Capstone Project – 3D Printing

[su_heading size=”22″ align=”center” margin=”30″]3D printing[/su_heading]

3D-printing was hyped up a few years ago as a new technology that would revolutionize the way consumers acquire some products.  Although the news media has lost interest in the reporting on the evolution of 3D-printing, the technology has continued to advance.  Along with larger scale 3D-printing, the home 3D-printing technology continues to advance and has cleared many hurdles while maintaining a fairly steady price-range.

3D-printing has a wide range of uses that many people may not have considered.  Medical devices, such as prosthesis and casts, can now be printed at a facility that is completely custom designed for an individual.  In the automotive and aircraft industries, lighter and stronger components are beginning to be 3D printed which can result in fuel savings to the consumer and less pollution to the environment.

Along with direct benefits of 3D-printing there are many other positive effects.  The cost and environmental impact of shipping an item from one location to another can be greatly reduced if the item is 3D-printed near the point of consumption.  Advances and changes in design of current or new products can be quickly tested by printing out a prototype and putting it through necessary testing.  Warehouses which store large amounts of products till they are needed can be greatly reduced since many of the items within them could be made on demand.

One of the object I will be creating will be an infographic with positive and negative effects of 3D-printing along with some examples of how this technology is beginning to change the world.   The other object will be a video remix of some of the most amazing advances in 3d-printing and some home-level 3d-printing ideas that may interest the average viewer.

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