Reflections on the Power of Making Real Things

– The book covers many facets of the topic. What do you find the most exciting and/or surprising? What kinds of new possibilities do you see? What are concerns that you have?

While I’ve had some exposure to 3d printing in the past, this book has exposed to many new facets and possibilities. I’m going to extend my answer here to two areas that this book exposed me to.

Education

The book makes an interesting case for the utilization of 3d printing in the classroom at nearly every grade level. I’m a firm believer that the future prosperity of our tiny world on all fronts (economic, social, science, etc.) is dependent on the ingenuity of future generations. That’s not necessarily meant to be a blanket statement. This covers science, engineering and the liberal arts. By incorporating 3d printers in the classroom, students with scientific leanings may get additional exposure and encouraged to learn how things come together (i.e. chemistry, biology). By being able to experiment and observe they can apply the things learned in books and in lectures to real examples. This ability enables the fostering of a whole new realm of education which, besides the potential for greater effectiveness in retaining the material, may also inspire the confidence to nurture these questions and garner the confidence necessary to continue in such a field. Engineering types benefit greatly by being exposed to the printer itself. Imagine a kid seeing a 3d printer work for the first time and take an interest on how the printer head moves and is guided by the tracks. Its an elegant engineering marvel that a student with such leanings could be inspired by to pursue the field further.

Green Manufacturing

The book poses an interesting argument. Is consumer level 3d printing a greener alternative to large scale factories that utilize injection molding processes? At first glance we see that 3d printing, per pound of manufactured product, consumes more than 10 times as much electricity as an injection molding machine. The author then continues to state that “a distribution network built on large numbers of small shipments to different locations isn’t ecologically efficient. All of this adds up to the fact that if 3d printed manufacturing were merely scaled up to global proportions, there would be nothing green about it”

However, in the following chapter this idea takes a different turn. The authors make a case by greener manufacturing with 4 points. First, 3d printing can fabricate products that are more optimized for its environment or application (as opposed to other technologies). Second, storing the design files for these things is far more efficient than storing things like specialty molds. Third, 3d printing may someday allow for localized distribution, as opposed to inventory having to be transported across oceans, air, etc. Lastly, there is the potential for this technology to work with recycled or eco friendly input material.

– What questions do you have after reading the book?

• How will intellectual property protection take place? Especially when considering the disruptive technology of affordable, and accurate 3d scanning?
• Additive manufacturing has reached consumer level. Can laser sintering and multi material 3d printing follow?

– If there is one type of technology that you could try out/experience, which would it be? Why?

I really would like to play around with a 3d scanner and a laser sintering 3d printer. I build and collect model rockets and it would be fun to replicate some of my models digitally, be able to modify them, and then print them out.