are limited with the size of the products that they can create. Ultimately, large items, such as houses and building, could be created using 3D printers.
    • kdavis5
       
      3D Printing summary
  • Fewer Manufacturing Jobs: As with all new technologies, manufacturing jobs will decrease. This disadvantage can and will have a large impact to the economies of third world countries, especially China, that depend on a large number of low skill jobs. Limited Materials: Currently, 3D printers only manufacture products out of plastic, resin, certain metals, and ceramics. 3D printing of products in mixed materials and technology, such as circuit boards, are still under development. Copyright: With 3D printing becoming more common, the printing of copyrighted products to create counterfeit items will become more common and nearly impossible to determine. Dangerous Items: 3D printers can create dangerous items, such as guns and knives, with very little or no oversight. More Useless Stuff: One of the dangers of 3D printers is that they will be used to create more useless stuff that is bad for the environment and wallets. Fortunately, there are new methods of automatically recycling objects made by 3D printers that hold promise of better recycling in the future. Size: Currently, 3D printers are limited with the size of the products that they can create. Ultimately, large items, such as houses and building, could be created using 3D printers.
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