Research Proposal: Will 3d Printing Be The Next Industrial Revolution?
Michael Merrill
Professor Dean Leonard
English 1201-375
16 June 2013
Research Proposal: Will 3d Printing Be the Next Industrial Revolution?
Technology in general has always fascinated me. I tend to do a lot of research on new innovations, in particular rapid prototyping machines. At one point I was completely set on building a CNC routing table and a 3d scanner. The cost of actually buying these machines was far beyond my pay grade so ‘Do It Yourself’ was my only real option. CNC routing is a subtractive process in which one starts with a block of material, then based on programmed commands, end up with a carved out version of something that was modeled on a computer. A 3d scanner would allow me to actually scan real life objects rather than taking the time to model them with expensive computer software. Through the magic of internet search engines and related subject matter, one link led to another, which led to another, which led to the topic of 3d printing! When I first saw a time-lapse video of a 3d Printer on YouTube I was amazed even more than normal. The machine was creating a model of a head seemingly out of nothing. 3d printing is an additive process, unlike the CNC router, which builds the model by layering material on top of a surface until the model appears. Basically 3d printing and CNC routing are opposite approaches to similar fabrication. The ability to create almost anything at a very reasonable price without much effort makes me wonder if 3d printing will be the biggest evolution of technology since the personal home computer.
I have high hopes that 3d printing will be in every household before the end of the decade. The prices are dropping constantly, but most of all, the understanding and awareness of the technology is spreading rapidly. Like any new revolution there will be plenty of opposing factors however. I look at this technology in conjunction with current internet debates. The internet is a wide open zone that people everywhere take advantage of. This openness creates conflict in many areas, which has triggered the governments of the world to step in and try to regulate the content that floats around in cyberspace. I feel like 3d printing will be similar to this openness and there will be need for governing. The ability to make anything at home will scare a lot of companies and could cause drastic economical repercussions. Another opposing factor would be the average person’s willingness to use this technology, especially in its current state. Many people will not wish to put in the effort required to set up the machine and the time it takes to wait on the new product. I think 3d printing success will be largely based on the increase in ease of use over the next few years, barring any government interference.
Despite my interest in the topic I am by no means an expert on the current state of 3d printing technology. 3d printers are becoming affordable, but these machines are typically being sold by people building them in their homes or very small businesses producing a hundred or so a month. It is a very successful open source business opportunity for being a small and somewhat underground market. This is far from being a world-wide, or even national, revolution. I would be very interested to see some numbers showing how many people actually own a 3d printer, how many plan to own one, and how many people even know what 3d printing is. I also will need to find out more about how difficult it is to actually use these machines. It would hamper a revolution if the average user can’t properly use their machine. Cost research is another area of importance. While the idea of making anything at home is great, it probably isn’t going to happen for most of us if we could just drive up to the market and buy it at half the price.
Is the technology in a state to be mass marketable? Will the cost of producing items rival that of buying off-the-shelf items? Do people actually know about this technology? Will people be able to easily use the printers? These are the questions I intend to answer, which I think will give us a pretty good indication of whether we will see a 3d printer in every home or not.
Professor Dean Leonard
English 1201-375
16 June 2013
Research Proposal: Will 3d Printing Be the Next Industrial Revolution?
Technology in general has always fascinated me. I tend to do a lot of research on new innovations, in particular rapid prototyping machines. At one point I was completely set on building a CNC routing table and a 3d scanner. The cost of actually buying these machines was far beyond my pay grade so ‘Do It Yourself’ was my only real option. CNC routing is a subtractive process in which one starts with a block of material, then based on programmed commands, end up with a carved out version of something that was modeled on a computer. A 3d scanner would allow me to actually scan real life objects rather than taking the time to model them with expensive computer software. Through the magic of internet search engines and related subject matter, one link led to another, which led to another, which led to the topic of 3d printing! When I first saw a time-lapse video of a 3d Printer on YouTube I was amazed even more than normal. The machine was creating a model of a head seemingly out of nothing. 3d printing is an additive process, unlike the CNC router, which builds the model by layering material on top of a surface until the model appears. Basically 3d printing and CNC routing are opposite approaches to similar fabrication. The ability to create almost anything at a very reasonable price without much effort makes me wonder if 3d printing will be the biggest evolution of technology since the personal home computer.
I have high hopes that 3d printing will be in every household before the end of the decade. The prices are dropping constantly, but most of all, the understanding and awareness of the technology is spreading rapidly. Like any new revolution there will be plenty of opposing factors however. I look at this technology in conjunction with current internet debates. The internet is a wide open zone that people everywhere take advantage of. This openness creates conflict in many areas, which has triggered the governments of the world to step in and try to regulate the content that floats around in cyberspace. I feel like 3d printing will be similar to this openness and there will be need for governing. The ability to make anything at home will scare a lot of companies and could cause drastic economical repercussions. Another opposing factor would be the average person’s willingness to use this technology, especially in its current state. Many people will not wish to put in the effort required to set up the machine and the time it takes to wait on the new product. I think 3d printing success will be largely based on the increase in ease of use over the next few years, barring any government interference.
Despite my interest in the topic I am by no means an expert on the current state of 3d printing technology. 3d printers are becoming affordable, but these machines are typically being sold by people building them in their homes or very small businesses producing a hundred or so a month. It is a very successful open source business opportunity for being a small and somewhat underground market. This is far from being a world-wide, or even national, revolution. I would be very interested to see some numbers showing how many people actually own a 3d printer, how many plan to own one, and how many people even know what 3d printing is. I also will need to find out more about how difficult it is to actually use these machines. It would hamper a revolution if the average user can’t properly use their machine. Cost research is another area of importance. While the idea of making anything at home is great, it probably isn’t going to happen for most of us if we could just drive up to the market and buy it at half the price.
Is the technology in a state to be mass marketable? Will the cost of producing items rival that of buying off-the-shelf items? Do people actually know about this technology? Will people be able to easily use the printers? These are the questions I intend to answer, which I think will give us a pretty good indication of whether we will see a 3d printer in every home or not.