The 3D Print Show 2013 - A review

Held at the Business Design Centre in London on the 7th – 9^th Nov, the 3D Print Show 2013 was talked about as the tech show of the year, it certainly delivered! With a background in traditional sculpture and 3D CAD, I thought that I would take some time to have a look at the latest leap forward in 3D printing and see what all the fuss has been about. 3D printing has been around since the 1980's, however recent advances in technology and the reduced cost of this technology has created a renewed global interest. 3D printing is the process of creating a real physical 3D shape from a digital 3D model. The most common technique, demonstrated at the show involved multiple layers of hot PLA plastic built up gradually to create an object. Other techniques do exist, but at this time, this is the most common for small objects.

Alongside the big names in 3D printer manufacturing, it was nice to see so many ideas from individuals,with everyone contributing to the growing  3D printing industry. Some of the objects were truly inspirational. Artists, designers, scientists, engineers and teachers will soon be benefiting from the recent advances in technology. 3D scanning technology was also showcased with various desktop digitisers released. There was even a full body scanner area to capture the human form.  Don’t forget you need a 3D model to print out first, so scanning really goes hand in hand with 3D printing. The coolest thing was seeing people’s faces scanned and then printed in 3D, the face texture mapping looked very realistic! 

I am particularly interested in the range of materials you can use such as metal, plastics and ceramics  to name a few. There are also many applications to be considered if you also use 3D printing in addition to traditional manufacturing techniques. Imagine printing a wax wedding ring, taking advantage of the accuracy you can achieve by using CAD and having it made using the ancient lost mold technique. You could also make a detailed mold intended for vacuum forming.What does the future for 3D printing hold? Who knows but in future most corner shops or households could have this manufacturing capability? If you were to lose the petrol cap for your car, you could simply download the 3D model from the internet and create a new one at home. Imagine huge walking 3D printers that you leave for a few days and they build you a house! 

This is a very exciting time to be involved in 3D design in general, mixing in these latest 3D printing and scanning techniques will certainly aid more of us make our ideas a reality. 

Top tips from The 3D Printshow 2013.

1. Focus on improving quality of life with 3D printing, such as avenues for medical applications including prosthetic limbs and facial reconstruction.
2. Bees really inspired 3D printing back in the 1970's after needing somewhere to live, so look at insects and nature for inspiration when looking to design a new product.
3. Think in a more biological, organic way in product design. A lot of products look the way they do as they have had manufacturing methods influencing how they look, with 3D printing we can explore organic shapes that would be very difficult to create otherwise.

David Longworth - BA (Hons) 3D Design

3D Visualiser

The SPS Group

www.thespsgroup.co.uk

The 3D Print Show 2013 was an informative and well organised exhibition, with engaging talks and a wide range of exhibition stands. The highlight for me was seeing the wide range of 3D products closely rather that looking at inspirational images on the internet. 

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