3D Printing Audiobook (Free)

The use of 3D printing-digitally controlled additive manufacturing-is growing rapidly. Consumer types of 3D printers enable visitors to fabricate small plastic objects, from cupboard knobs to wedding wedding cake toppers. Industrial uses have become common, as businesses use the technology to fabricate prototypes, extra parts, custom-fitted prosthetics, and various other plastic or steel items, often at less expensive and with greater efficiency than standard manufacturing. Within this quantity in the MIT Press about 3D Printing Essential Understanding series, John Jordan offers an accessible introduction to 3D printing.

Jordan outlines the stages of 3D printing, from idea to software model to a printable document that pieces the planned object into printable levels to the finished object itself. He identifies additive technologies, customer 3D printing in homes and schools, mass customization, and commercial uses. He considers the possible unintended consequences of 3D printing on jobs, as companies scramble to discover workers with an unusual skill set; on business models and supply stores, as manufacturing is certainly decentralized; and on patent regulation, as machines can be designed to copy guarded house. Finally, Jordan looks at new and growing uses, including bioprinting, building building, and micromachines.