3-D Printing
Raymond Carlos Cruz
Theatre Department
George Mason University
November 11th, 2014

Potential Benefits

The wonderful benefits of 3-D printing are limitless. One of the ways 3-D printers benefit society is that they were primarily used for rapid prototyping. Rapid-Prototyping is creating a functioning concept-model that reduces the cost by thousands and gives companies a head start from their competitors (http://www.3dsystems.com/30-years-innovation). This rapid-prototyping contributed to the increase of technological growth because companies are able to come out with a product faster than they did on previous projects. One aspect of the prototyping stage is human error, which slows down the process of getting a project or product complete. That hurts businesses. "The modern-day form of automated 3D printing also lessens the probability of human errors" (Thomas, 2014, para. 3). Another potential benefit of 3-D printing is how businesses revolutionizes how we manufacture products. Cathy Lewis (2013), Vice-President of Global Marketing at 3-D Systems commented in an interview, "People started to talk about the benefits of the applications beyond rapid prototyping. At that point, we along with our clients realized not only was there a market for rapid prototyping but also rapid manufacturing, which was high value but low volume 'production printing' using 3D technology " (as cited in Ramos, 2013, para. 10). This would decrease the amount of cost that a company spends on manufacturing, as well as first-class customization. A huge benefit of 3-D printing is the rise of customer customization to everything that is printed out. Take for example the pioneering efforts and potential benefits the world's first 3-D printed car has on society. "One day, in the not-too-distant future, you’ll be able to walk into a car dealership, choose a design — including the number of seats — and have a 3D printed car by the end of the day. This is Jay Rogers’ vision. Rogers is the CEO of Local Motors, the company that just built the world's first 3D printed car known as the Strati" (http://mashable.com/2014/09/16/first-3d-printed-car/). This improves customer and manufacturer relations. In previous years, the manufacturer gave their customers options to choose from. Now, due to the CAD and then through 3-D printing, customers have an opportunity to receive exactly what they want , the way they want it. Lastly, the accessibility the 3-D printer creates, not only help government entities, but also helps the average farmer. NASA is looking at bringing a 3-D printer onto space missions to reduce the load on missions. "The agency hopes to demonstrate that, with the printer making spare parts on the fly..." (Ramos, 2013,para 11). This is not only innovative to NASA standards, but also cuts cost. The agency could spend more money on future missions, rather than losing money fixing current ones. This seems like something NASA would do, however the average farmer could also use a 3-D printer. Instead of picking up a spare part that would take time out of a farmers already busy day, he could just print it from home. "They foresee a future where, if you need a tool or an object such as a wrench or a vase, whether at home or at work, the computer will just make you one. If you no longer have need of that object, it can be recycled on-site back into the raw materials to build the next object"( Wehrspann, 2013, para 15). This impressive benefit would create more efficient farms, which in turn would increase food production. From businesses using rapid prototyping, to manufacturers increasing the quality of their product without costing them more money, to the ever-hungry consumer. Everyone, from the profession of astronaut to farmer will benefit from 3-D printing.