3d printing the future
From industrial bureaus to desktop machines, 3D printing is shaping the world we live in, says IanDean
T hough the technology has been around for over two decades, 3D printing is now big news. The cost has recently come down to the point where owning a printer is within many people’s reach. The drop in price brings with it countless opportunities. With the 3D printer industry set to be worth 16.2 billion dollars in the next four years, is it time you pressed Print?
Printers come in all shapes and sizes, and can print using different materials, including various types of plastics, and print objects in differing ways – from Stereolithography ( SLA) to Selective Laser Sintering ( SLS) and Extrusion Modelling. Understanding how you want to work with 3D printing is half the battle in getting started. Michelle Greeff, director of 3D technologies at Hobs Studio, is clear about what she wanted. After visiting Formula One manufacturer Lotus F1 and seeing four iPro 8000 SLA printers churning out parts for the team’s race cars: “I had to have one,” she says. At £500,000 they’re not cheap, but for a studio winning contracts with London’s biggest architecture firms, such as Foster + Partners, it’s a reasonable investment. “For every one of our clients, 3D printing is relevant,” says Michelle, adding that a detailed
architectural model that would have taken four weeks to make by hand now takes four hours to print. And with 3D print models “you can pick up a mistake because you can see it in 3D”, Michelle explains, adding: “You can see exactly how the building looks and feels; you can’t always see this in 2D or CG.”
Hobs Studio has grown 400 per cent in two years, which vividly demonstrates the rise in the need for 3D printed products. Michelle reveals
With a print you can pick up a mistake because you can see it in 3D. You can see exactly how the building looks and feels
Michelle Greeff, director of 3D technologies, Hobs Studio
that she’s heard of people buying up warehouses and putting in hundreds of printers as “it’s cheaper than importing from China”, pointing to the rising industrialisation of 3D print.
The Third Industrial Revolution
Dubbed the rise of the Third Industrial Revolution, Autodesk’s CEO Carl Bass made the case for massproduced 3D models and parts at the recent Inside 3D Printing Conference and Expo in New York City. “I think industrial 3D printing is extremely
important,” says Carl. “We have overvalued consumer 3D printing and truly underappreciated the value of industrial 3D printing.”
Carl develops his point, explaining that while the world’s focus has been on putting a 3D printer in every home, this is a false ambition. He feels the focus should be on manufacturing, citing scale, speed and cost as reasons why the DIY dream may falter.
“I think the hype takes two forms; there are two extremes,” Carl says. “One form says there’s going to be a 3D printer in every house, the other says it’s going to be the next industrial revolution. I think the first one is false, and the second remains to be seen.”
While there may be a gap in quality between industrial-scale 3D printing and home printing, the lower costs of owning a printer ensure that the dream is very much alive. Indeed, Autodesk has recently signed a partnership with 3DHubs, a 3D printing provider network, to offer additional support for its 123D consumer apps.
Battle for the home
Back at Hobs Studio, Michelle is more optimistic. Having just sold a £40,000 printer to a student who is looking to set up a home bureau, there’s clearly room for professional artists and hobbyists to embrace the technology. “I know of a 12-year- old child who got a printer for Christmas,” says Michelle.
She does have some advice though: before investing in one you should know your expectations – understand what you want to produce and pick a printer to suit your needs. “Use a desktop printer to teach yourself how to set up files,” she says, adding: “Our architecture clients use them to teach their designers.”
For home desktop use, Michelle would recommend the Projet 660 from 3D Systems. “It prints in colour, it’s fast and affordable, and you can do medical, architecture – almost anything on it,” she says. For artist Glen Southern, creative director at SouthernGFX, the printer of choice is the MakerBot Replicator 2. An affordable desktop model, Glen did his sums and decided the investment would pay for itself as clients began to ask for models.
“[ It’s] literally plug and play,” says Glen of his Replicator 2. The printer uses a spool filament to load the material “like a huge cotton wheel”, and the kit comes with test models to print out of the box. “It’s very, very simple,” he adds.
Universal uses
Proving that there are some similarities in how 3D prints are being used, Glen, like Hobs Studio, uses the technology to enhance his offerings to clients. Glen uses printed models to gauge how to alter the final render for clients. “Very often I will print a part or even a whole character and discuss it with a client. It is always helpful to hold a model in your hands if you are developing something iteratively,” says Glen.
The Replicator 2 comes with its own software solution called MakerWare that enables you to import models, scale, rotate and move before sending them to print. But this is largely only useful for pre-made models. “Getting your own models ready for printing can be a little more complex,” says Glen. “Meshes have to be prepared in a certain way and you need to work out if the models need a base, or if they need printing with supports. If you have skills with ZBrush then things get a whole lot easier with tools like ZRemesher and DynaMesh.”
Software is key
Creating tools to simplify 3D printing is where the next battle lines are being drawn. Leading the way is Adobe with Photoshop CC, which enables you to import models and set them up for print in a couple of clicks. ”Photoshop CC takes the hard work out of repairing, fixing and creating support scaffolding on 3D models, in order to create and ensure a fully watertight 3D printable object,” says Adobe’s principal solutions consultant Richard Curtis.
As well as options to print locally, including support for MakerBot, Photoshop CC’s latest update enables you to connect directly to shapeways.
com ( a 3D printing community and marketplace) and make use of its wide range of materials, including ceramics, metals and full colour sandstone.
As the technology and software
Meshes have to be prepared in a certain way; you need to work out if they need a base or need printing with supports
Glen Southern, creative director, SouthernGFX
become more accessible, and materials cheaper and more varied, the door is open to everyone to create 3D print projects. And with UK freelance recruiter freelancer.co.uk showing a 43.5 per cent increase in the jobs market, the demand for 3D print artists is high. ”3D printing can be done by anyone,” says CG artist and character animator Steve Talkowski, who has been using 3D print services to create his toy robots since 2006. Steve was initially surprised how robust the models are: “The antenna didn’t snap off the [ first] piece!” And over the years he has learnt how to get more from his prints.
“Typically, if you’re doing a high-resolution, organic ZBrush sculpt, you’ll want to run it through Decimation Master to bring the poly count down,” he says. “If you’re doing hard surface and precise volumes, you’ll want to make sure you apply a Smooth operation to minimise faceting in the final print.”
Steve highlights certain things you need to know about how the software preps the geometry for
printing. “If you hollow out your piece for SLA [ Stereolithography], you’ll most likely need to add supports for underhangs. If you’re doing FDM [ Fused Deposition Modelling], the slicer software can often introduce a user-specified honeycomb pattern inside the hollowed out piece for added stability,” says Steve.
Slicer software can introduce a pattern inside the hollowed out piece for added stability
Steve Talkowski, CG artist and animator
He has a workaround though: “I’ve learned to introduce a keyed female/ male interlocking component to areas where I will want articulation or separate pieces that might be cast in different materials.”
Eager to embrace the 3D print revolution, Steve has his eye on the new Micro consumer printer from M3D. “Knowing the limitations of the FDM process, I will be using it for prototyping and balance tests for my character pieces. I’ll then opt to print out with a higher resolution SLA for smoother finished pieces that can be used as a master for tooling.”
Print on a budget
The Micro is a unique machine, and one that aims to put 3D printing squarely in every household. A product of Kickstarter, The Micro will cost as little as £119, making it a fun entry-level machine to test the 3D print waters with. ”3D printing has the potential to revolutionise the way we build, innovate and create, and we’re excited to be a part of that 3D printing revolution with The Micro,” says Michael Armani, founder at M3D, whose Kickstarter-funded printer has reached a staggering $ 3.1 million dollars ( 540 per cent above their target) at the time of writing.