3D Printing - Faster and Better

What comes next?

You might remember the scene from Terminator 2 where the bad robot rises from
liquid on the floor into a robotic policeman and continues chasing poor John Connor.  This new
technology presented by Joseph DeSimone, an American chemist and 2008 recipient of the Lemelson-MIT prize, shows how that can be possible in the near future (converting liquid into solid “new printed” artifacts, not into liquid metal robots).

Mr. DeSimone challenged the speed and quality of 3D printers, claiming that he can print objects 25 to 100 times faster.  He is even suggesting that soon the speed will be 1000 times faster!

Imagine if your dentist could replicate your tooth in less than 10 minutes?  Using this, new technology you would never have to worry about the weeks of pain and careful eating while waiting for a new tooth to be crafted.

The technique behind this is called CLIP (Continuous Liquid Interface Production), which basically avoids the normal 3D printing layer by layer (2D printing based) and allows for an unlimited number of shapes and designs. The result is a higher quality product with almost no surface imperfections produced much quicker than regular 3D printing.

If this technology were widespread, we would be able to repair broken parts of almost any artifact in
minutes. At an industry level, it would allow manufacturers to include 3D printing technology in
production processes.  Even more revolutionary are the derivatives of 3D printing technology that have recently emerged.

Perhaps the most significant is PRINT® (Particle Replication In NonWetting Templates) into the
pharmaceutical industry.  Using similar technology as CLIP, drugs are molded into molecular shapes that human bodies receive in a “friendlier” way.  Just imagine taking medicines with ZERO side effects.

Do you think that current 3D printers are going to be old technology in the near future? Is this going to replace a supposedly “new technology”? What would you like to print if you had this technology available in your house RIGHT NOW?

Please leave us your comments and share your insights.

By: David Gomez

3D Printing in Medicine: Where will it be in 10 years?

Medicine is an area where the use of 3D printing is bringing very satisfactory outcomes on face and knee surgeries.

One particular application of 3D technology related to face surgery is helping to make incredible improvements.  Typically, this kind of surgery can last up to 24 hours (if a transplant is involved) and the results are not always satisfactory.  New developments in 3D printing improve the outcome because:

1) 3D models of the skull of the patient allows doctors to practice simulated situations that reduce time of operation and

2) It is much easier to follow the recovery of the patient due to the vast amount of information contained in the 3D image.

An example of a successful surgery using 3D printing is the little girl Violet Pietrok, born with frontonasal dysplasia (malformation of the face and head).

(Before and after reconstructive surgery)

Another interesting applications of 3D printing is related to knee injuries. Millions of individuals have knee problems due to cartilage wearing away. What about implanting 3D printed artificial cartilage in the knee? The United States has already started experimenting with this.

Knee cartilage regenerated with 3D printed scaffold

If we focus on the future, in a few years it seems that most, if not all body parts will be able to be reconstructed using 3D printing. It is already estimated that in 10 years there will be a 3D heart available. How much longer will we be able to live? 20-30 years more? It also raises the question of whether organ donations will still be necessary anymore (the waiting list for kidneys is so long that many people die before having the transplant). In my opinion, we will become a little bit like “Robocop” but I do not have doubts that it will be for the better.

What are your thoughts on the impact that 3D printing will have on the human body?

Written by: Ramon Avial