3D printers have started to receive much of the prying and questions from people these days. Over 30 years now, since its first introduction in 1983, these may not have evolved into a high-speed, extremely efficient devices but are surely gaining worldwide recognition. One of the downsides of this technology is the exorbitant market rates they are available at. However, this cannot be used as a reason to relegate its future aspect. There’s no stopping for this technology. Here’s the show that 3D printers have started presenting, already.
- Printing artificial limbs for the needy
A prosthetic arm made for a 16 year-old bomb victim in Sudan. Plastic limbs are being printed in a matter of about 1 hour, in less than 100$. From robotic exoskeletons to artificial limbs, these are creating miracles by providing amputees body parts for cheap. With the advent of new improved techniques ,3D medical “bioprinters” are also trying to replicate cells instead of using conventional plastic and produce a fully functional duplicate of your body parts. Soon doctors will be able to produce perfect copies of your kidney, ears and bone fragments.
- Pizzas for the astronauts!
With NASA funding 3D printers to produce food for its astronauts in space, these 3D printers are being put to its best use. Unlike the conventional 3D printers, these use not just one but several cartridge like cocoa butter and sugar, dough and cheese to “cook” customized food. At Google’s Mountain View Headquarters, 3D printers printed pastas under manually controlled time and temperature. At some time soon, we will be ordering 3D printers to satiate our hunger .Hot on the list are chocolate, ravioli and chickpeas nuggets. The YouTube video of this “3D chef” in action is worth the watch! - Drones and guns
“Liberator” 3d print your own UAV drone With technology comes power and responsibility. The BAE systems manufactured a British fighter jet made out of the parts printed by a 3D printer, early last year. Researchers at Southampton also assembled an unmanned aerial vehicle from parts produced by a 3D printer at large. The drone had no nuts and bolts and could fly as silently as an owl. Sure the plastic 3D guns look very much harmless but the first model named “Liberator” successfully developed using a 3D printer in 2012 by Cody Wilson, an anarchist/libertarian from University of Texas’ Law School, could shoot a 0.380 caliber bullet. This definitely is no child’s play!
- “Selfie”! (OK, at least a model of yourself)
Remember your childhood when “Shaka Laka Boom Boom” made you covet that pencil so desperately? Albeit, there will be a few years before these magic machines are made affordable for you, producing anything you want at any hour, anywhere won’t seem bizarre and far-fetched anymore. Clone Factories will take your full size image and replicate it, developing a small model of your own “super” version. From gifting a customized couple bobble head on valentine’s day to putting yourself on your wedding cake, this particular facet of 3D printing is the most fascinating to me! - Fetus replication
Companies like Fasotec is making it possible to hold a 3D version of your fetus in your arms months before it’s birth. “The shape of the angel” is created by taking Magnetic Resonance Images(MRI) of the fetus in the womb and then giving it dimensions using 3D printers. In Japan, parents could possess a replica of there yet-to-be-born child for approximately $1275. This is a delightful development for those who love possessing plastic casts of their new-born bodies. - Bikinis
Not just the two-piece, 3D printers are also expected to print clothes made out of colorful nylons attached with thin strings. Model Dita Von Teese has already worn the first 3D gown. With thousands of joints, the clothing is made to flaunt your curves. The tailoring is beyond human perfection and you definitely need to have a good body to sport these expensive pieces! - Concept cars
Urbee 2 You didn’t see it coming, did you? Printing cars is an achievement worth all the applauds. Urbee 2 is going to be the next-big-thing in the automobile industry. It is the first lightweight car manufactured using printed parts from 3D printer. It is as safe as any car can be, but its 23 horsepower engine is not strong enough to pace up on highways. However, this 3 seater car will be cheaper and more fuel-efficient than most of the sedans available in today’s market and it’s inventors are planning to hit the streets of USA in this jelly like automobile within the next two years.
