The 3D printing world never stops creating new and innovative content. It has high possibilities of creating a better and sustainable future. In 2016, the 3D printing industry saw a wonderful advancement that changed the entire future of business and production.
Today, 3D printing companies have adopted various new techniques that provide them with efficiency, accessibility, and customizability. Moreover, companies are adopting additive manufacturing technology as their main key to bringing different opportunities to grow and compete with others in the industry. Here are some developments in 3D printing due to which new trends are being set economically.
A 3D Printed Bionic Eye
Human eye recreation is the biggest challenge for engineers. Due to various technological barriers, the recreation of it was found challenging. But now wig the advancement of technology, biology, and 3D printing, it has been possible to recreate the human eye. A research team in Minnesota has used 3D printing way to overcome these barriers and has created a prototype of an artificial human eye.
This bionic eye has become one of the biggest achievements of engineers, as it can help blind people to see. It serves a social cause, and due to this, it holds a high significance. And even now, researchers are looking for ways to create a new prototype that is a highly advanced light receptor. Now the 3D-printed bionic eye has become a reality and can be helpful to millions of people.
3D Printing Boat And Military Shelters
Recently, 3D printing technology has proved its advancement by producing a 7.62-meter boat, which weighs approximately 2 to 3 tonnes. This boat is named as 3Dirigo and is said to be the largest object created with the use of 3D printing. It includes custom 3D printed boat parts that altogether make the large structure of the boat. The researchers of the University of Maine’s UMaine Advanced Structures and Composites Centre have made this possible.
Today, many companies have started this new sensation of 3D printing. This way of production is highly economical. The boat’s creation is one of the largest exciting indicators of its gaining popularity. The boat was created only after 72 hours of printing. Whereas, if it was the traditional way of production, it would have taken weeks or even a month. Moreover, the boat was created with the use of an extrusion-based 3D printer, which has been constructed to work with bio-based materials. It is now considered to be the new sustainable option for production.
Idea Of Building Rocket
Aerospace has started to think about the creation of rockets with the help of 3D printing. A California-based startup has shared the idea of creating a rocket where 95% of rocket parts will be created through 3D printers. To make this idea come true, the company has designed the world’s largest arc-welding metal 3D printer, which is equipped with AI, machine learning, and robotic systems. This printer is called Stargate. It is designed mainly to produce the rocket’s valuable parts, such as fuel tanks. With this 3D printing technology, rockets will get substantial acceleration and will have increased chances of launch.
Increased Possibilities Of Autonomous Mobility
In recent times, Airbus has collaborated with LM industries to bring a new innovative product that mainly focuses on autonomous mobility. To make this idea come true, companies are gathering expertise in the areas of polymer, metal 3D printing, and digital manufacturing. They are assembling all the resources to achieve more flexibility and agile production.
Moreover, companies altogether have decided to form a startup for this called Neorizon. This will help them to design and manufacture much more flexible and faster products. Currently, they are working on creating delivery vehicles or flying taxis as their major goals. Furthermore, LM industries are the most talked about in terms of 3D printing vehicles. In the last few years, a local motors 3D printed vehicle named Olli was created, and self-driving shuttles were built to provide flexibility to people.
Conclusion
Hence, these are the several developments of 3D printing in recent years. Due to the advancement of such technical things, industries are gaining more confidence in adopting 3D printing technology in their system. This creates a new trend all across industries, and the competition increases significantly. The 3D printing system is moving far ahead of prototyping, and it seems to gain large popularity in the coming years.
Laila Azzahra is a professional writer and blogger that loves to write about technology, business, entertainment, science, and health.