IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - September 2015 - 76

Desktop
Printers

3D Ink
(Filament)

Scanners
3D
Printing
Industry

on-demand platform used to fabricate complex living
architectures, such as the design and creation of human
organs and tissues [6]. Some of the most innovative printing materials are electrical and metals that facilitate the
printing of working electronic components [26].
Plastic is the most commonly used material by hobbyists and inventors and there is some interesting research
on the strength and durability of various types of plastics, on recycling materials, and on using discarded plastics to reduce the cost of plastic filament. There is also
research being conducted on the potential to simultaneously print more than one filament at the same time [14].

3D Scanning
Software

Online
Marketplace

Figure 1. Five main themes driving market segments within

3D printing.

build and market 3D printers. The first is the open desktop model such as the RepRap project, and the second is
the proprietary model dominated by commercial organizations such as Stratasys and 3D Systems [41]. The popularity of mostly open-source low-cost printers is bringing
down their cost.

3D Printing Software
3D printers require software models to create a physical
image. There are now a variety of both open-source and
propriety software applications used for designing prototypes, for image manipulation, and slicing [2]. Previously,
expensive and complicated CAD software used by professionals was required to create 3D designs. Now there
is a variety of easy-to-use software for amateur designers.
The advances in image processing are startling when
one considers that there are now applications that can
capture a 3D image from a 2D image. 3D models are
manipulated by two software processes prior to becoming a physical object: slicing and sending [17]. Slicing
divides a 3D design model into printable layers and
plans the paths to fill them in. The printer client software
then sends these movements to the 3D printer and provides a control interface for its other functions [18]. The
filament or printing materials, which are the 3D printing
"ink" includes plastic filaments, powders, resins, food
ingredients, metals, and biomaterial.

3D Ink (Filament)
The innovation in printing materials is intense. Some
examples of experimental materials include carbon nanoBud [1], graphene [15], and human cells. Printing human
cells is called (3D) bioprinting. It is a flexible automated

The fourth segment is the scanning and digitization segment which encompasses the hardware scanners and
software used to capture and create 3D designs from
physical objects [36]. This reverse engineering process
allows designers to capture a digital image of a physical
object and manipulate the captured digital image.

3D Printing Online Marketplaces
The final segment is the emerging marketplace. A 3D
marketplace is a virtual environment that allows consumers to download 3D designs files for free or pay
a purchase fee. The most common 3D printable file
formats are stl, wrl, and vrml, which print on most
consumer grade printers. 3D printing marketplaces are
typically a combination of file sharing and e-commerce
capabilities integrated with social networking interfaces.
Some of the online marketplaces, such as Shapeways,
provide 3D printing services [40].
These five converging segments have received significant research funding, and undergone a great deal
of growth over the past decade. Over the last five years
they have come together to form a single new disruptive
industry that will send ripple effects through society.

3D Printing as a Disruptive Force
There has been significant speculation that 3D printers
can print just about anything from carbon nanotubes
to a house. In fact, we hear daily of the new and more
complex objects being printed. These range from breakthroughs in printing biomaterials such as the bionic ear,
liver cells, or blood vessels, to material objects such
as toys, solar panels, and food. The technology is still
experiencing tremendous growth and innovation, and
grassroots innovations are emerging daily, given the
popularity of open-source 3D printing frameworks and
the inexplicable appetite of consumers using crowdfunding sites such as Indiegogo and Kickstarter [33].
There has also been conjecture over the 3D printing of
guns, human organs, and self-replicating 3D printers. It
is safe to say Pandora's 3D Printing (3DP) box has been

IEEE TEchnology and SocIETy MagazInE

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september 2015

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - September 2015