Will 3D printing really become a household trend?
-Finally, 3D printing.
A few candidates for Next Big Thing status seem quite as much like magic or quite as unlikely as this one depending on your point of view.
Here's a small example of how automakers move at a pace more like electronics using technologies like this 3D printer to rapid prototype ideas today, not next week.
Let me show you something.
Now, that 3D printer that we have here in the ERL made this hole.
This
machine was made ready to go.
This wasn't assembled later.
Same goes for this chain.
It came out this way.
That's amazing.
-3D printing isn't just for the super geeks and people making components for cars.
You can use it to make everyday objects like an iPhone case.
-This head deposits this plastic material down here to this print surface.
It prints up layer by layer until you get a solid object at the end of it.
So, once you have the plan and load it on the software, it tells
the printer to print out plastic in a series of layers, building gradually up until you get a finished solid object.
This exterior head moves here along the X axis as well as the Z axis and then this build plate moves up and down for the Y axis.
So, it's created by the Replicator in particular and it can print two different colors.
Now, it can either do that at the same time, making one object compressed in two different colors or can print, say, one object in white, one object in black, or you can do those at the same time depending on the file and the layout and the very software settings you have.
-We knew that 3D
printers had arrived two years ago at the Consumer Electronics Show when suddenly the printers were all at or below $2,000, some quite a bit below.
And the makers of them were abandoning this idea that we were all gonna go out and learn CAD software, instead envisioning a sharing and buying market of pre-done designed files.
Bottom-line is we are more a nation of buyers than makers.
That's not a condemnation.
It's just reality.
After a busy day, week, or month of commuting, working, parenting, shopping, and dealing with all
your connected life, a few us have the time or the inclination to come home and design the perfect soup ladle, let alone produce the thing.
Great design is a talent anyway.
It's more than just a piece of hardware and software.
I watch instead for 3D printing to grow big in four areas above the average consumer but well below the large corporations who basically have already discovered and embraced it.
First, prototyping.
This is where products can leave the realm of a paper presentation, a PowerPoint, a verbal discussion, and move to
being tangible.
That's a big jump that seems trivial, but it's not.
Early prototypes can make the difference between dying on the designed page and making it into early production.
Second is low-volume products that are almost personal in their lower volume.
Imagine something as simple as a smartphone case that is printed out that fits the contours of your hand on up to a crown ready at the dentist on the same date, not a week later, to a prosthetic that is perhaps created during a medical procedure for a perfect fit for the patient from the very beginning.
Third, simple software.
I mean, so simple that it's almost like expression more than technology operation.
-Look at Autodesk 123D Catch, object capture software for example.
-Or see what the folks behind the Meta Smart glasses were envisioning where you would just use augmented reality to shape your envisioned product in space and then hand that design to the printer.
Fourth, more materials.
Moving from today's mono-color plastics to multicolor plastics, metals, and even biological materials from the DNA level
all the way to printing synthetic meat.
Up Next
CNET's Scott Stein and Brian Cooley explain the metaverse
Up Next
CNET's Scott Stein and Brian Cooley explain the metaverse
CNET's Next Big Thing: Will technology keep us at home after the pandemic?
CNET's Next Big Thing: Will technology keep us at home after the pandemic?
CNET Next Big Thing: The Invisible Doctor
CNET Next Big Thing: The Invisible Doctor
Tomorrow's medical breakthrough? You're already wearing it
Tomorrow's medical breakthrough? You're already wearing it
What do millennials want in a smart home?
What do millennials want in a smart home?
Do tablets still matter?
Do tablets still matter?
Quantum computers will blow your mind
Quantum computers will blow your mind
The robots are coming -- are you ready?
The robots are coming -- are you ready?
Unlimited plans are back: Do you know why?
Unlimited plans are back: Do you know why?
Electric cars aren't just for golfing any more
Electric cars aren't just for golfing any more
Tech Shows
Latest News All latest news
PlayStation 5 Pro Leaked: Everything We Know
PlayStation 5 Pro Leaked: Everything We Know
Everything Just Revealed at Nvidia's GTC AI Conference
Everything Just Revealed at Nvidia's GTC AI Conference
Nvidia Reveals Omniverse Cloud Streams to the Vision Pro
Nvidia Reveals Omniverse Cloud Streams to the Vision Pro
Nvidia Shows Project GROOT and Disney Bots at GTC Conference
Nvidia Shows Project GROOT and Disney Bots at GTC Conference
Expert vs. AI: Is Now the Time to Buy an EV?
Expert vs. AI: Is Now the Time to Buy an EV?
The PlayStation Portal Built-In Volume Is too Loud: Here's How to Keep It Low
The PlayStation Portal Built-In Volume Is too Loud: Here's How to Keep It Low
Most Popular All most popular
First Look at TSA's Self-Screening Tech (in VR!)
First Look at TSA's Self-Screening Tech (in VR!)
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra Review: More AI at a Higher Cost
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra Review: More AI at a Higher Cost
'Circle to Search' Lets Users Google From Any Screen
'Circle to Search' Lets Users Google From Any Screen
Asus Put Two 14-inch OLEDs in a Laptop, Unleashes First OLED ROG Gaming Laptop
Asus Put Two 14-inch OLEDs in a Laptop, Unleashes First OLED ROG Gaming Laptop
Samsung Galaxy Ring: First Impressions
Samsung Galaxy Ring: First Impressions
Best of Show: The Coolest Gadgets of CES 2024
Best of Show: The Coolest Gadgets of CES 2024
Latest Products All latest products
First Look: The $349 Nothing Phone 2A Aims to Brighten Your Day
First Look: The $349 Nothing Phone 2A Aims to Brighten Your Day
Best of MWC 2024: Bendable Screens, AI Wearables and More
Best of MWC 2024: Bendable Screens, AI Wearables and More
This Concept Laptop from Lenovo Has a Transparent Display
This Concept Laptop from Lenovo Has a Transparent Display
Motorola's Rollable Concept Phone Wraps on Your Wrist
Motorola's Rollable Concept Phone Wraps on Your Wrist
See Adobe Lightroom on the Apple Vision Pro
See Adobe Lightroom on the Apple Vision Pro
This $400 Cane Has a Built-In Phone
This $400 Cane Has a Built-In Phone
Latest How To All how to videos
Windows 11 Tips and Hidden Features
Windows 11 Tips and Hidden Features
Vision Pro App Walkthrough -- VisionOS 1.0.3
Vision Pro App Walkthrough -- VisionOS 1.0.3
Tips and Tricks for the Galaxy S24 Ultra
Tips and Tricks for the Galaxy S24 Ultra
TikTok Is Now on the Apple Vision Pro
TikTok Is Now on the Apple Vision Pro
Get Your TV Ready for the Big Game: Super Bowl Setup Tips
Get Your TV Ready for the Big Game: Super Bowl Setup Tips
How to Use a Quest 3 Like the Vision Pro