Today you can print in 3D everything, even a coral reef

"Printing in 3D consists in applying successive thin layers of materials that in result make up the printed object" - explained Poznań inventor Bartosz Barłowski in an interview with PAP.

Traditional printers use paper and ink to print. 3D printers can use all sorts of materials: plastic, wood, nylon. The most popular material is biodegradable PLA (Poly Lactic Acid), based on corn starch. "Printed objects will degrade after a few years, instead of being stuck in the ground for centuries" - said Barłowski.

Spatial printing can be used to create almost everything: from the small and simple things, such as a cup or a brooch, to... a coral reef. In order to print anything, a three-dimensional model of the object is needed. Thousands of such models can be found in an online library that has been updated for years. "That’s the end of buying Christmas gifts. Virtually everything can be printed" - laughed the inventor.

"However, if someone buys a 3D printer in order to print the things downloaded from the Internet, it is like buying a standard printer and using it to print all the images found online. The idea is rather to design your own things "- Barłowski told PAP.

3D printing is often used in medicine. It allows to quickly image different types of damage. "A patient who has, for example, bone defects, can be scanned with computer tomography. Then the doctor can print a model of the organ or bone and see how it looks in reality" - explained Dr. Piotr Dudek of AGH University of Science and Technology.

According to Barłowski, the future of 3D printing are bioprinters capable of printing, for example, bones. "This work is already in progress, but not at a stage yet that would allow to print a bone, and then the implant it in a patient" – added Dr. Dudek.

Barłowski emphasised that 3D printers are so precise that it soon they would allow to use "recipes" found on the Internet to print drugs at home. "3D Printer is so precise that if scientists replaced the plastic with rug ingredients, a 3D printer is capable carrying out a laboratory process ou your desk. It will do it just as accurately and safely, as expensive laboratories do" - he argued. These machines, however, will probably not appear for 10-15 years.

3D printing is also used by archaeologists. Based on scans, they can print copies of bones or other valuable items from excavations. The items can then be examined without damaging the original.

In the United States, a printer has been designed that prints an openwork form of a coral reef. "Scientists first scan a reef, and then print it immerse it in the sea" - described Barłowski. It turns out that with this artificial model, a real coral reef regenerated much faster. "Openwork structure gives fish nooks and crannies where they can hide, spawn. This has a positive effect on the entire morphology of the reef. This is one of the most innovative applications" - said the inventor.

However, the capabilities offered by 3D printing are most often used by businesses. "This way, they can quickly test the items they manufacture. If a company manufactures window handles, it must first verify that they are well designed. Such project can be printed to see how it works and looks. And after checking, start manufacturing" - said Dr. Dudek.

Can 3D printing be used for an evil purpose, such as production of firearms? "Each technology poses a threat, apparently someone has already made a rifle that can be fired. However, printed items have slightly lower durability, so I would not worry about such a threat" - said Dr. Dudek.

You can of course buy a 3D printer, but it is much cheaper buy a kit for assembly. Instead of using three-dimensional models necessary to print objects, you can design and create new things.

How to learn this? "3D graphics courses can be found on the Internet. You need some time to learn to use the software. After two or three days, it all becomes as easy as using a microwave oven" - said Barłowski.

Source: PAP - Science and Scholarship in Poland, Ewelina Krajczyńska