The "Making the World in 3-D" Story

Foreword

The story I am posting today I wrote a few weeks ago.  Had no specific time frame for it, so I held onto it.  Then, in today's local daily I saw an article about NASA preparing to launch a 3D printer into space next year which would serve as a flying factory of infinite designs, creating objects by extruding layer upon layer of plastic from long strands coiled around large spools.  Spaceship parts and rocket pieces will be made while on the go in a galaxy far, far away.  Knew it was time to let you read my story, which by the way has absolutely nothing to do with spaceships.

 It was an ordinary day.  Just got home from the high school where I work part-time.  Was talking to Mike, my summer partner in the print shop, and he told me he heard that the school district has a 3-D printer.  Was wondering where it might be in the district.  The next time I had a need to travel to the district office, I inquired and found out they had no idea where it might be.  Then checked with the Tech-Media department who are right down the hall from the print shop in the high school.  "We have one of those here?" said Randy, one of the technicians.  After a few weeks I gave up hope of ever finding the printer and figured there was no such animal in the school district.  That was until a few days ago when I happened to take my wife on a date to the Mt. Gretna "Jigger Shop" for lunch.  Sat down next to a young couple and the fellow was wearing a shirt that said Manheim Township Football across the front.  "You go to township?" I asked the boy.  "Yeah, I'm on the team," he replied.  I told him I used to teach Industrial Arts there and still do some printing for them during the year.  He told me he enjoyed his tech-ed classes he has had and that he is taking a course with Mr. Nolt this year.  "I want to learn how to use the 3-D printer," he said.  Wow!  BINGO!!  Carol could see the excitement I had on my face as I asked a few more questions of our neighbor. 

The 3D Printer

The next day I was in Mr. Nolt's classroom inquiring about it.  For some time now I have been reading about 3-D printing and what can be done with it.  One article told how, "with a 3-D printer, a petri dish and some cells from a cow, Princeton University researchers are growing synthetic ears that can receive - and transmit - sound.  Unbelievable!  Seems that bovine cells mixed in a liquid gel can be sent through a printer to shape a "bionic ear."  The ear isn't meant to be used as a human ear yet, but I have no doubt it will very soon.  I can see growing a multitude of cells from a person's stem cells and being able to make a human heart.  Why not!  All you have to do to be able to make a body part is be able to create a STL (Standard Tessellation Language) file from a CAD (computer aided device) computer and you are ready to go.  I know I'm making it seem too easy and simple, and I'm sure I am, but there are enough geniuses who are working on it that it has to happen sometime in the future.  

The door to the 3-D printer is open.

 The high school class I visited today had made a model car out of plastic in the 3-D printer.  The 3-D concept is still in it's infancy I realize, but one day we will all experience something that will have been made through use of one of these printers.  I read about a fashion designer who is already using 3-D printing right alongside her sewing machine to create dresses.  Someday soon your coffee mug, cell phone, or even parts for your car will be made through the 3-D technology.  Even read that astronauts will someday use moon dust to build housing on a lunar surface with a 3-D printer.  The 3-D printer not only has a "X" and "Y" axis as regular printers have, but employ the "Z" or height axis  to go along with the others.  The printer that I saw at the high school is about 5 feet tall and is 3 feet deep and 3 feet wide.  A door can be opened on the front of the machine that has a shelf where the printing starts.  

This shows the strand of plastic-like material that will
be fed to make the item that you have programmed
into the printer.

 A special head feeds material that looks like plastic rope from a weed-trimmer.  The machine uses your pre-loaded STL file and feeds the material back and forth as it begins to rise, laying a 1,000 of an inch layer with each pass.  Eventually it will "print" what the file has shown which in the case of the high school, a small race car.  

Final results.  On the top car you can see the layers
that are produced in the printer.  They will need to be
sanded to remove the ridges.  Click on the photo to enlarge.

 You can see the layers of plastic that were placed one layer at a time on top of one another, until the car was formed. The head uses heat to fuse the layers together.  Simple as that!  I know I making it sound easy, but it really may be as easy as I'm making it sound.  The finished car had to be sanded and shaped to give it a smooth surface, but one day I'm sure that will all be done in the printer.  Recently I read in "Wired" magazine that the definition of 4-D printing is: using a 3-D printer to output objects that self-assemble over time.  By combining materials that expand at different rates in water, a printed structure can be made to fold itself up like origami - a feature that could be used for construction in remote places like the deep ocean.  The possibilities are limitless.  If only I can live a little bit longer ........  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.