3D - PRINTING

Yashvini Pratyaqsha
11610188 CO - 4
 ABSTRACT

3D printing or Additive manufacturing is a process of making a three-dimensional

solid object of virtually any shape from a digital model. 3D printing is achieved using an additive
process, where successive layers of material are laid down in different shapes. 3D Printing
technology has been around since the 1980s, but become commercially available widely in
early 2010s .The first working 3D printer was created in 1984 by Chuck Hull of 3D Systems
Corp.A 3D printer is a type of industrial robot that is capable of carrying out an additive process
under computer control.

Terminology

Objects that are manufactured additively can be used anywhere throughout the product life
cycle. Three-dimensional printing makes it as cheap to create single items as it is to produce
thousands and thus undermines economies of scale. It may have as profound an impact on
the world as the coming of the factory.

Printing

To perform a print, the machine reads the design from 3D printable file (STL file) and lays down
successive layers of liquid, powder, paper or sheet material to build the model from a series of
cross sections. These layers, which correspond to the virtual cross sections from the CAD
model, are joined or automatically fused to create the final shape.

The Audi RSQ was made with rapid prototyping industrial KUKA robots.

Applications

Applications in architecture, construction (AEC), industrial design, automotive, aerospace,

military, engineering, civil engineering, dental and medical industries, biotech (human tissue
replacement), fashion, footwear, jewellery, eyewear, education, geographic information
systems, food, and many other fields.

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 Table of Contents

 3D printing 04
 Historical development 05
 Basic idea 09
 General Principles 10
 The Ten Principles of 3D Printing 12
 Types of manufacturing 14
 Types of 3D Printers 18
 10 Unexpected Things 3D Printer Can Print 20
 Services 23
 Materials 23
 3D printing methods 24
 Applications Of 3D Printing 28
 Effects of 3D Printing 34
 Advantages 36
 Disadvantages 37
 Conclusion 38
 Bibliography 39

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 INTRODUCTION

3Dsolid
Printing or Additive manufacturing is a process of making a three-dimensional
object of virtually any shape from a digital model. 3D printing is achieved using
an additive process, where successive layers of material are laid down in different shapes.
3D printing is also considered distinct from traditional machining techniques, which mostly
rely on the removal of material by methods such as cutting or drilling (subtractive processes).
A 3D printer is a limited type of industrial robot that is capable of carrying out an additive
process under computer control.
The 3D printing technology is used for both prototyping and distributed manufacturing with
applications in architecture, construction (AEC), industrial design, automotive, aerospace,
military, engineering, dental and medical industries, biotech (human tissue replacement),
fashion, footwear, jewellery, eyewear, education, geographic information systems, food, and
many other fields. One study has found that open source 3D printing could become a mass
market item because domestic 3D printers can offset their capital costs by enabling
consumers to avoid costs associated with purchasing common household objects.

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 HISTORY

The first published account of a printed solid model was made by Hideo Kodama of Nagoya
Municipal Industrial Research Institute in 1982. Of course, 3D printing in the early days was
very expensive and not feasible for the general market. As we moved into the 21st century,
however, costs drastically dropped, allowing 3D printers to find their way to a more affordable
market
While 3D printing technology has been around since the 1980s, it was not until the early 2010s
that the printers became widely available commercially. The first working 3D printer was
created in 1984 by Chuck Hull of 3D Systems Corp. Hull published a number of patents on the
concept of 3D printing, many of which are used in today’s additive manufacturing processes.
Since the start of the 21st century there has been a large growth in the sales of these machines,
and their price has dropped substantially. According to Wohlers Associates, a consultancy, the
market for 3D printers and services was worth $2.2 billion worldwide in 2012, up 29% from
2011.

The earliest development of 3-D printing technologies happened at Massachusetts Institute of

Technology (MIT) and at a company called 3D Systems. In the early 1990s, MIT developed a
procedure it trademarked with the name 3-D Printing, which it officially abbreviated as 3DP. As
of February 2011, MIT has granted licenses to six companies to use and promote the 3DP
process in its products

3D Systems, based in Rock Hill, SC, has pioneered and used a variety of 3-D printing
approaches since its founding in 1986. It has even trademarked some of its technologies, such
as the stereo lithography apparatus (SLA) and selective laser sintering (SLS), each
described later in this article. While MIT and 3D Systems remain leaders in the field of 3-D
printing, other companies such as Z Corporation, Objet Geometries and Stratasys have also
brought innovative new products to market, building on these AM technologies.

Today, some of the same 3-D printing technology that contributed to RP is now being used to
create finished products. The technology continues to improve in various ways, from the
fineness of detail a machine can print to the amount of time required to clean and finish the
object when the printing is complete. The processes are getting faster, the materials and
equipment are getting cheaper, and more materials are being used, including metals and
ceramics. Printing machines now range from the size of a small car to the size of a microwave
oven.

3-D printing and other forms of AM are still new players in the field of manufacturing. Additive
manufacturing is often compared to, or even mistaken for, another common manufacturing
process called computer numerical controlled (CNC) machining. However, CNC is

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subtractive, which is the opposite of AM. In CNC machining, material is removed from some
pre-existing block until the finished product remains, much like a carving a statue from stone.
The cost of 3D printers has even decreased in the years from 2010 to 2013, with machines
generally ranging in price from $20,000 just three years ago, to less than $1,000 in the current
market. Some printers are even being developed for under $500, making the technology
increasingly available to the average consumer.

As the technology advances, more and more practical uses are expected to come about as a
result of additive manufacturing. With the addition of 3D digitizers, 3D sensors and 3D
scanners, the possibilities are almost endless.

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 It Begins with a Digital File

In the 2D world, a sheet of printed paper output from a printer was “designed” on the
computer in a program such as Microsoft Word. The file — the Word document — contains
the instructions that tell the printer what to do.

In the 3D world, a 3D printer also needs to have instructions for what to print. It needs a file
as well. The file — a Computer Aided Design (CAD) file — is created with the use of a 3D
modelling program, either from scratch or beginning with a 3D model created by a 3D
scanner. Either way, the program creates a file that is sent to the 3D printer. Along the way,
software slices the design into hundreds, or more likely thousands, of horizontal layers.
These layers will be printed one atop the other until the 3D object is done.

Fig 1: A CAD file of pump model

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 Terminology

The term additive manufacturing refers to technologies that create objects through sequential
layering. Objects that are manufactured additively can be used anywhere throughout the
product life cycle, from pre-production (i.e. rapid prototyping) to full-scale production
(i.e. rapid manufacturing), in addition to tooling applications and post-production
customization.[9]
In manufacturing, and machining in particular, subtractive methods refers to more traditional
methods. The term subtractive manufacturing is a retro-name developed in recent years to
distinguish it from newer additive manufacturing techniques. Although fabrication has
included methods that are essentially "additive" for centuries (such as joining plates, sheets,
forgings, and rolled work via riveting, screwing, forge welding, or newer kinds of welding), it
did not include the information technology component of model-based definition. Machining
(generating exact shapes with high precision) has typically been subtractive, from filing and
turning to milling, drilling and grinding.[9]
The term stereo lithography was defined by Charles W. Hull as a "system for generating
three-dimensional objects by creating a cross-sectional pattern of the object to be formed"—
in a 1984 patent.
Subtractive manufacturing relies upon the removal of material to create something. The
blacksmith hammered away at heated metal to create a product. Today, a CNC machine cuts
and drills and otherwise removes material from a larger initial block of material to create a
product. It’s inefficient and wasteful. Other manufacturing techniques abound but they all
essentially whittle down raw material into a product.

As I’ve already surmised, additive manufacturing creates something by adding material to the
object. Some here, some there, and no where it’s not needed. No waste which in turn
becomes very efficient.

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 The Basic Idea

Slices, Not Dices

 If you can slice an object
 You can glue the slices back together
 3D printing builds 3D objects layer by layer
 100-200 layers per inch
 And it is slow-a Lego block can take an hour to make
 But it’s getting better—rapidly!

Fig 2 NESCO Food Slicer- working on the opposite principle of 3D printing

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 General principles

3D Printable Models
3D printable models may be created with a computer aided design package or via 3D
scanner. The manual modelling process of preparing geometric data for 3D computer
graphics is similar to plastic arts such as sculpting. 3D scanning is a process of analysing
and collecting data of real object; its shape and appearance and builds digital, three
dimensional models.
Both manual and automatic creation of 3D printable models is difficult for average
consumers. This is why several 3D printing marketplaces have emerged over the last years.
Among the most popular are Shapeways, Thingiverse and Threeding.

Fig 3 3-D Model Slicing

Printing
To perform a print, the machine reads the design from 3D printable file (STL file) and lays
down successive layers of liquid, powder, paper or sheet material to build the model from a
series of cross sections. These layers, which correspond to the virtual cross sections from
the CAD model, are joined or automatically fused to create the final shape. The primary
advantage of this technique is its ability to create almost any shape or geometric feature.
Printer resolution describes layer thickness and X-Y resolution in dpi (dots per inch), or micro
meters. Typical layer thickness is around 100 µm (250 DPI), although some machines such
as the Objet Connex series and 3D Systems' Pro Jet series can print layers as thin as 16 µm
(1,600 DPI). X-Y resolution is comparable to that of laser printers. The particles (3D dots) are
around 50 to 100 µm (510 to 250 DPI) in diameter.

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Construction of a model with contemporary methods can take anywhere from several hours
to several days, depending on the method used and the size and complexity of the model.
Additive systems can typically reduce this time to a few hours, although it varies widely
depending on the type of machine used and the size and number of models being produced
simultaneously.
Traditional techniques like injection moulding can be less expensive for manufacturing
polymer products in high quantities, but additive manufacturing can be faster, more flexible
and less expensive when producing relatively small quantities of parts. 3D printers give
designers and concept development teams the ability to produce parts and concept models
using a desktop size printer.

Finishing
Though the printer-produced resolution is sufficient for many applications, printing a slightly
oversized version of the desired object in standard resolution and then removing material
with a higher-resolution subtractive process can achieve greater precision. As with the
LUMEX Avance-25 and other machines slated for IMTS 20140. Some additive manufacturing
techniques are capable of using multiple materials in the course of constructing parts. Some
are able to print in multiple colors and color combinations simultaneously. Some also utilize
supports when building. Supports are removable or dissolvable upon completion of the print,
and are used to support overhanging features during construction.

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 The Ten Principles of 3D Printing

Predicting the future is a crapshoot. When we were writing this book and interviewing people
about 3D printing, we discovered that a few underlying "rules" kept coming up. People from a
broad and diverse array of industries and backgrounds and levels of expertise described
similar ways that 3D printing helped them get past key cost, time and complexity barriers.

 Principle one: Manufacturing complexity is free. In traditional manufacturing, the more

complicated an object's shape, the more it costs to make. On a 3D printer, complexity
costs the same as simplicity. Fabricating an ornate and complicated shape does not
require more time, skill, or cost than printing a simple block. Free complexity will disrupt
traditional pricing models and change how we calculate the cost of manufacturing things.

 Principle two: Variety is free. A single 3D printer can make many shapes. Like a human
artisan, a 3D printer can fabricate a different shape each time. Traditional manufacturing
machines are much less versatile and can only make things in a limited spectrum of
shapes. 3D printing removes the over-head costs associated with re-training human
machinists or re-tooling factory machines. A single 3D printer needs only a different digital
blueprint and a fresh batch of raw material.

 Principle three: No assembly required. 3D printing forms interlocked parts. Mass

manufacturing is built on the backbone of the assembly line. In modern factories, machines
make identical objects that are later assembled by robots or human workers, sometimes
continents away. The more parts a product contains, the longer it takes to assemble and
the more expensive it becomes to make. By making objects in layers, a 3D printer could
print a door and attached interlocking hinges at the same time, no assembly required. Less
assembly will shorten supply chains, saving money on labour and transportation; shorter
supply chains will be less polluting.

 Principle four: Zero lead time. A 3D printer can print on demand when an object is
needed. The capacity for on-the-spot manufacturing reduces the need for companies to
stockpile physical inventory. New types of business services become possible as 3D
printers enable a business to make specialty -- or custom -- objects on demand in
response to customer orders. Zero-lead-time manufacturing could minimize the cost of
long-distance shipping if printed goods are made when they are needed and near where
they are needed.

 Principle five: Unlimited design space. Traditional manufacturing technologies and

human artisans can make only a finite repertoire of shapes. Our capacity to form shapes is
limited by the tools available to us. For example, a traditional wood lathe can make only
round objects. A mill can make only parts that can be accessed with a milling tool. A
moulding machine can make only shapes that can be poured into and then extracted from
a mould. A 3D printer removes these barriers, opening up vast new design spaces. A
printer can fabricate shapes that until now have been possible only in nature.

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 Principle six: Zero skill manufacturing. Traditional artisans train as apprentices for
years to gain the skills they needed. Mass production and computer-guided manufacturing
machines diminish the need for skilled production. However traditional manufacturing
machines still demand a skilled expert to adjust and calibrate them. A 3D printer gets most
of its guidance from a design file. To make an object of equal complexity, a 3D printer
requires less operator skill than does an injection moulding machine. Unskilled
manufacturing opens up new business models and could offer new modes of production
for people in remote environments or extreme circumstances.

 Principle seven: Compact, portable manufacturing. Per volume of production space, a

3D printer has more manufacturing capacity than a traditional manufacturing machine. For
example, an injection moulding machine can only make objects significantly smaller than
itself. In contrast, a 3D printer can fabricate objects as large as its print bed. If a 3D printer
is arranged so its printing apparatus can move freely, a 3D printer can fabricate objects
larger than itself. A high production capacity per square foot makes 3D printers ideal for
home use or office use since they offer a small physical footprint.

 Principle eight: Less waste by-product. 3D printers that work in metal create less waste
by-product than do traditional metal manufacturing techniques. Machining metal is highly
wasteful as an estimated 90 percent of the original metal gets ground off and ends up on
the factory floor. 3D printing is more waste less for metal manufacturing. As printing
materials improve, "Net shape" manufacturing could be a greener way to make things.

 Principle nine: Infinite shades of materials. Combining different raw materials into a
single product is difficult using today's manufacturing machines. Since traditional
manufacturing machines carve, cut, or mould things into shape, these processes can't
easily blend together different raw materials. As multi-material 3D printing develops, we
will gain the capacity to blend and mix different raw materials. New previously inaccessible
blends of raw material offer us a much larger, mostly unexplored palette of materials with
novel properties or useful types of behaviours.

 Principle ten: Precise physical replication. A digital music file can be endlessly copied
with no loss of audio quality. In the future, 3D printing will extend this digital precision to
the world of physical objects. Scanning technology and 3D printing will together introduce
high resolution shape-shifting between the physical and digital worlds. We will scan, edit,
and duplicate physical objects to create exact replicas or to improve on the original.

Some of these principles already hold true today. Others will come true in the next decade or
two (or three). By removing familiar, time-honoured manufacturing constraints, 3D printing
sets the stage for a cascade of downstream innovation. In the following chapters we explore
how 3D printing technologies will change the ways we work, eat, heal, learn, create and play.
Let's begin with a visit to the world of manufacturing and design, where 3D printing
technologies ease the tyranny of economies of scale.

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 Manufacturing

There are two types of manufacturing used

1. Additive Manufacturing
2. Subtractive Manufacturing

Additive Manufacturing: How it begins

1. A CAD file with a specific geometry is converted to a surface tessellation (STL) file
2. This file is transferred to the additive manufacturing system for building
3. The geometry is divided into horizontal slices of varying thicknesses

A Brief History of Additive

The first successful attempts at additive manufacturing came from technology developed in
the 1970s, though additive's earliest roots can be traced to topography and photo sculpture,
both first developed in the 1800s.
Additive technology developed rapidly throughout the 1980s and 1990s, and it has seen
increasing industrial applications in the last 20 years

The Advantages of Additive

Speed:
Without the need for moulds or dies, additive allows you to make parts and prototypes on demand
Cost:
No need to build a mould and design changes can be made without adding cost
Design freedom:
Design changes can be made quickly and easily, constraints on tooling and machining are eliminated
Convenience:
Design and production can all take place in-house, on your schedule

Emerging Uses of Additive Processes

• Development of super alloy additive manufacturing for nickel super alloy jet engine part
features
• Direct Laser Sintering of titanium for aerospace components
• Repair of heat-treated steels and components

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3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing coverage includes:

 Novel additive manufacturing processes and techniques

 Improvements of established methods and materials
 Modelling and simulation of additive manufacturing processes
 New materials, meta-materials, digital materials, lattices, and multi-material
printing
 Active and electronic materials fabrication
 Hybrid additive and conventional manufacturing
 Medical applications of 3D printing and bio-printing
 Application of 3D printing in education
 Advanced methods in product lifecycle design, testing and adaptation
 Material mechanical properties, solidification processes for powders, liquids,
and solids
 Rapid tooling, remote manufacturing
 Economic and social, and humanitarian considerations of democratizing
manufacturing
 Advances in personal 3D Printers and consumer adoption
 Mass customization, new business models
 Material performance standards and data exchange formats

The Future: ''On-Demand'' Manufacturing

Additive technology is an important component of realizing the concept of "on-demand
manufacturing."
The goal:
• improve output volume
• reduce unit cost
• improve quality control
• minimize the cost and lead time associated with tooling work
It's the next step in manufacturing technology, with the potential to revolutionize the industry
as it currently stands

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 Table 1 Types of 3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing

Type Technologies Materials

Thermoplastics (e.g. PLA, ABS), HDPE, eu

tectic metals, edible materials, Rubber
Fused deposition
Extrusion (Sugru), Modelling clay, Plasticine, RTV
modelling (FDM)
silicone, Porcelain, Metal clay (including
Precious Metal Clay)

Electron Beam Free-form

Wire Almost any metal alloy
Fabrication (EBF3)

Direct metal laser

Almost any metal alloy
sintering (DMLS)

Electron-beam
Titanium alloys
melting (EBM)

Selective laser Titanium alloys, Cobalt Chrome

Granular
melting (SLM) alloys, Stainless Steel, Aluminium

Selective heat
Thermoplastic powder
sintering (SHS)

Selective laser Thermoplastics, metal powders, ceramic

sintering (SLS) powders

Powder bed and

Plaster-based 3D printing
inkjet head 3D Plaster
(PP)
printing

Laminated object
Laminated Paper, metal foil, plastic film
manufacturing (LOM)

Stereo-lithography (SLA) Photopolymer

Light polymerised
Digital Light
Photopolymer
Processing (DLP)

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Subtractive Manufacturing
 Subtractive manufacturing relies upon the removal of material to create something.
 The blacksmith hammered away at heated metal to create a product.
 This technique is inefficient & wasteful.

There are many kinds of machining operations, each of which is capable of generating a
certain part geometry and surface texture.
In turning, a cutting tool with a single cutting edge is used to remove material from a rotating
work piece to generate a cylindrical shape. The speed motion is provided by rotating the work
piece, and the feed motion is achieved by moving the cutting tool slowly in a direction parallel
to the axis of rotation of the work piece.
Drilling is used to create a round hole. It is accomplished by a rotating tool that typically has
two or four helical cutting edges. The tool is fed in a direction parallel to its axis of rotation
into the work piece to form the round hole.
In boring, a tool with a single bent pointed tip is advanced into a roughly made hole in a
spinning work piece to slightly enlarge the hole and improve its accuracy. It is a fine finishing
operation used in the final stages of product manufacture.
In milling, a rotating tool with multiple cutting edges is moved slowly relative to the material
to generate a plane or straight surface. The direction of the feed motion is perpendicular to
the tool's axis of rotation. The speed motion is provided by the rotating milling cutter. The two
basic forms of milling are:
 Peripheral milling
 Face milling.

Advanced Manufacturing
 Airbus would like to make a 3D printer that is large enough to make planes from the
ground up – a hangar-size printer as large as 80m x 80m.

 Made In Space is a US company experimenting with zero-gravity 3D printing. The

process could potentially allow astronauts to print objects as required in space, saving
valuable weight at launch.

 NASA has been looking at 3D printing for some time now, and considering the
technology for long missions where astronauts could create their own equipment
during the trip.

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 Types of 3D Printer

Commercial 3D printers

While most people have yet to even hear the term 3D printing, the process has been in use
for decades. Manufacturers have long used the printers in the design process to create
prototypes for traditional manufacturing. But until the last few years, the equipment has been
expensive and slow.

Now, fast 3D printers can be had for tens of thousands of dollars, and end up saving the
companies many times that amount in the prototyping process. For example, Nike uses 3D
printers to create multi-coloured prototypes of shoes. They used to spend thousands of
dollars on a prototype and wait weeks for it. Now, the cost is only in the hundreds of dollars,
and changes can be made instantly on the computer and the prototype reprinted on the same
day.

Some companies are using 3D printers for short run or custom manufacturing, where the
printed objects are not prototypes, but the actual end user product. As the speeds of 3D
printing go up and the prices come down, look for more and more of this. And expect more
availability of personally customized products.

Fig 4 CBJET X900 – A Commercial 3D Printer

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Personal 3D Printers

There is a whole other world of 3D printers: personal and DIY hobbyist models. And they are
getting cheap, with prices typically in the range of $300 – $2,000.

Fig 5 A Huxley RepRap 3D printer that has printed out its own parts.

The RepRap open source project really ignited this hobbyist market in the same way the
Apple I microcomputer ignited the hobbyist desktop computer market in the late 1970s. For
about a thousand dollars, people have been able to buy the RepRap kit and put together their
own personal 3D printer, complete with any customizations they were capable of making.
And what’s more, these printers print most of the parts for more printers. RepRap is short for
replicating rapid prototyper, so complete self-replication, including electronic circuit boards, is
the goal.

The interest in RepRap spawned scores of other low-cost 3D printers, both DIY and fully-
assembled, and as the prices keep coming down, it puts 3D printers into more and more and
more hands.

While complex and expensive CAD software like AutoCAD and Solid works have a steep
learning curve, there are a number of other programs, many free that are very easy to learn.
The free version of Google Sketch Up, for example, is very popular for its ease of use; and
the free Blender program is popular for its advanced features.

If you don’t have your very own 3D printer, not to worry, there are 3D printing service bureaus
like Shape ways and Ponoko that can very inexpensively print and deliver an object from a
digital file that you simply upload to their user-friendly website. It’s almost as easy as ordering
a custom t-shirt from Cafepress or Zazzle.

Even if you don’t design your own 3D model, you can still print some very cool pieces. There
are model repositories such as Thingiverse, 3D Parts Database, and 3D Warehouse that
have model files you can download for free.

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 Ten Unexpected Things 3D Printer Can Print

Here are the ten of the most incredible objects that can already be 3D printed with today's
technology.
Body Parts
Ears, kidneys, blood vessels, skin and bones have all been successfully 3D printed by
scientists around the U.S. Instead of the typical plastic normally associated with 3D printing,
these 3D medical “bio printers” use a gel-like substance made from cells. (The outlier is
bones, which use a ceramic powder instead.)
Advances in 3D bio printing mean that someday soon, doctors will be able to provide every
patient with a perfectly matching bone fragment, skin graft, or kidney (3D printed kidneys
exist, but they are not yet functional).
Pizza
This NASA-funded 3D printing project is good enough to eat. The organization began funding
3D-printed food in order to feed astronauts in space.
Usually, a 3D printer works from just one material cartridge. But the pizza printer works by
printing from multiple cartridges at once, containing material like dough, cheese, or sauce.
Chocolate
Replace the typical plastic in a 3D printer’s cartridge with melted chocolate and the
possibilities for futuristic desserts are endless. You can print any writing or drawing that can
be processed by a computer, and it'll be edible.
Choc edge is one of the first chocolate-exclusive 3D printers, at several thousand dollars a
pop. But there’s a surprisingly large amount of competition in the field of 3D-printed candy. In
January, the Hershey Company and 3D Systems announced a partnership to create all kinds
of 3D printed confections.
Clothing
3D printed clothing may not be in stores yet, but it’s already debuted on the runway. Model
Dita Von Tease wore the first fully articulated 3D printed gown—made especially to fit her.
With nearly 3,000 joints, the dress flows according to her curves.
Musical Instruments
It’s now possible to create functional musical instruments wholly or partly out of 3D-printed
objects. Commercially, there’s the Odd 3D printed guitar, which promises a unique look as
well as premier acoustics. MIT Media Lab researcher Amit Zoran was able to print a working
flute. German firm EOS printed a polymer-based violin.
Cars

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Urbee 2 looks more like a jelly bean than a car. But it’s actually the first vehicle in existence
that has been manufactured chiefly from 3D-printed parts.
This three-wheeled car is cheaper and more fuel efficient than just about any vehicle on the
market today, but its 23 horsepower engine (with batteries combined) means it could struggle
to reach top highway speeds.
Guns
Possibly the most controversial creation you can build with a 3D printer is a firearm. The first
model was called the Liberator, developed by 26-year-old Cody Wilson.
Now, anybody who has a 3D printer and an Internet connection can download and print their
own gun out of plastic parts. But just because they’re made of plastic doesn’t mean they’re
not deadly—according to the FBI, the Liberator fires bullets capable of piercing internal
organs.
Drones

Fig 6 A “3D Printed” Drone

One disruptive technology begets another when 3D-printed drones roam the skies.
Researchers at South Hampton University have developed the SULSA (Southampton
University Laser Sintered Aircraft), an unmanned aerial vehicle that can be mass produced
through 3D printing. It has a top speed of 90 miles per hour, and can remain in the air for a
total of 30 minutes.
The drone can be assembled from plastic parts in 10 minutes, without the use of screws or
other conventional fasteners. As a result, it is virtually silent in cruise mode. You'll never see
this 3D printed drone coming.
3D Printers

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 Fig 7 RepRap printing its own components

Yes, you can even print 3D printers with a 3D printer.

With the advent of a 3D printer capable of printing itself, we've gone full circle.
The RepRap is an open source printer that does just that. The RepRap is released under a
free software license, so you can freely print and put together all the parts that make it up.
Just buy the machine (for $500-$600 online), and program it to self-replicate until you've
made 3D printers for all of your friends.

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 3D Printing – Its Service

 Basic printing
 High-end plastic
 Multiple material
 High-end, precision
 Object replication (3D Scanning)
 Finishing
 Object preparation
 Model design

Fig 8 A Complex Plastic wireframe

3D Printing – Materials

 Plastics
 PLA
 ABS
 Acrylic
 Metals
 Stainless steel
 Sterling silver
 Glass
 Ceramics
 Resin
 Sandstone
 Rubber
Fig 9 A model carved to reality

Fig 10 PLA – The most commonly used 3D Printing plastic

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 3D Printing Methods

Several different 3D printing processes have been invented since the late 1970s. The printers
were originally large, expensive, and highly limited in what they could produce.[17]
A large number of additive processes are now available. They differ in the way layers are
deposited to create parts and in the materials that can be used. Some methods melt or soften
material to produce the layers, e.g. selective laser melting (SLM) or direct metal laser
sintering (DMLS), selective laser sintering (SLS), fused deposition modelling (FDM), while
others cure liquid materials using different sophisticated technologies, e.g. stereo
lithography (SLA).
With the laminated object- manufacturing (LOM), thin layers are cut to shape and joined
together (e.g. paper, polymer, metal). Each method has its own advantages and drawbacks,
and some companies consequently offer a choice between powder and polymer for the
material from which the object is built.[18] Some companies use standard, off-the-shelf business
paper as the build material to produce a durable prototype. The main considerations in
choosing a machine are generally speed, cost of the 3D printer, cost of the printed prototype,
and cost and choice of materials and colour capabilities.
Printers that work directly with metals are expensive. In some cases, however, less expensive
printers can be used to make a mould, which is then used to make metal parts.

Stereo-lithography (SLA)

3D Systems explains the process of Stereo-lithography.

The first commercially available 3D printer (not called a 3D printer back then) used the
stereo-lithography (SLA) method. This was invented in 1986 by Charles Hull, who also at the
time founded the company, 3D Systems. A SLA 3D printer works by concentrating a beam of
ultraviolet light focused onto the surface of a vat filled with liquid photo-curable resin. The UV
laser beam draws out the 3D model one thin layer at a time, hardening that “slice” of the
eventual 3D model as the light hits the resin. Slice after slice is created, with each one
bonded to the other, and next thing you know you have a full, extremely high-resolution three
dimensional model lifted out of the vat. Unused resin is reusable for the next job.

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 Fig 11 Stereolithography

Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM)

Stratasys explains Fused Deposition Modelling at a trade show

Also invented in the late 1980s, by Scott Crump, was Fused Deposition modelling (FDM)
technology. With patent in hand, he and his wife founded Stratasys in 1988. With FDM, the
object is produced by extruding a stream of melted thermoplastic material to form layers.
Each layer stacks on top of and fuses with the previous layer as the material hardens almost
immediately after leaving the extrusion nozzle. It is one of the less expensive 3D printing
methods. Most FDM printers print with ABS plastic (think Lego), as well as PLA (Poly lactic
acid), a biodegradable polymer, which is produced from organic material.

The actual term “Fused Deposition Modelling” and its abbreviation “FDM” are trademarked by
Stratasys. Rep-Rap uses a similar process, but has called it “Fused Filament Fabrication”
(FFF), so as to not step on the trademark. With FFF, the material is fed via filament from a
spool of the material.

1 – Nozzle ejecting molten plastic,

2 – Deposited material (modelled part),
3 – Controlled movable table.

Fig 12 Fused deposition modelling:

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 Selective Laser Sintering (SLS)
3D Systems demonstrates the Sinter Station Pro SLS 3D printer.

The 1980s were big for inventing 3D printing technologies. Not only were SLA and FDM
invented and patented then, but so was Selective Laser Sintering (SLS), by Carl Deckard and
colleagues at the University of Texas in Austin. SLS works similarly to SLA, but instead of
liquid photopolymer in a vat, you’ll find powdered materials, such as polystyrene, ceramics,
glass, nylon, and metals including steel, titanium, aluminium, and silver. When the laser hits
the powder, the powder is fused at that point (sintered). All un-sintered powder remains as is,
and becomes a support structure for the object. The lack of necessity for any support
structure with SLS is an advantage over FDM/FFF and SLA — there’s none to remove after
the model is complete, and no extra waste was created. All unused powder can be used for
the next printing.

Fig 13 Selective Laser Sintering

PolyJet photopolymer
Objet (acquired by Stratasys) developed this technology: much like a traditional inkjet printer
deposits ink, a photopolymer liquid is precisely jetted out and then hardened with a UV light.
The layers are stacked successively. The technology allows for various materials and colours
to be incorporated into single prints, and at high resolutions.

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 Platform with a Fuse powder with laser Lower the platform,
layer of powder or by adding binder add new layer of
(with ink-jet printer) powder, and repeat

Fig 14 Polyjet PhotoPolymer

Syringe Extrusion
Almost any material that has a creamy viscosity can be used in 3D printers equipped with
syringe extruders. This includes materials like clay, cement, silicone, and Play-Doh. Certain
foods like chocolate, frosting, and cheese can also be printed with these systems. The
syringe may or may not need to be heated, depending on the material; chocolate may need
to be kept warm while silicone can be kept at room temperature.

Fig 15 Syringe Extrusion

Other Methods
There are other variants of these technologies. For example there is Selective Laser Melting
(SLM), which is like SLS but it fully melts the powder rather than just fusing the powder
granules at a lower temperature. This is similar to Electron Beam Melting (EBM) which uses
an electron beam instead of a UV laser. And then there is a completely different technology
called Laminated Object Manufacturing (LOM), where layers of adhesive-coated paper,
plastic, or metal laminates are successively glued together and cut to shape with a knife or
laser cutter.

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 Applications

1. Industrial uses
Rapid Prototyping
Industrial 3D printers have existed since the early 1980s and have been used extensively for
rapid prototyping and research purposes. These are generally larger machines that use
proprietary powdered metals, casting media (e.g. sand), plastics, paper or cartridges, and are
used for rapid prototyping by universities and commercial companies.

Fig 16 Full color miniature face models produced on a 3D Printer.

Rapid manufacturing

Advances in RP technology have introduced materials that are appropriate for final
manufacture, which has in turn introduced the possibility of directly manufacturing finished
components. One advantage of 3D printing for rapid manufacturing lies in the relatively
inexpensive production of small numbers of parts.
Rapid manufacturing is a new method of manufacturing and many of its processes remain
unproven. 3D printing is now entering the field of rapid manufacturing and was identified as a
"next level" technology by many experts in a 2009 report. One of the most promising
processes looks to be the adaptation of selective laser sintering (SLS), or direct metal laser
sintering (DMLS) some of the better-established rapid prototyping methods. As of 2006,
however, these techniques were still very much in their infancy, with many obstacles to be
overcome before RM could be considered a realistic manufacturing method.

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 Fig 17 Printing going on with a 3D printer at Makers Party Bangalore

Mass customization
Companies have created services where consumers can customize objects using simplified
web based customization software, and order the resulting items as 3D printed unique
objects. This now allows consumers to create custom cases for their mobile phones. Nokia
has released the 3D designs for its case so that owners can customize their own case and
have it 3D printed.

Mass production

The current slow print speed of 3D printers limits their use for mass production. To reduce
this overhead, several fused filament machines now offer multiple extruder heads. These can
be used to print in multiple colours, with different polymers, or to make multiple prints
simultaneously.

Fig 18 Cartesio LDMP mass production 3Dprinter

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This increases their overall print speed during multiple instance production, while requiring
less capital cost than duplicate machines since they can share a single controller.

Distinct from the use of multiple machines, multi-material machines are restricted to making
identical copies of the same part, but can offer multi-colour and multi-material features when
needed. The print speed increases proportionately to the number of heads. Furthermore, the
energy cost is reduced due to the fact that they share the same heated print volume.
Together, these two features reduce overhead costs.

Many printers now offer twin print heads. However, these are used to manufacture single
(sets of) parts in multiple colours/materials.

2. Domestic and hobbyist uses

As of 2012, domestic 3D printing has mainly captivated hobbyists and enthusiasts and has
not quite gained recognition for practical household applications. A working clock has been
made and have been printed for home woodworking machines among other purposes.3D
printing is also used for ornamental objects. Web sites associated with home 3D printing tend
to include backscratchers, coat hooks, doorknobs etc.

As of 2013, 3D printers have been used to help animals. A 3D printed foot let a crippled
duckling walk again. 3D printed stylish hermit crab shells let them inhabit a new style home.
Printers have also made decorative pieces for humans such as necklaces, rings, bags etc.

The open source Fab@ Home project has developed printers for general use. They have
been used in research environments to produce chemical compounds with 3D printing
technology, including new ones, initially without immediate application as proof of principle.
The printer can print with anything that can be dispensed from a syringe as liquid or paste.
The developers of the chemical application envisage that this technology could be used for
both industrial and domestic use. Including, for example, enabling users in remote locations
to be able to produce their own medicine or household chemicals.

Fig 19 A Maker Bot Replicator 2

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3. Clothing

3D printing has spread into the world of clothing with fashion designers experimenting with
3D-printed bikinis, shoes, and dresses. In commercial production Nike is using 3D printing to
prototype and manufacture the 2012 Vapour Laser Talon football shoe for players of
American football, and New Balance is 3D manufacturing custom-fit shoes for athletes.

4. 3D bio-printing
As of 2012, 3D bio-printing technology has been studied by biotechnology firms and
academia for possible use in tissue engineering applications in which organs and body parts
are built using inkjet techniques. In this process, layers of living cells are deposited onto a gel
medium or sugar matrix and slowly built up to form three-dimensional structures including
vascular systems. The first production system for 3D tissue printing was delivered in 2009,
based on Novo Gen bio-printing technology. Several terms have been used to refer to this
field of research: organ printing, bio-printing, body part printing, and computer-aided tissue
engineering, among others.
An early-stage medical laboratory and research company, called Organovo, designs and
develops functional, three dimensional human tissue for medical research and therapeutic
applications. The company utilizes its NovoGen MMX Bio-printer for 3D bio-printing.
Organovo anticipates that the bio-printing of human tissues will accelerate the preclinical
drug testing and discovery process, enabling treatments to be created more quickly and at
lower cost. Additionally, Organovo has long-term expectations that this technology could be
suitable for surgical therapy and transplantation.

5. 3D printing for implant and medical device

3D printing has been used to print patient specific implant and device for medical use.
Successful operations include a titanium pelvic implanted into a British patient, titanium
lower jaw transplanted to a Dutch patient, and a plastic tracheal splint for an American infant.
The hearing aid and dental industries are expected to be the biggest area of future
development using the custom 3D printing technology. In March 2014, surgeons in Swansea
used 3D printed parts to rebuild the face of a motorcyclist who had been seriously injured in a
road accident.

6. 3D printing services

Some companies offer on-line 3D printing services open to both consumers and industries.
Such services require people to upload their 3D designs to the company website. Designs
are then 3D printed using industrial 3D printers and either shipped to the customer or in some
cases, the consumer can pick the object up at the store.

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7. Research into new applications

Fig 20 VLT component created using 3D printing.

Future applications for 3D printing might include creating open-source scientific equipment to
create open source labs or other science-based applications like reconstructing fossils
in palaeontology, replicating ancient and priceless artefacts in archaeology, reconstructing
bones and body parts in forensic pathology, and reconstructing heavily damaged evidence
acquired from crime scene investigations. The technology is also currently being researched
for building construction.
In 2005, academic journals had begun to report on the possible artistic applications of 3D
printing technology. By 2007 the mass media followed with an article in the Wall Street
Journal and Time Magazine, listing a 3D printed design among their 100 most influential
designs of the year. During the 2011 London Design Festival, an installation, curated by
Murray Moss and focused on 3D Printing, was held in the Victoria and Albert Museum (the
V&A). The installation was called Industrial Revolution 2.0: How the Material World will Newly
Materialize.
A proof-of-principle project at the University Of Glasgow, UK, in 2012 showed that it is
possible to use 3D printing techniques to create chemical compounds, including new ones.
They first printed chemical reaction vessels, then used the printer to squirt reactants into
them as "chemical inks" which would then react.They have produced new compounds to
verify the validity of the process, but have not pursued anything with a particular
application.[71] Cornell Creative Machines Lab has confirmed that it is possible to produce
customized food with 3D Hydrocolloid Printing. Professor Leroy Croninof Glasgow
University proposed, in a TED talk that it should one day be possible to use chemical inks to
print medicine. 3D food printer is currently being develop by squeezing out food, layer by
layer, for food such as chocolate, candy, and pasta.
The use of 3D scanning technologies allows the replication of real objects without the use
of moulding techniques that in many cases can be more expensive, more difficult, or too

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invasive to be performed, particularly for precious or delicate cultural heritage artefacts where
direct contact with the moulding substances could harm the original object's surface.
An additional use being developed is building printing, or using 3D printing to build buildings.
This could allow faster construction for lower costs, and has been investigated for
construction of off-Earth habitats. For example, the Sinterhab project is researching a lunar
base constructed by 3D printing using lunar regolith as a base material. Instead of adding a
binding agent to the regolith, researchers are experimenting with microwave sintering to
create solid blocks from the raw material.
Employing additive layer technology offered by 3D printing, Terahertz devices which act as
waveguides, couplers and bends have been created. The complex shape of these devices
could not be achieved using conventional fabrication techniques. Commercially available
professional grade printer EDEN 260V was used to create structures with minimum feature
size of 100 µm. The printed structures were later DC sputter coated with gold (or any other
metal) to create a Terahertz Plasmonic Device.
China has committed almost $500 million towards the establishment of 10 national 3-D
printing development institutes. In 2013, Chinese scientists began printing ears, livers and
kidneys, with living tissue. Researchers in China have been able to successfully print human
organs using specialized 3D bio printers that use living cells instead of plastic. Researchers
at Hangzhou Dianzi University actually went as far as inventing their own 3D printer for the
complex task, dubbed the “Regenovo” which is a "3D bio printer." Xu Mingen, Regenovo's
developer, said that it takes the printer under an hour to produce either a mini liver sample or
a four to five inch ear cartilage sample. Xu also predicted that fully functional printed organs
may be possible within the next ten to twenty years. In the same year, researchers at
theUniversity of Hasselt, in Belgium had successfully printed a new jawbone for an 83-year-
old Belgian woman. The woman is now able to chew, speak and breathe normally again after
a machine printed her a new jawbone.
In Bahrain, large-scale 3D printing using a sandstone-like material has been used to create
unique coral-shaped structures, which encourage coral polyps to colonize and regenerate
damaged reefs. These structures have a much more natural shape than other structures
used to create artificial reefs, and have a neutral pH which concrete does not.
Some of the recent developments in 3D printing were revealed at the 3DPrintshow in
London, which took place in November 2013 and 2014. The art section had in exposition
artworks made with 3D printed plastic and metal. Several artists such as Joshua Harker,
Davide Prete, Sophie Kahn, Helena Lukasova, Foteini Setaki showed how 3D printing can
modify aesthetic and art processes. One part of the show focused on ways in which 3D
printing can advance the medical field. The underlying theme of these advances was that
these printers can be used to create parts that are printed with specifications to meet each
individual. This makes the process safer and more efficient. One of these advances is the
use of 3D printers to produce casts that are created to mimic the bones that they are
supporting. These custom-fitted casts are open, which allow the wearer to scratch any itches
and also wash the damaged area. Being open also allows for open ventilation. One of the
best features is that they can be recycled to create more casts. In December 2013, BAE
Systems fitted and successfully test flew a Panavia Tornado with parts made by 3D printing.

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 Effects of 3D Printing

Space exploration
As early as 2010, work began on applications of 3D printing in zero or low gravity
environments. The primary concept involves creating basic items such as hand tools or other
more complicated devices "on demand" versus using valuable resources such as fuel or
cargo space to carry the items into space.
Additionally, NASA is conducting tests with company Made in Space to assess the potential
of 3D printing to make space exploration cheaper and more efficient. Rocket parts built using
this technology have passed NASA firing tests. In July 2013, two rocket engine injectors
performed as well as traditionally constructed parts during hot-fire tests which exposed them
to temperatures approaching 6,000 degrees Fahrenheit (3,316 degrees Celsius) and extreme
pressures. NASA is also preparing to launch a 3D printer into space; the agency hopes to
demonstrate that, with the printer making spare parts on the fly, astronauts need not carry
large loads of spares with them.
Social change
Since the 1950s, a number of writers and social commentators have speculated in some
depth about the social and cultural changes that might result from the advent of
commercially-affordable additive manufacturing technology. Amongst the more notable ideas
to have emerged from these inquiries has been the suggestion that, as more and more 3D
printers start to enter people's homes, so the conventional relationship between the home
and the workplace might get further eroded. Likewise, it has also been suggested that, as it
becomes easier for businesses to transmit designs for new objects around the globe, so the
need for high-speed freight services might also become less. Finally, given the ease with
which certain objects can now be replicated, it remains to be seen whether changes will be
made to current copyright legislation so as to protect intellectual property rights with the new
technology widely available.

Firearms
In 2012, the U.S.-based group Defence Distributed disclosed plans to "[design] a working
plastic gun that could be downloaded and reproduced by anybody with a 3D
printer." Defence Distributed has also designed a 3D printable AR-15 type rifle lower
receiver (capable of lasting more than 650 rounds) and a 30 round M16 magazine. The AR-
15 has multiple receivers (both an upper and lower receiver), but the legally-controlled part is
the one that is serialized (the lower, in the AR-15's case). Soon after Defence Distributed
succeeded in designing the first working blueprint to produce a plastic gun with a 3D printer
in May 2013, the United States Department of State demanded that they remove the
instructions from their website.
After Defence Distributed released their plans, questions were raised regarding the effects
that 3D printing and widespread consumer-level CNC machining may have on gun
control effectiveness.

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The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Joint Regional Intelligence
Centre released a memo stating that "significant advances in three-dimensional (3D) printing
capabilities, availability of free digital 3D printable files for firearms components, and difficulty
regulating file sharing may present public safety risks from unqualified gun seekers who
obtain or manufacture 3D printed guns," and that "proposed legislation to ban 3D printing of
weapons may deter, but cannot completely prevent their production. Even if the practice is
prohibited by new legislation, online distribution of these 3D printable files will be as difficult
to control as any other illegally traded music, movie or software files."
Internationally, where gun controls are generally tighter than in the United States, some
commentators have said the impact may be more strongly felt, as alternative firearms are not
as easily obtainable. European officials have noted that producing a 3D printed gun would be
illegal under their gun control laws, and that criminals have access to other sources of
weapons, but noted that as the technology improved the risks of an effect would
increase. Downloads of the plans from the UK, Germany, Spain, and Brazil were heavy.
Attempting to restrict the distribution over the Internet of gun plans has been likened to the
futility of preventing the widespread distribution of DeCSS which enabled DVD ripping. After
the US government had Defense Distributed take down the plans, they were still widely
available via The Pirate Bay and other file sharing sites. Some US legislators have proposed
regulations on 3D printers, to prevent them being used for printing guns. 3D printing
advocates have suggested that such regulations would be futile, could cripple the 3D printing
industry, and could infringe on free speech rights, with early pioneer of 3D printing
Professor Hod Lipson suggesting that gunpowder could be controlled instead.

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 Advantages & Disadvantages

The Advantages of 3D Printing

1. Manufacturing Options: 3D printing provides a wide variety of manufactured

products, including customizable products and even an individual’s personal designs.

2. Rapid Prototyping: Products can more quickly go from just a design to an actual
prototype.

3. Manufacturing Speed: Just like the previous advantage, the manufacturing speed for
a large number of final products is equally fast.

4. Reduced Costs: Even though the initial setup costs are higher, 3D printing has
become cheaper than cheap labor in third world countries. Additionally, the costs of
3D printing are still decreasing, with the potential of 3D printers in homes in the near
future. Furthermore, the costs of customized products are the same for mass
production products.

5. Warehousing: With traditional manufacturing technologies, it is much faster and

cheaper to manufacture additional products that you probably know that you will
eventually need. However with 3D printing, only products that are sold need to be
manufactured, thus warehousing of excess inventory is significantly less needed.

6. More Jobs: More engineers are needed to design and build 3D printers, and more
technicians are needed to maintain, use, and fix 3D printers too. Additionally, with the
lower cost of manufacturing, more designers and artists would be able deliver their
products to the market. Even more domestic jobs for shipping these products should
be created too.

7. Medical: One of the innovative products that 3D printing may provide is the
manufacturing of customizable human body parts or organs. While these usages are
still experimental, the potential advantages are huge. Imagine doctors quickly building
and replacing critical organs, such as the heart, lungs, or liver that will have almost no
chance of donor rejection, since the organs will be built using the patients’ unique
characters and DNA.

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 Disadvantages of 3D Printing

1. Fewer Manufacturing Jobs: As with all new technologies, manufacturing jobs will
decrease. This disadvantage can and will have a large impact to the economies of
third world countries, especially China, that depend on a large number of low skill jobs.

2. Limited Materials: Currently, 3D printers only manufacture products out of plastic,

resin, certain metals, and ceramics. 3D printing of products in mixed materials and
technology, such as circuit boards, are still under development.

3. Copyright: With 3D printing becoming more common, the printing of copyrighted

products to create counterfeit items will become more common and nearly impossible
to determine.

4. Dangerous Items: 3D printers can create dangerous items, such as guns and knives,
with very little or no oversight.

5. More Useless Stuff: One of the dangers of 3D printers is that they will be used to
create more useless stuff that is bad for the environment and wallets. Fortunately,
there are new methods of automatically recycling objects made by 3D printers that
hold promise of better recycling in the future.

6. Size: Currently, 3D printers are limited with the size of the products that they can
create. Ultimately, large items, such as houses and building, could be created using
3D printers.

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 CONCLUSION

 3D printing is an expanding technology which may soon start an industry in which

everyone has the possibility of being a manufacturer.
 3D printing has lot of possible benefits to society, although the products created must
be regulated

3D Printing is a Game Changer

 Instantly printing parts and entire products, anywhere in the world, is a game changer.
But it doesn’t stop there. 3D printing will affect almost every aspect of industry and our
personal lives.

 Medicine will forever be changed as new bio printers actually print human tissue for
both pharmaceutical testing and eventually entire organs and bones.

 Architecture and construction are changing as well. Now, 3D-printed models of

complex architectural drawings are created quickly and inexpensively, rather than the
expensive and time-consuming process of handcrafting models out of cardboard. And
experimental, massive 3D printers are printing concrete structures, with the goal of
someday creating entire buildings with a 3D printer.

 Art is already forever changed. Digital artists are creating magnificent pieces that
seem almost impossible to have been made by traditional methods. From sculptures
to light fixtures, beautiful objects no longer need to be handcrafted, just designed on a
computer.

 And there are developments where you least expect them: for example,
archaeologists can 3D scan priceless and delicate artefacts, and then print copies of
them so they can handle them without fear of breakage. Replicas can be easily made
and distributed to other research facilities or museums. It has been used to create a
full-size reproduction of King Tutankhamun’s mummy and to repair Rodin’s sculpture,
The Thinker.

Fig 21 3D Printed Muscat

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 BIBLIOGRAPHY

 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3D computer graphics

 www.readwrite.com/2014/02/14/3d-printing-printers
 www.3dprinter.net/reference/what-is-3d-printing
 www.3dprinter.net/reference/what-is-3d-printing

 www.readwrite.com/2014/02/14/3d-printing-printers-projects-applications-
prints#awesm=~ow0yt4f6zB56HE
 www. Deckard, C., "Method and apparatus for producing parts by selective sintering",
U.S. Patent 4,863,538, filed October 17, 1986, published September 5, 1989.
 Householder, R., "Moulding Process", U.S. Patent 4,247,508, filed December 3, 1979,
published January 27, 1981.
 Hiemenz, Joe. "Rapid prototypes move to metal components (EE Times, 3/9/2007)"..
SMU.edu.
 Article in Rapid Today, "3D Printer Uses Standard Paper", "Rapid Today", May, 2008

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