The next industrial revolution: XNUMXD printing

If the promises of this revolution are realized, serial production is expected to become 'manufacturing on demand', the fruits of which will be able to benefit all levels of society: from the largest manufacturers, through small businesses to the private individual.

At the beginning of the 19th century, the industrial revolution in England reached its peak, and forever changed the face of the world. The machines took the place of the human workers, and the assembly lines replaced the specialized tradesmen. The machines and production lines quickly proved their effectiveness, and as a result of the new division of labor, there was a steep increase in the quality of human life in England, followed by other countries of the world that adopted the method.

Now, at the beginning of the twenty-first century, we are facing the dawn of a new era, which The Economist magazine recently named 'the next industrial revolution'. When the promises of this revolution are realized, serial production is expected to become 'manufacturing on demand', the fruits of which will be able to benefit all levels of society: from the largest manufacturers, through small businesses to the private individual. When the revolution comes, every person is expected to have in their hands the power to create almost from nothing: each of us will be able to create objects, toys, electronic devices and even weapons at home. All thanks to the new production method known as XNUMXD printing.

the face of the future

"I got up in the morning, brushed my teeth, and opened the closet door to get to my shirt. The handle remained in my hand. Not bad. I went to the computer, went online and got the design code for the handle from IKEA. Within ten minutes, the printer created a new handle for me.” Roy - 2030.

What is XNUMXD printing? Run your hands over a page that came out of an inkjet printer, and you can feel the letters rise about a hundredth of a millimeter above the page. This is a crime. Now imagine that we go over the same letter one more time, and reprint it, exactly on the previous letter. Let the ink dry, then go over it again. and again and again If we use an ink that is viscous enough, and has the right mechanical and chemical properties, then we can get a three-dimensional structure.

The significant development of 1D printing technology began about a decade ago and was mainly aimed at producing prototypes of products. The production of prototypes practically accompanies every development process of a physical product: from a toothbrush to a Formula XNUMX car. Until recently, prototypes were mainly produced using 'milling' methods. With these methods, the process begins with a large plastic or metal block, from which pieces of material are removed by methods of cutting, sanding and milling, until all that remains is the desired model.

At first the milling machines were operated manually and later switched to the computer method (CNC), so that an engineering drawing was relatively easily translated into an industrial part. The main disadvantages of the milling methods were and remain the complexity of the process that requires an industrial environment and professional personnel, the high cost and very low production speed. Perhaps the biggest drawback lies in the inherent inefficiency of the method: a large part of the original block becomes waste, until the final model is created.

XNUMXD printing is completely different from milling methods, being a gradual creative process, similar to building a building or weaving. Using innovative technologies made it possible to create printers that are much smaller and simpler than the milling machines. These printers are able to produce prototypes quickly and at a lower cost, and require minimal manpower. Today, more and more companies that manufacture physical products, own at least one professional XNUMXD printer.

Object Ltd. is one of the three largest companies in the world for the production of printers and materials for 16D printing. Object printers are used to create prototypes of a significant part of the new products we encounter in everyday life, from mobile phones to bicycles and furniture. "Objet's technology works by injecting a liquid polymer using inkjet technology, and hardening it using UV light. Build layer by layer until the final model is created." Dr. Daniel Dikovsky, head of the materials development team at Objet, explains. "Each layer is XNUMX micrometers thick - much less than the thickness of a human hair."

As you can understand, Objet does not work with normal printer ink. far from it. Their XNUMXD printers are able to print more than a hundred different polymeric compositions - plastic, in mass parlance - that have different stiffness, different color and different transparency. The printers themselves range from a size suitable for the desktop next to the PC, to industrial printers.

"One of the unique features of our technology is that we can print more than one material at the same time. For example, we can print in one piece a car wheel which consists of hard parts and rubber parts. There is no need for separate production and assembly. Moreover, we have developed the ability to mix the injected materials while printing and thus we are able to give each part of the creation a variety of unique properties, for example a TV remote in which each button has a different stiffness. And this is just the beginning, because the multiplicity of materials also enables the printing of composite materials, materials with targeted properties or with gradual changes in properties, and objects with a structural complexity that surpasses anything we know today."

Over time, XNUMXD printing began to spread from the prototyping industry to other areas as well. Today it is used more and more to create final products, especially the kind that are not profitable to create in serial production. Owners of luxury cars can use the method to print unique spare parts. Artists are able to create works of art with them. Directors and producers use them to create figurines of Hollywood characters, such as the heroes of the movie Avatar that were printed for the purpose of examining shooting angles and lighting conditions. In some cases, each product is different from the previous one. This is the case, for example, in the production of prostheses, dentures or hearing aids. Today, all of these can be created in a perfect fit for the client, using a XNUMXD scan of the teeth and gums, of the amputated area, or of the ear. Here too, in contrast to serial production, XNUMXD printing makes it possible to create parts of enormous complexity and variety without any costing of the process, because the transition from the digital file to the physical part is completely automatic and requires almost no intervention by a human operator.

In fact, XNUMXD printing technology has simplified the production process of parts and products so much that it has even become the property of the individual. "Today if you want to create XNUMXD objects yourself you have several options." says Daniel. "You can purchase a cheap and simple printer that will allow you to print parts at home, these are still cumbersome to use, and far from the capabilities of a professional printer. The second alternative is to use external printing services, just like we used to go to the photo shop to develop photos."

"Today there are hundreds of bureaus in the world (tens in Israel), where you can bring the XNUMXD file and receive the high quality printed part at your home. Some bureaus are even online. They allow you to choose from a variety of printing methods and from a variety of materials - plastic, rubber, metal or even ceramics. In my opinion, this option will be preferred by most people until home printers reach a reasonable level of ease of use and quality of parts."

When will the home printers reach such a level? It's hard to know yet, but Dykowski believes that the private market is very important for the next industrial revolution. "The private market is the main reason why there is currently a buzz around XNUMXD printing in the media." He says. "The media sees here a kind of revolution in production, and over time they predict that people will start printing things by themselves at home, and I agree - it will happen someday! But before that they will use printing services in stores, like today."

"Nowadays it is much easier to profit from industrial design. In fact, anyone can start producing consumer products with almost no need for financial investment. In the past you had to think of an idea, design it, make a prototype, order serial production of the product in tens of thousands of pieces from China, keep them in the warehouse and manage delivery logistics. Today, it is enough to publish the part on the Internet and for each buyer to order printing and delivery from a XNUMXD printing service office. There are companies, like SHAPEWAYS, that have taken it a step further. They allow you to open a virtual store on their website, publish designs there and receive a percentage for each printed piece ordered through the website. In my opinion, today this is one of the simpler ways in which a creative person can start making money."

Although Objet is an Israeli company, there is a revival in the field of XNUMXD printing all over the world. The United States government in particular has already set its sights on the new technology.

"The US government treats XNUMXD printing as an area of ​​strategic priority, both due to its ability to contribute to the defense industry and due to the fact that it may take the lead in industrial production from the countries of the Far East." Dikowski says. "There are methods of XNUMXD production in metals and ceramics, with which it is possible to create parts that surpass in their geometric complexity parts that can be made in any other way. This makes it possible to create more advanced and more efficient machines. For example, it is possible to print wings of jet engines, with very complex cooling channels thanks to XNUMXD manufacturing. In casting it is simply impossible to reach such geometric complexity. And when this technology is used for the aeronautics and space industry or the engine industry, it becomes a matter of national importance. "

toys of the future

"Only when I finished fixing the closet, the iPhone made sure to remind me: I forgot my son's birthday! I ran back to the computer in a panic. Should I print him a transformer? I was wondering. And I suddenly laughed to myself. The Transformers, hard plastic toys with no character, passed away many years ago. Others took their place. What a shame that Toys-R-S couldn't survive to see the transformation complete. They collapsed as soon as the pirates started uploading charts to the web.” Roy - 2030

The world of toy retail, it seems, is going to suffer badly from the next revolution for the better. Consumers are only expected to profit from a huge variety of leisure tools.

"In Japan they can scan your head and reprint it on a doll. You can buy dolls there that look exactly like you. It has great potential. You can create sex dolls with the face and body of anyone you want - from your ex-girlfriend to Bibi Netanyahu." Dykowski promises. "People who have conceived a child will be able to make a one-to-one copy of their loved one. Just like they hang a picture of themselves on the wall, each person will be able to create a private wax museum at home. You can even use materials that make the doll have a texture similar to human flesh and skin. It's creepy, but can pick up tremendous momentum especially in certain countries."

How will XNUMXD printing affect Toys-R-S and other retailers? How would it be possible to sell tools of any kind, in a world where every object can be duplicated and recreated?

"Printing and duplicating existing parts, and even parts you've designed yourself, can be legally problematic." Dykowski predicts. "Today there is a huge set of laws to protect people and competing companies. It includes the laws of patents, copyrights, design patents and laws protecting trademarks and even the general appearance of a recognized product. Each such assembly has its own characteristics and they can limit to a certain extent the freedom of action of those who wish to print parts."

The technologies of sharing information through the net - music, movies and even books - have taught us in recent years that the legal restrictions may ultimately take revenge on those who impose them. Works of art of all kinds are hacked online and distributed for free through sites such as Pirate Bay. It is hard to believe that it will be possible to stop the pirated printing of objects and parts of various types. In fact, Pirate-Bay has already opened a new section on the website in the last year, dedicated to downloading diagrams for XNUMXD printing.

"Regardless of copyright, there will eventually be very large libraries of the parts we come across every day." Dikowski says. "Every XNUMXD part you come across in your environment, you can find a XNUMXD drawing of it and produce it. Sometimes the drawing will cost money - and there will certainly be ways to prevent its duplication or copying - but all the drawings will be accessible. We can also scan existing objects and reprint them.”
Printers all the way down

"The boy received the doll with Bibi Netanyahu's face - the clone, not the original, yes? - and relax. I thought I could watch some TV, but the woman scolded me. Saturday today - won't we go for a walk? I didn't like the idea. Nevertheless, nature is a place full of surprises. Maybe I need a screw for the tent pole? And what if I am interested in a tool for collecting insects? I realized I had no choice. I went to the printer and typed in an extra long code. The woman was waiting in the car. After two hours, I joined her with a new and more compact 2030D printer." - Roy XNUMX

Will XNUMXD printers one day be able to print smaller XNUMXD printers? Today there are printers capable of printing basic electrical circuits, but they are unique and unusual. The more typical printers are able to create most of the mechanical spare parts - levers, handles, gears - from which a new printer can be built and assembled.

"In my opinion, there will be hybrid printing - a printer that prints chips, and a printer that prints structural components, etc. - and a robot that combines the parts with each other to reach more complex products." Dikowski says.

This is not a pipe dream. For years now, DARPA - the agency that supplies us with new toys that seem to be taken from science fiction books - has been prophesying about means to produce weapons and tools under field conditions. Now the promises are beginning to be fulfilled, and the successes are impressive. The United States Army has already included the XNUMXD printers for a prototype of a 'mobile manufacturing laboratory' - a container that can be used deep in the field in Afghanistan to reprint broken tools. It is quite possible that within twenty years we will witness printers, or complexes of printers, capable of creating a complete copy of themselves.
The other side of the coin

"I hugged my wife tightly, and tried to close my ears to her cries. We trusted the boy. We agreed to leave him at home - he is already 12 years old, and so mature for his age! - but we never imagined that he would try to print for himself the same pirated chart he downloaded from the net. The doctor reported that the bullet only grazed the scalp, but it was close. too close." - Roy 2030

Will the XNUMXD printers be used to print weapons? It is hard to believe that we will be able to avoid this future. Already today, engineers - in the civilian sector precisely, in a project known as Defense Distributed - are working on designing a diagram that will allow printing a real gun or rifle with a XNUMXD printer. Today, only parts of the weapon can be printed on a printer, and Dykowski is skeptical. But not for the right reasons.

"I believe that the printing of the weapon was not effective, because the technology they used creates a rough surface that could disrupt the shooting." He says skeptically, and hastens to add - "Objet's process produces better surfaces that are more impervious to water and gases. I suppose that if Defense Distributed had purchased an object printer, they would have been able to print much more efficient and sophisticated weapons.”

According to the results of an international project conducted by the Interdisciplinary Center for Technological Analysis and Forecasting at Tel Aviv University (full disclosure: the author is a researcher at the center), XNUMXD printers are going to be a factor that is difficult to control in the civilian market. It will be possible to use them to produce weapons of various types, with only minimal supervision by the government. Even if they include built-in safeguards to prevent the creation of certain tools, it's still hard to see how these measures will stand up to hacking in an age where every new iPhone version is hacked within weeks.

Is it so terrible? Some would say that we are moving towards an extreme version of the gun laws in some states of the United States, where almost anyone can purchase and carry a firearm. But do we really want to reach a situation where children can create weapons in every home, at any hour?
Summary

2020D printing has great advantages that are about to change the face of society. In industry, it enables the creation of extremely complex structures, with different properties than anything we have known to date. The experts say that by XNUMX, tens of percent of sophisticated engines in cars and airplanes will be made of parts that will be XNUMXD printed from metals. These parts will be lighter and stronger than those currently produced by casting.

Companies will use XNUMXD printing as a way to speed up development processes. Already today, companies are using XNUMXD printing to test new product prototypes. If in the past such an examination would have taken between one and two weeks, today it can be completed within one day.

It is also difficult to ignore the power of XNUMXD printing in the hands of the individual. Each person will be able to produce a wide variety of objects for himself at home, and sell them or use them as he wishes. From expensive art objects to door handles - the possibilities are unlimited. And so, the physical world will also become part of the network revolution. Everything we see online - we can turn into reality. And everything we see in reality, we can reproduce and improve.

Will XNUMXD printing bring us to a better world? It's hard to know. At most it can be argued that it will give each person greater control over the physical world, and ultimately - over their destiny. for better and for worse.

Full disclosure: I was invited to Objet to hear about the latest innovations and the company's work, and by implication also to write about them. The company representatives went over the article and gave their approval. I received no payment or favors of any kind for the writing.