In 2005 1st
high-definition color printer relesed to market.
In 2006 1st self-replicating 3D printer developed.
We live in an age that is witness to what many are calling the Third Industrial Revolution. 3D printing, more professionally called additive manufacturing, moves us away from the Henry Ford era mass production line, and will bring us to a new reality of customizable.
The term 3D printing is the common term for the correct manufacturing term of “additive manufacturing.”
It’s much like printing in two dimensions on a sheet of paper, but with an added third dimension: UP. The Z-axis.
It can “print” in plastic, metal, nylon, and over a hundred other materials.
It can also print manufacturing prototypes, end user products, quasi-legal guns, aircraft engine parts and even human organs using a person’s own cells.
Top 10 3D printers
3D Touch 3D printer
CB Printer
File2Part Gutenberg
Formlabs Form-1
Makerbot Replicator 2
Objet Connex 350
Printrbot jr
Stratasys Mojo 3D printer
Sumpod Basic
Up! 3D Plus
3-D Printing Advantages:
1) Shorter response times
2) Three-dimensional printing allows businesses to construct working models in just hours instead of days or weeks.
3) Lower Cost
4) Generating prototypes is much easier than making molds.
5) Superior Surface Finish
6) 3-dimensional printing methods enable the production of objects with excellent surface features.
7) Durability
8) The objects obtained in many types of 3-D printing are quite long lasting & durable, as they do not absorb moisture or warp over time.
9) Functional Models
3D printing method allows you to display 3-D models to customers that are fully functional & look very much like the real thing. This enables you to demonstrate how a product operates in a straightforward fashion, as opposed to a model that can be viewed only with computer assistance.