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Brave New World,  a channel 4 program looking at exciting new technologies, claimed that 3D printing will change the way we view design and purchase products; Could this happen? And if so how far away from a Star Trek replicator are we? What does it actually mean for the average business or person?

3D printing has become a catch all term that describes a variety of additive manufacturing services and materials traditionally referred to as selective laser sintering (SLS) Steriolithographic artefact (SLA) and other variations of these technologies. All these processes produce parts by fusing material together in a series of extremely thin layers (as thin as 0.05mm). The technology isn’t new, metal SLS has its roots in a German patent filed in 1971 and first became commercially available in 1992 [http://bit.ly/uiKL6K]. The production of polymer parts using SterioLithography has been commercially available since 1986.

The advantages are that anyone with a 3D CAD program can send a file of virtually any shape that could not be manufactured any other way for the part to be made exactly as modelled on the cad software. In the last 25 years 3D printing has become common as part of the design process to test the fit, function, and appearance of designs before commissioning expensive tooling. Recently Airbus have decided to use an SLM (selective laser melting – similar to SLS, but using higher energy to fully melt the powdered material) to create a series of parts for their flagship A380.

Image shows difference between a traditional part and one that is 3D printed

This is a landmark moment in the history of manufacture – As far as we’re aware it is the first time a 3D printed part has been used on a commercial product. The weight reduction due to the otherwise impossible to produce shapes shown in the component is worth the additional cost of manufacture in the low volumes that Airbus require.

Although the powders and resins are regularly improving they are still some way off the performance of their traditional counterparts: Self lubricating parts and soft parts are still impossible, only small parts can be made, the material used is often inferior to high grade alternatives used in traditional manufacturing methods and the powder used, machines needed, and energy required all contribute to make it an expensive process. Parts in some applications will require post machining, for example facing, reaming, drilling and tapping, the additional costs and time of which may negate the benefits of the additive manufacturing process.

There are some low-cost 3D printers that could be purchased by most small businesses or keen amateurs but the end product is dependent on so much more than the ability to produce parts, in the same way that most of us could buy tools and materials to make our own furniture we choose not too because we can buy higher quality items in less time, often at a lower price than the cost of the materials alone. For this reason 3D printing is likely to remain a predominantly industry only tool.

One exciting development could be that as fuel prices increase companies might choose to send data to service engineers, garages  or factories rather than parts – although consumers wouldn’t notice a difference it would revolutionise the supply structure, and potentially mean that parts would never be discontinued.

Whatever happens will inevitably make the current technology more affordable. At present the technology is worth investigating as one route to manufacture for some applications but often an alternative should be considered even if it takes some creativity and lateral thinking to design the alternative. We might never get that Star Trek replicator but the possibility of combining complex hose assemblies into a single block, building intricate pathways into a part (possibly to cool parts like cylinder heads or complex mould tools) or creating lightweight lattice structures in a single part is still enough for anyone designing or manufacturing products to get excited about.