What Can 3D Printing Be Used For?

3D printing technology can be used in many areas of life from small to large.

3D printing is usually achieved by using digital technology material printers. It is often used to make models in mold manufacturing, industrial design and other fields, and then gradually used in the direct manufacturing of some products. There are already parts printed using this technology.

The technology has applications in jewelry, footwear, industrial design, architecture, engineering and construction (AEC), automotive, aerospace, dental and medical industries, education, geographic information systems, civil engineering, guns, and other fields.

●Architectural design

In the construction industry, engineers and designers have accepted building models printed with 3D printers. This method is fast, low-cost, environmentally friendly, and beautifully made. It fully meets the requirements of the designer, while saving a lot of materials.

●Medical industry

With the help of 3D printing technology, Xi’an Honghui Hospital realized the treatment of fracture and dislocation of patients with ankylosing spondylitis with the first porous titanium bone implant prosthesis in Northwest China.

The “Private Custom” 3D printed replacement shoulder joint in Xi’an Fourth Hospital completes the difficult replacement surgery

The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University has established a 3D printing medical research and application center, marking the official settlement of the 3D printing medical research and application center, which is a combination of medicine and industry and a strong alliance.

●Automotive Manufacturing

It’s not that your car was printed by a 3D printer (of course this may one day be possible), but that the automotive industry will replace some non-critical parts with 3D printed products when conducting safety tests and other work. Reduce costs while reducing efficiency.

●Traditional manufacturing

Traditional manufacturing also needs a lot of 3D printing products, because 3D printing is much better than traditional manufacturing in terms of cost, speed and accuracy. And 3D printing technology itself is very suitable for mass production, so the use of 3D technology in the manufacturing industry can bring many benefits, and even quality control is no longer a problem.

●Scientific research

Researchers from Drexel University in the United States made 3D models suitable for research by 3D scanning the fossils and using 3D printing technology, which not only retained all the external features of the original fossils, but also reduced the scale, which is more suitable for research. .

●Product prototype

For example, in Microsoft's 3D model printing workshop, after the product is designed, the model is printed through a 3D printer, which enables the design and manufacturing department to better improve the product and create a better product.

●Cultural relics protection

3D printing technology is of great significance in restoring and preserving historical culture. It can restore the authenticity of cultural relics, record the history of the destruction of these cultural relics, and effectively avoid the obliteration of human historical memory.

The protection of cultural relics and historical sites has always plagued the archaeology community. Cultural relics, as a non-renewable resource, will no longer exist once they are destroyed. For example, the Terracotta Warriors and Horses of the First Emperor of Qin Xi’an, when they were unearthed, were bright in color and lifelike expressions. It has long lost the style when it was just unearthed, and the weathering was severe, the bright color disappeared, and it was as dim as yellow mud.

●Food industry

In the food industry, researchers are already experimenting with printing chocolate. Perhaps in the near future, many foods that look exactly the same will be "printed" with food 3D printers. Of course, by then, artificially-made food may be many times more expensive.

●Accessories, jewelry

This is the most expansive market. In the future, whether it is your personalized pen holder, the phone case with your bust embossed, or the unique ring in the world owned by you and your lover, it may all be printed by a 3D printer. You don't even have to wait until the future, you can do it now.

Extended information:

3D printing (3DP) is a kind of rapid prototyping technology. It is a technology that uses powdered metal or plastic and other bondable materials to construct objects by printing layer by layer based on digital model files.

3D printing technology appeared in the mid-1990s and is actually the latest rapid prototyping device using technologies such as light curing and paper lamination. It is basically the same as ordinary printing. The printer contains liquid or powder and other "printing materials". After connecting to the computer, the "printing materials" are superimposed layer by layer through computer control, and finally, the blueprint on the computer is turned into a real object. This printing technology is called 3D printing technology.