3D Printing Applications

  1. Education

    2. 3D Printing in education

    More and more schools are incorporating 3D printing into their curriculum as tools to better prepare kids for the future. Makerspaces, equipped with printers, CNC machines, and other tools, have become common. Also, 3D printers can be found in public libraries already. Most universities have at least one (if not several) 3D printers for students to use for classes or their own projects.

  2. Prototyping & Manufacturing

    3. 3d printed prototype

    3D printing was originally developed as a faster alternative of prototyping – so it’s no surprise it is still a useful application in 2020! A big advantage of using 3D printing is its versatility and flexibility, which makes it perfect for small-scale manufacturing and prototyping.

  3. Medicine

    4. 3D printing a kidney

    In recent years, there’s been a lot of 3D printing applications to the world of medicine, from bioprinting and surgery preparation to prosthetics. This field is still under a lot of research, so it’ll be exciting to see where it goes in the future! 3D printed prosthetics are a helpful application of 3D printing’s versatility. It’s notoriously difficult and expensive to produce prosthetics that fit its patient, but open-source centric companies like eNABLE work against that.

  4. Construction

    5. Illustration of 3d printed construction

    Another exciting application of 3D printing is in construction. Concrete 3D printing has been in development for years as a fast and cheaper way to build buildings. Large-scale 3D printers specially designed to print in concrete can pour foundations and build walls onsite. They can also be used to print modular concrete sections that are later assembled onsite.

    For example, this 3D printed concrete bridge in Shanghai, China was printed in 450 hours at two-thirds of the usual cost. It was also installed with detectors that relay information about stress and strain so the city can monitor its status in real-time.

  5. Jewelry

    6. 3D Printed jewelry

    One unexpected application of 3D printing is in the fashion industry. 3D printed jewelry has become a popular niche for those searching for a unique look.