A 3D Future?

A 3D Future?

If you were to observe mankind 400 years ago and compare it to mankind 4,000 years ago you would see an eerily similar picture, with only some added diversity and a small number of living conveniences to set us apart.  However, the past 400 years have been a time that has changed everything we know about ourselves and the world around us, bringing us to the technology reliant society we are today. 

But what’s next?  To think about technology in huge waves, or revolutions, is one way to observe the great changes of humans.  A leader on the subject, Dr. Daniel Smihula proposed that humanity has gone through 5 distinct technological revolutions in modern history:
1. The Financial-agricultural revolution (1600–1740)
2. The Industrial revolution (1780–1840)
3. The Technical revolution (1880–1920)
4. Scientific-technical revolution (1940–1970)
5. The Information and telecommunications revolution (1985–2000).
6. ???

 First, you may notice a pattern in the years.  Life changing periods of innovation are compounding on each other and growing technology at an exponential pace.  The time from the start of the early Financial-agricultural revolution to the start of the Industrial revolution took 180 years.  180 years of improving crop yields to sustain larger populations and freeing up more manpower before we could move on to the Industrial revolution and greater innovations like the railroad, textiles, and iron.  100 years passed and next came the Technical revolution in 1880 which brought to us steam power, machine tools, and more.  After the start of the Technical revolution it only took 60 years to enter the Scientific-technical revolution and bring the world nuclear energy and space flight.  Lastly we only needed to wait 45 brief years for the globe to connect with the internet in the Information and telecommunications revolution from 1985-2000.

Most people agree the Information revolution ended around the year 2000 with the internet bubble.  That has left many people wondering when the next great technological revolution will begin.  It has been 29 years since the last revolution, 16 year shorter than the previous period of "rest", and although it is difficult to see the Present in historical context, we are already in the next revolution, 3D printing.  As technology begins converging to the point of Artificial Intelligence, space colonization, nanotechnology, and even unlocking our genetic code, the lines begin to blur at the massive, exponential growth of technology and what could come next. 

If any one idea can help to grasp this growth it is Moore’s Law (the number of transistors in a circuit doubles every two years).  Since 1970 (the end of the Scientific-technical revolution) computers have essentially become 10 million times as powerful, and your iPhone now has more computing power than the Apollo 11 that landed us on the moon. 

So where does 3D printing come in? Everywhere.

3D printing is finding a way into every industry across the globe much in the same way the internet changed business in the 2000’s.  There are 3D printers already being used to help with surgery, build cars, enhance style, and so much more.

There are two very opposite directions in which 3D printing seems primed to completely change the way we live over the next two years.  Complex details, and huge manufacturing.  On the complex side 3D printing is allowing us to print at .5 millimeters detail in our own homes, with industrial printers being even more finely calibrated.  This allows us to construct amazing design concepts as well as small parts like an ear (as they did at Cornell University) if printing with a skin mimic material.

Sweet, Beautiful Complexity

Sorry Van Gogh

On the other side we’re seeing modern manufacturing methods being destroyed with the cheaper and quicker 3D printing available.   Local Motors in Chicago just printed a full car as many car companies have phased in 3D prints as part of their assembly lines already.  Even bigger comes the ability to print entire houses, like Chinese company WinSun has perfected, now printing as many as 10 house in a single day!

Making Smart Cars Cool?

Making Cookie Cutting Cool?

So where are we heading with this incredible technology? It’s up to business owners everywhere to decide that just as they did with the internet 20 years ago.  We have seen surgeons print replica jaws of a patient to practice the exact jaw surgery they are about to do before attempting on the patient.  Acoustic guitars are being printed and customized in seconds.  You can get yourself scanned and printed as a mini figurine.  A man in Japan was even arrested for firing a 3D printed gun recently. 

This is not a fad.  It is today.  It is tomorrow. It is the next revolution of mankind, and one this author hopes will be the last terrestrial revolution before we colonize the cosmos in 3D printed ships with warp drives, seriously. (http://www.nasa.gov/centers/glenn/technology/warp/warpstat_prt.htm)

-Ryan Gardner

To learn more about 3D printing visit these great pages:

20 Awesome 3D Prints: http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/3d-printings/

3D Printing Basics Overview: http://3dprinting.com/what-is-3d-printing/

Up To Date 3D Printing News: http://www.3ders.org/