Complete Ultimaker DIY-Kit - Fun in a Box

Say you are browsing the internet and see a really sweet Lindsey Lohan bobble-head to add to your secret collection. Well, instead of waiting a week for it to arrive by mail or walking into the mall shamefully, you just click print. In less than 10 minutes you could be admiring your new guilty pleasure, or telling Lindsey all about your day with her listening intently (bobble-bobble), made possible by your brand new 3D printer! While this might be a niche (and weird) example, there are many practical uses for 3D printing, but let’s first go over the basic idea.

The concept of 3D printing is quite simple being very similar to a typical 2D, inkjet printer you use at home or work. Instead of having cartridges of blank and colored ink, a 3D printer takes a material (typically plastic) and sets a micro blob of liquid material onto the work surface. This quickly hardens, and then another blob is set, again and again. With the blobs building onto each other, like little building blocks, until you have whatever you programmed the 3D printer to make. These designs are usually from a Computer Aided Drafting program, and there are many available online for free or a small price. Currently a scenario like the Lindsey Lohan bobble-head is missing a few things, there are no large commercial websites where you can purchase patented goods (like an iconic celebrity bobble-head) and most 3D printers can only use one type plastic a time (you would just have to spend some extra, quality time with a set of paints and your new BFF).

From the Ultimaker Website

One product, called the Complete Ultimaker DIY-Kit, was recently brought to the market by a small Dutch company, Ultimaker, in May of 2011. While there are many different 3D printer companies out there, the Ultimaker stands out because of its price, with a 21x21x22 cm potential build volume (the largest volume part the machine can build) for about 1600 USD. This is one of lowest priced printers out there, and this draw is only enhanced by its open-source software and hardware, meaning the company encourages changes to its software and hardware to suit its customers’ needs.

Thor from Starcraft II, example from the Ultimaker Website

The drawbacks are that you need to have some technical background (or be willing to spend a frustrating weekend) to assemble the machine from its major components (DIY stands for Do-It-Yourself, so their target audience enjoys this sort of thing). Also, it can only use plastic and in this, one color of plastic at a time. While more expensive models can print with a few different colors of plastic and some can use multiple materials, as with anything the price goes up more features. This and that most printers can only be used for relatively small objects, are the areas that could be greatly improved upon in the future.

Some enticing technical specifications, for the enthusiast, are its printing precision, in the Z axis it can lay down material around 0.1 mm, but it is best for features to be at least 0.5 mm due to structural considerations (you don’t want your new plastic toy to fall apart). It is actually more precise in the vertical direction (y-axis), being able to create layers of about 20 micrometers (less than 0.0008 inches). The website says that when designing the part, taking this into consideration will allow you to decide the best orientation for printing. For more tech specs, you can see their website here and the FAQ.

While I used the example of a niche bobble-head, 3D printing is used extensively in engineering research, which can be considered a part of the process of rapid prototyping. This process allows engineers to quickly build a part to test the design. Consider a mechanical engineer designing and building intricate part for an existing engine and he or she will be using an expensive composite material to make it. Within an hour or two a 3D printer could create a plastic version that then could test the shape and size of the current design within engine. If it fits, then the design could be shipped off to the manufacturer, or the design could be quickly modified, all potentially saving time and money.

3D printing is not just for engineers and researchers. A 3D printer in the home could allow you to build multiple copies of door handles, little horses for party favors, multiple pieces to build a replica of the Eiffel Tower for a school project, etc. If someone could design it on the computer, and it could fit within the build platform, a 3D printer could probably build it (you can download designs that others have made if you are not confident in your CAD skills).

The future is full of exciting innovations, many are only in the stages of inception and some of the game-changers are still waiting discovery. One invention that changed the way we view and interact with society and world was the personal computer. Most people know that it took a few years for the computer to gain wide commercialization with some starting at 2000 USD in the 1980s, but once they reached a certain point, the revolution began. What is the next upheaval? Many people point to the emerging tech of 3D printers. A word of caution; if you know a hoarder, do not get them one for Christmas.

Yoda made by Screal