It seems like something straight out of sci-fi film. A rocket jetting into space, having been made entirely by a 3D printer.
Sadly this time the project didn’t quite hit the heights. Three minutes after its launch from Florida’s Cape Canaveral it fell back down to Earth.
But while it might not have been an out-of-the-world success, scientists are still heralding it as a huge breakthrough. So what is 3D printing and how does it work?
What and how?
In short, 3D printing is an umbrella term for the process of making solid objects from a digital file.
Dr Nick Owen, of Swansea University, explains: “A 3D-printed object is created by laying down successive layers of material.
“It’s like icing a cake. You have a big bag of icing sugar and you can draw a square on top of a cake, let it dry, and you draw a smaller square on top, and then a smaller and then a smaller one and so on.
“It’s all about layering, and if you can change the shape of a layer, you can produce any 3D object you like. Now if you use plastic or metal instead of icing sugar, 3D printing becomes a really useful way of making almost anything.”
The potential is endless. Dr Owen adds: “A blueprint can be sent by email. I could scan a complex machine part in the UK and email the data to the other side of the world.
“Then as long as they had the right type of 3D printer, they could produce the scanned part. It’s almost like Star Trek! Something is teleported from A to B.”
So where is 3D printing used?
Medicine
The technology is also saving lives. It’s useful in the development of surgical instruments and other medical equipment, prosthetics, and pharmaceuticals. And it can even revolutionise treatment by making personalised items for the patients and staff.
This can be anything from printing perfectly fitting face masks from a scan of a surgeon’s face to creating a replica of a patient in order to practise a difficult procedure before the real operation.
It’s already been a game changer for plaster casts and is revolutionising knee and hip replacements by creating joints that are a perfect fit.
And last year, Swansea University invested £2.5million into a study that uses human cells and plant-based materials to 3D-print ear and nose cartilage, which could completely change the field of facial reconstruction and help with transplant waiting lists.
Another project is led by Professor Iain Whitaker who is currently developing a 3D-printed vegan nose for patients who have lost their own due to cancer or an accident. They are creating cartilage from nanocellulose hydrogel (a type of softwood pulp) and hyaluronic acid (a bacteria-derived ingredient often used in skin creams).
In Japan, they are even doing 3D baby scans, where for £1,100 you can take home a 3D-printed model of your unborn child. It’s hoped that some transplantable organs will be possible to “print” by 2033.
Clothes and jewellery
In 2013, Burlesque star Dita Von Teese wore the world’s first 3D-printed dress at a fashion shoot in New York. The gown, designed by Michael Schmidt and Francis Bitonti, was printed to a perfect fit by a company called Shapeways.
Dita’s custom-made dress boasted nearly 3,000 articulated joints, not to mention 12,000 Swarovski crystals.
Meanwhile jewellery makers are using 3D printers to produce models from their digital designs practically at the push of a button, replacing hours of hand carving.
US brand Lace lets customers can try out 3D-printed versions of pieces before they commit to buying them. The company hopes this will reduce the number of returns and exchanges.
Cars, boats and houses
Need a new car? Print one! The Urbee became the world’s only “printed” car in 2011.
The Canadian hybrid uses printed ABS plastic panels stronger and more flexible than steel.
Meanwhile, the University of Maine currently holds the world record for building the biggest solid 3D-printed boat in the world, using the biggest prototype polymer 3D printer in the world.
It is now the biggest solid 3D print in history at 25 feet long and weighing is 5,000 pounds (2,268 kg).
People have even printed houses. In 2014, Chinese company WinSun started experimenting with a 3D printer filled with a mixture of ground construction and industrial waste with a base of quick-drying cement mixed with a special hardening agent. A year later it created a five-storey apartment building and a 1,100 square metre (11,840 square foot) villa, complete with decorative elements inside and out. In time, the company hopes to use its technology on much larger scale constructions, such as bridges and even skyscrapers.
Food
It’s been claim that soon every household kitchen will be equipped with its own food 3D printer.
The concept is the same as traditional 3D printing: a food 3D printer heats up edible ingredients before 3D printing them on a plate, layer by layer.
The Foodini, a 3D printer which churns out pizzas, pastas, cakes and hamburgers, works with ingredients are loaded into ‘cartridges’ and the desired food is pumped out by a series of nozzles. So for pizza, simply select the ‘pizza’ button from the printer’s touch-screen menu, and then load up the cartridges according to the machine’s instructions – one with tomato sauce, one with cheese, and one with pizza dough. They then sit back as the machine squirts out a layer of dough, followed by a layer of tomato sauce, and a layer of cheese.
There is one problem, however: the Foodini doesn’t cook food, so an oven is still needed. Nevertheless, Natural Designs, the Barcelona-based company behind the invention, claims it could prove as revolutionary as the microwave when it hits stores later this year.
Last summer scientists revealed the world’s first 3D-printed Wagyu beef grown from stem cells in the lab by Osaka University, in Japan. this could provide an environmentally friendly and sustainable alternative to meat and be customisable, with specific levels of fat (for example) tailored to diners’ needs.
Historic remains
The technology can even recreate what Eyptian mummies and other old remains looked like. Swedish sculptor Oscar Nilsson, takes digital scans of ancient skulls uses a 3D printer to rebuild them.
He then recreates a person’s facial muscles and skin on top, using a silicon and real human hair, to create a lifelike model of what they would have really looked like. Dr Owen worked with Nillsson on the human remains of one of Henry VIII’s elite archers found on the Mary Rose ship.
He says: “Swansea University scanned the archer’s skull and used the scan data to 3-D print an exact plastic replica. The finished facial reconstruction of the Mary Rose archer is on display in the Mary Rose Museum, Portsmouth.”
What next?
Dr Hom Dhakal, Professor of Mechanical Engineering at University of Portsmouth, researches different materials produced with 3D printing.
Dr Dhakal says there is potential 3D printed organs, implants and more developments in aerospace in the future.
He adds: "Obviously, there are certain challenges of using materials as they all behave differently during the process but they are outweighed by the huge benefits. The future of 3D printing is looking very exciting."
