…experimental blood vessels have been bioprinted using bioink spheroids comprised of an aggregate mix of endothelial, smooth muscle and fibroblast cells. The printing itself need not be exact, as nature takes over once the proper mix of cells and substrate exist together. Patients requiring kidney replacement may have new kidneys printed from their own existing kidney cells or from stem cells coached to grow into kidney cells. Cell by cell and layer by layer, these bioprinters deposit specific living cells chosen to perform a particular function in a pattern that allows them to perform a designed task. Instead of materials, living cells fill the cartridges of the 3D printer. Other applications for 3D printing include the manufacture of ear molds for hearing aids and artificial hips for hip replacement surgery.īioprinting represents the next step in 3D printing. These include crowns, bridges, and temporaries, essentially printing new teeth. Some dental labs print dental appliances customized to the needs of each patient.
Healthcare device companies utilize 3D printers in the manufacture of many specific products. In planning for long space flights, NASA tested a 3D printer on the International Space Station, and recently announced its requirement for a high-resolution 3D printer to build replacement spacecraft parts during deep space missions. Once manufacturers complete a final design, 3D printers create the final mold that is used to manufacture the end product.ģD printers also work well in building hard-to-find replacement parts. Manufacturers use 3D printing to make prototype objects much more quickly and less expensively than previously possible. Currently, only certain materials-plastics, resins, and metals-can fill 3D printer cartridges, but scientists are working to allow other materials to be included in the 3D printing process. Some printers use tiny nozzles that deposit layers as thin as 0.1 mm in thickness from material contained in their “printer cartridges.” Other 3D printers use laser beams or tiny droplets of glue to fuse thin layers of plastic or material dust into solid objects. (3D printing, 2012)Īll 3D printing works from a digital file or blueprint that directs the building of the object. 3D printing is considered distinct from traditional machining techniques (subtractive processes) which mostly rely on the removal of material by drilling, cutting, etc. 3D printing is achieved using additive processes, where an object is created by laying down successive layers of material. 3D printers are expected to cost only a few hundred dollars by 2015.ģD printing or additive manufacturing is a process of making three dimensional solid objects from a digital file. Finally, the Replicator is nothing other than a three dimensional (3D) printer, a device just entering the world of consumer products. The Padd is my Nook-it even looks like it and makes the same sound when dropped on a desk-or your iPad or similar tablet device. Smart phones are the Communicator of today allowing us to speak, text, or email to anyone around the world who might have a similar device. Although building the latter device requires the repeal of several laws of physics, the other three commonly exist today for the public to use.
#Printeron printme series#
During the first Star Trek series released in the mid 1960s, the creators introduced viewers to several magical devices-the Communicator, the Padd, the Replicator, and the Transporter.
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