THE FUTURE WILL BE 3D PRINTED

Customised human tissue or huge telescopes printed in empty space. Modern 3D printing methods are churning out shapes and materials that used to be impossible to make, constantly taking technology to new levels.

When future pedestrians cross the Oudezijds Achterburgwal canal, using the most recent of Amsterdam’ s 1,500+ bridges, they will be walking on a worldwide sensation. The 12.5-m-long footbridge is the very first 3D printed steel bridge on the planet – constructed by four computer-controlled industrial robots equipped with welding gear, which were fed 1,100 km of steel wire.

Over a period of six months, the robots have converted the bridge from a 3D drawing in a computer programme into a real, 4.5 t bridge. If the bridge is completed in 2019 as planned, it will be clear physical evidence of the boundless opportunities introduced by 3D printing in recent years.

The curved design of the steel bridge would have been difficult to realize in steel using traditional production methods, and moreover, it shows that 3D printing is no longer only about small plastic objects printed layer by layer by tech enthusiasts. Unique precious metal jewellery, sophisticated electric circuits, complex engine parts, ultra-strong rocket components, and even human tissue printed as required are no longer remote visions. 3D printing has reached "adulthood" and is quickly triggering a new industrial revolution. Farm is the factory of the future The Dutch company behind the footbridge in Amsterdam, MX3D, shares its mission with lots of new companies, that use 3D printing-based production methods: additive manufacturing.

The technology involves major advantages, and in many ways, it could outdistance traditional production methods. In a printer, just about anything can be converted from a 3D drawing into a physical object, and so, 3D printers can produce complex structures that cannot be made in any other way, such as interconnected, flexible parts that are printed simultaneously. The manufacturer has more freedom of design, so the number of components of a structure can be reduced markedly. Moreover, the product can be made lighter and stronger, and raw materials can be saved, as 3D printers only use the materials in the exact places where they are required.

The old-fashioned factory, in which machines can only make one type of product, is still cheaper and faster. But 3D print-ingbased companies have the advantage that their production can quickly be altered and that the finished products need not be identical. The advantages have prepared the ground for large 3D printer farms with hundreds of printers, which work round the clock. Voodoo Manufacturing in the US has about 200 3D printers, which make all kinds of plastic products to order. As soon as a print has been completed, it is removed by a robot, so a new product can immediately be made. Although 3D printers are still quite slow, and it might