Here’s one I printed earlier: Shaping the agenda on 3D–printing

By Matt James

Being given the option of picking an online design for a new pair of shoes, sunglasses or even a washing machine and then making it from the comfort of your own home might sound as if it’s too good to be true.  Some may even question whether they had been caught up in an episode of Star Trek and the use of replicator technology so often used by Captain Jean–Luc Picard and others on the SS Enterprise.  But these kinds of options are not located in some far distant universe. In actual fact some of these products were being exhibited in London within the last fortnight. Welcome to the revolution which is 3D–printing.

3D printing technologies have been evolving over the course of the last couple of years. Whilst there may be some subtle differences in how each may work the fundamental aim remains the same: to create a three dimensional object by building it layer upon layer until the object is complete. Each layer is an extremely thin, horizontal cross–section of the final object.

Things into data and data into things

As witnesses of the digital revolution which is continuing to unfold, it may appear odd to us to see the direction 3D–printing is taking us. Whilst the digital revolution has heralded a growing shift from matter and things to data, with 3D–printing we are witness almost a reversal of data back to things. Data designs helping to print physical objects.

The process starts with a Computer Aided Design (.CAD) file which has been generated using a 3D modelling program. The program then takes the data in this CAD file and slices the design into many thousands of horizontal layers. A 3D printer then reads this file and creates each layer exactly to specification by squirting out a fine jet of plastic. The plastic comes in cartridges in much the same way as conventional ink printer cartridges. One by one the layers build up blending together to create a complete three dimensional object.

A game changer?

3D printing represents a real game changer with various commentators commenting that it is helping to usher in a new industrial revolution. Just this month the world’s first ever public consumer 3D print show, unimaginatively named ‘The 3D Print Show’, took place in the City of London providing the general public the opportunity to walk around and experience a vast sweet shop of 3D print “candy”. Showcasing what can be achieved both now and in the future the show certainly whetted the appetite of many who attended if the media reports are anything to go by.

Present reality

At present the technology offers the opportunity for many of us to simply tinker around and make our own objects for the novelty factor of having printed it ourselves. For example, gears have been printed for home woodworking machines as well as ornamental objects, chess pieces and dolls. Perhaps the most sinister and controversial application was proposed by US project Defense Distributed who planned to share 3D weapon blueprints online[1]. The plans were thwarted when the firm supplying the 3D printer discovered the intentions of Defense Distributed.

From conducting even the most basic searches on the internet, you could pick up a domestic 3D printer for between £500–£1,000. This might seem expensive but when you consider that the cost of the first bubblejet printers were in a similar price range when they were first launched and where many of us are now in terms of owning a similar colour desktop printer at home, you can easily begin to see where the technology could take us in the future.  Think about a time in the future when a household appliance such as a washing machine breaks down. Instead of waiting for a replacement part, it might simply be a case of going online to the manufacturer’s website, downloading the design of the replacement part, printing it off on your home 3D–printer and then either asking an engineer to fit it or even fit the part yourself through an online virtual help desk.

Clearly as with any technology, advances are continuing to be made.  Commercial printers are already pursuing ceramics, metals and plastics in order to create car bodies.  In July this year, a designer for Airbus the aircraft manufacturer revealed that the company intends to produce the first printed plane by 2050[2].  As advances in biomaterials continue medical firms are keen to pursue applications in the field of prosthetics and the creation of other replacement body parts.  Earlier this year a 65–strong medical team from Ghent University Hospital successfully performed the country’s first full–face transplant using 3D printing to streamline the procedure[3] .  By scanning the patient’s face with a CT scanner, custom built 3D–visualising software allowed the team to examine the defects digitally and then custom–print anatomical models of healthy bones to use as a reference during surgery.  3D printing is even being used to preserve the past by helping to restore ancient artefacts from Beijing’s Forbidden City[4].

Considering the technology’s relatively low cost and seemingly limitless range of applications, the list of uses will understandably continue to expand. The ramifications of this technology are like many others before – vast, with the potential to impact upon almost every aspect of industry as well as our own personal lives. Speaking at the 3D Print Show, CEO Bre Pettis, one of three co–founders of Makerbot Industries – a three–year–old desktop 3D–printer manufacturer, commented that 3D printing “has the ability to empower people and change the world”[5] .  Quite a heady declaration to make.

But what are the questions we need to be asking? After all, what really is the point of printing in 3D? What are the economical, social and ethical benefits? As the technology develops now is the time to start setting the agenda. It is with this in mind that I offer the following reflections.

1)    Return to cottage industries? Empowering the individual

3D printing offers the opportunity to at least restore in part a closer relationship the individual and manufacturing process; subverting the mass–production we have all become accustomed to in recent decades.  Potentially, we could print whatever we needed, whenever we need it. But with this rise in the individual verses the rise of the nation, does this also allow for prejudices and injustices to be heightened?

What needs to occur to avoid this being just another novelty rich–world technology and actually put into the hands of those who are currently less well off and to whom this empowering technology could actually bring real economic benefits to them, their families, communities and even nation?

Conversely, empowering the individual to print whatever they want, whenever they want it may lead to particular problems. Placing this technology in a domestic setting could allow for the relatively inexpensive printing and production of guns and explosives, with even the opportunity to produce ‘bespoke’ weaponry.

In much the same way as other new emerging technologies have evolved, such as synthetic biology, crucially the empowerment they promise is from the bottom up, not top down. This means that at the same time as making it more difficult to implement commercial or governmental control (creating a fresh take on democratic life in the global village) it could also lead to asymmetry; low probability/high impact events.

Long term engagement is the key to this technology as it offers asymmetric tools that lie far beyond the imagination of former generations. Convergence is another term that often arises during the conversation surrounding emerging technologies. Just dwelling for a while upon the potential impact of 3D printing, synthetic biology and nanotechnology converging, helps to conjure up another new set of ideas and questions. To act as if these kinds of options do not exist could be our biggest downfall.

2)    Making money and keeping it green – the economical & environmental benefits

The fact that each product can be customised and produced where it is needed offers clear benefits. Rather than having to be built in a factory in a specific location and then shipped out around the globe, products could be made on site, presenting not only economic but also environmental benefits in terms of importing and exporting, carbon foot prints and so forth.  There is even the opportunity to recycle plastic onsite and use it again in printing new 3D objects.

Focusing specifically on the UK for a moment, the fact that the UK is strong in design and online retail could help to give it the competitive advantage in order to harness the potential of 3D printing. In 2010, UK online industry was estimated to be worth £100 billion, 7.2% of UK total GDP[6].

3)    The human future – build yourself a body?

There is the possibility that medicine will forever be changed as new bioprinters could actually print human tissue for both pharmaceutical testing and eventually entire organs and bones. 

In June this year, doctors in the Netherlands reported that a 3D printer–created lower jaw had been fitted to an 83–year–old woman’s face[7].With the immediate debate over a lack of organ donation and transplantation, the possibility of printing replacement organs in the future could help to relieve much suffering. Likewise, imagining the convergence of nanoscience and tissue engineering with 3D printing there could be a wealth of new options to help address suffering, repair the body and see humanity flourish.

4)    That’s my work! – The IP issue

Increasingly the issue of intellectual property (IP) rights are becoming one of the central issues affecting the adoption and implementation of many new technologies. This is particularly so as we witness a breaking down of disciplinary boundaries and the spotlight shifts to knowledge and data exchange through open sourcing initiatives. Just who’s idea is it and who and how should they be recognised?

The idea of being able to print your own washing machine or smartphone might sound attractive but would obviously require the printing of a range of different designs of component parts, each from different companies. As seen already in various IP debates over Facebook, online photography, file sharing and music the current legal system is somewhat lagging in terms of responding to the new landscape.

Currently you would probably need to engage in costly rights negotiations with a variety of other businesses each time you wanted to produce an object which would prove challenging if not impossible in the world of 3D printing. How do we adequate address the IP question now in anticipation of what lies ahead and avoiding the long debacle over IP and new technologies which we have witnessed in recent years?

5) Making it work for everyone – how do we regulate?

Continuing on from IP, of equal importance is the question of how to try and regulate this kind of technology.  What does responsible and effective regulation look like which harnesses the benefits and promotes innovation and yet offers adequate protection and safety for manufacturers and consumers alike?

Just think back to our imaginary scenario not too far from now. I replace the broken part of my washing machine with my 3D printed replacement. Shortly after fitting it the washing machine blows. It appears the replacement 3D printed part is faulty.  Who is to blame? The original designer of the plans I used to print the part? Is it the manufacturer of the washing machine? Or is it the manufacturer of the materials used to print the part?

Conclusion

The answers to these questions may not be readily available as we have not walked this way before. As Justice Michael Kirby has said “We are experts without a great deal of expertise”. Nevertheless to need to engage with the issues ahead of time in order to prepare for the future is of crucial and profound importance.

Currently 3D printing is one the latest technological developments to capture the imagination of many.  There are no guarantees that it will necessarily take off in the ways currently imagined. Technologies presented as revolutionising how we live and do life can be incredibly unpredictable. But this should not mean that we simply ignore them and hope they disappear.  In many respects it is because of this that our proactive engagement is of the utmost importance in order to shape the future. 

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Image courtesy of Discover 3D Printing

References:

[1] BBC News Online. 2012. “Plans to print a gun halted as 3D printer is seized” http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-19813382

[2] London Evening Standard, 25th October 2012

[3] WIRED. 2012. “How 3D printing built a new face” http://www.wired.co.uk/magazine/archive/2012/07/start/how-3d-printing-built-a-new-face

[4] WIRED. 2012. “3D printing forbidden city” http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2012-04/17/3d-printing-forbidden-city

[5] Dean, W. 2012. The Independent. 25th October 2012. “What’s the big deal with 3D printing?” http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/features/whats-the-big-deal-with-3d-printing-8225267.html

[6] Exchange Wire. 2010. “UK Online Industry Now Worth One Hundred Billion Pounds According To New Study; The Quants Are Taking Over The Industry Allegedly” http://www.exchangewire.com/blog/2010/10/28/uk-online-industry-now-worth-one-hundred-billion-pounds-according-to-new-study-the-quants-are-taking-over-the-industry-allegedly/

[7] BBC News Online. 2012. “Transplant jaw made by 3D printer claimed as first” http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-16907104

• Social Justice
• Nanotechnology

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