Exploring the Capabilities of 3D Printing As a

Manufacturing Process
Tszhim J. Leung
ME 125 Manufacturing Processes and Engineering Materials
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Tufts University
Medford, MA

I. INTRODUCTION
Additive manufacturing, more commonly known as three-dimensional (3D) printing, is the process in
which a computer constructs a three-dimensional object by adding material to it layer by layer. The term 3D
printing can be used interchangeably with additive manufacturing, and may be more appropriate and
descriptive to the general population considering the similarity of how each layer is formed to the way a
traditional inkjet printer dispenses ink onto a 2D surface (usually paper). 3D printing is one of the most recent
manufacturing processes to be developed, and has since rapidly grown in popularity in both commercial,
industrial, and even recreational use. Indeed, there has never been a manufacturing process that can be used
efficiently by industry that has also been so readily available to and used by the general populace. Newspapers
such as The Economist have called the invention of 3D printing as the start of a new industrial revolution [9].
This paper explores the history and various processes used in 3D printing, and why the surge in popularity and
usage of this manufacturing process versus other processes may be justified.
II. BACKGROUND HISTORY
Successful use of additive manufacturing first occurred in the 1980s, making it less than forty years old
and thus one of the youngest manufacturing processes in human history. Additive manufacturing was
completely revolutionary at the time of its invention, as all other manufacturing processes then took the form
of either subtractive manufacturing, the process in which material is removed from a larger block until the
desired shape is reached, or solidifying liquid material into a desired shape with a mold [1]. Instead, three-
dimensional objects are produced by adding thin layers of material(s) to it, gradually building a shape out of
the accumulation of these layers from the base up. To match the smooth vertical walls of the commercially
mass-produced items that exist today, these layers would have to be as close to infinitesimal as possible, which
was practically impossible to be done by human hand. In addition, forming each layer was comparable to
making a whole part in itself, so forming thousands and thousands of layers by hand was unnecessarily tedious
and impractical. And so for most of human history, manufacturers ranging from sculptors and blacksmiths and
metalworkers have only stuck with the other two forms of manufacturing mentioned above.
What eventually made additive manufacturing possible was the rapid evolution of computer technology
in second half of the 20th century, specifically the introduction of computer-aided-design and manufacturing
(CAD and CAM, respectively) [1]. Computerized machines could perform the tedious and humanly impossible
tasks of forming thinner than razor-thin layers of polymers, metals, or really any other material, while
maintaining accuracy that only a computer could hope to achieve. The first published usage of additive
manufacturing was invented by Hideo Kodama at the Nagoya Municipal Industrial Research Institute in Japan.
He stacked layers of liquid photo-hardening polymer in the shape of what the cross-sectional shape of the
eventual 3D object would be at that height, and then exposed the final product to ultraviolet rays to solidify it
[2]. Sketches of the machine that he used for his process, shown in Figure 1, depict the general functions
required for 3D printing. A nozzle is guided by optical lens to move as programmed by the computer in the
xy-plane (i.e. the flat or horizontal plane) to add material to where it is needed for the current layer. As soon
as the layer is finished, the nozzle moves up along the z-axis relative to the plate and begins work on the next
layer above.

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Fig. 1. Schematic sketches of Kodamas apparatus for 3D printing using polymer. The parts in this figure are as follows: (1)
ultraviolet rays, (2) mask, (3) solidified layers, (4) liquid photo-hardening polymer, (5) movable plate, (6) receptacle, (7) shutter,
(8) optical fiber, (9) XY plotter, and (10) optical lens [1].
Of course, like any new technology, the beginning was rough. Technologies for additive
manufacturing achieved limited success during the early 1980s [1]. Companies including Helisys from the
U.S., Solido3D from Israel, and Kira from Japan failed to optimize the Laminated Object Manufacturing
(LOM) process, which involved cutting cross-sections of a 3D object from paper using a laser and then
melting a plastic coating beneath each layer. Charles Hull, the inventor of Stereolithography (the process of
hardening liquid polymers under ultraviolet light), took months to fabricate something as simple as 5-cm-tall
cup. In the mid-1980s, Dr, Carl Deckard invented Selective Laser Sintering (SLS), which involves using a
laser to quickly melt powdered material that would resolidify as a whole piece resembling the pattern traced
by the laser. In 1988, Scott Crump started the company Stratasys after inventing the Fused Deposition
Modeling (FDM) technology, but the company was not able to apply the technology and start selling products
until 1992 [4]. Although none of the inventors of these methods realized how impactful their work was for
additive manufacturing at the time, these three technologies would eventually become the most widely used
methods in 3D printing, which will be covered later.
It was not until the early 1990s that the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) trademarked the
term 3D printing that 3D printing really took off. Their 3D printer used a method called material jetting that
was based upon the technology behind the inkjet printer developed just less than two decades earlier. Having
a predecessor that was a familiar household item and name really allowed the 3D printer to start taking off
in popularity even amongst the general population who had zero manufacturing experience. In 1993, MIT
developed yet another method (which was evntually bought by Z Corporation to be used exclusively) called
binder jetting that would allow metals to be used as a base material too. Both methods will be covered in
detail later on.
By the 2000s, 3D printers were beginning to be used in industries here and there. However, they could
only be afforded to be used for prototype design due to enormous costs. In 2005, Dr. Adrian Bowyer began
the RepRap project at the University of Bath with the goal of lowering the cost of 3D printers and making
their use more widespread. The success of the RepRap printer stemmed mainly from its ability to manufacture
most of its own mechanical parts, which allowed it to be produced rapidly once the original was built [1]. One

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key factor that helped this manufacturing project grow as fast as it did was the rapid advancement in global
communcation via the internet. Processes such as forging and casting originate from ancient times, and so
there would be many variations all over the world separated by geography, each with certain problems that
could have been fixed by a solution on the other side of the globe. The open source nature of the RepRap
project allowed any individual with internet access to share their designs from anywhere in the world, and
build and modify their own printers based on gloval input. It also publicized the advances in 3D printing
technology to the general populace in a way that no other process had been before. People were able to read
about the amazing capabilities of the 3D printer on the internet, thus generating consumer interest and demand
that would spur startup companies to commercialize the 3D printer.
Seeing the success of the RepRap, similar projects were established at Cornell University and by
MakerBot Industries (now one of the most prominent manufacturers of household 3D printers) the next year.
The ultimate goal of MakerBot was to enable people to build and use their own 3D printers in their own
homes, with as little technical skill as possible. In 2008, MakerBot launched their website Thingiverse, which
is an online database that anybody can upload a CAD file of his or her unique design to. This meant that even
someone with absolutely no CAD skills could have a use for a 3D printer by simply finding a design that he
or she liked on the website, downloading the file, and then printing it on his or her own 3D printer.
Manufacturing finally had started to become a recreational process, and no longer exclusive to industry.
However, despite owing its rapid growth to the open source nature of its 3D printer, eventually, MakerBot
sought to commercialize selling 3D printers, and so it shut down its open source hardware and software. By
2009, they were receiving so many orders that they were actually paying their customers who had already
received their machines to help them manufacture parts [3]. The cost of a 3D printer has been steadily
declining to the point where it is now essentially just another electronic appliance that the average household
can purchase.
III. DETAILED PROCESSES
The short overview of the 3D printing process is simple enough for people with no technical
background to understand: it stacks enough 2D layers of material until it becomes the desired 3D object. The
longer and more detailed version is not as simple though. Unlike other more traditional processes, since human
precision is not enough to ensure the dimensional accuracy needed for each layer, the object to be fabricated
must first exist as a digital model on a computer, usually by being designed on some form of CAD software
such as SolidWorks. However, recent advances by Microsoft and Google have allowed their hardware to
perform 3D scanning, thus converting any existing 3D object in the real world into a digital file [4]. Either
way, the computer then sends that design in the form of an STL file, which defines the shape by a list of triangle
vertices [5]. Due to this nature of STL files, most models, particularly ones with complex geometries and
features, will contain errors such as holes or self-intersections, and so some sort of repair program will have to
be run to fix those geometric errors. Once the STL file is repaired and sent to the machine, the digital model
gets separated into thin slices that the machine will form successively. The thickness of these slices depends
on the material being used: 0.1mm for polymers and 30 microns for metals [6]. The process with which the 3D
printer fabricates the layers varies depending on the machine. In reality, the term 3D printing is really more of
an umbrella term that covers many different processes. There are many, many possible methods, so only the
most commonly used ones utilizing either stereolithography, SLS, or FDM will be described.
The first three processes that will be covered involve the base material being changed from a liquid
state into a solid state permanently set into a desired shape as designated by the manufacturer. As mentioned
before, one of the earliest technologies for additive manufacturing was stereolithography, or the process of
using ultraviolet light to cause the chains of molecules in liquid polymers to link together and solidify. Methods
that use this technology can only fabricate polymer parts exclusively. One such method is the vat
photopolymerisation method. A typical setup of the apparatus used is shown in Figure 2. A platform starts out
just barely immersed in a vat of liquid of photopolymer resin that hardens when exposed to ultraviolet light

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rays. For each layer, a laser traces out the cross section of the layer on the surface of the liquid polymer.
Ultraviolet light then solidifies the area cut out by the laser, and the solid layer is joined to the layer below it.
The platform then lowers the entire solidified piece by the thickness of a single layer (usually 0.002 to 0.006),
and repeats the process again for the next layer. The solidified piece is joined to the platform using support
structures to ensure that it moves down with it instead of floating in the vat of liquid resin. The supports are
removed after the entire piece is finished and solidified [4].

Fig. 2. Typical setup of the vat photopolymerisation method [4].

The follwing method is similar to how a typical inkjet printer dispenses ink onto paper, which gave it
the name material jetting, shown in Figure 3. Just like an inkjet printer, for each layer, a nozzle dispenses
droplets of material where designated. Then, once the layer has been completed, it is hardened using
stereolithography technology again. A secondary nozzle is also needed to provide support material in case the
object to be fabricated is not capable of free standing, as is the case with most objects whose bases are not
their largest layer in terms of area [4].

Fig. 3. Typical setup of the material jetting method [4].

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 The previous two methods can only produce polymer-based materials, as materials such as metals are
not capable of having photo-hardening properties. Therefore, other methods had to be developed to allow for
more materials to be able to be 3D printed. The material extrusion method shown in Figure 4 employs the
Fused Deposition Modeling technology. An extrusion nozzle dispenses molten material in thin, tubular form
while moving along the xy-plane to create the pattern for each layer. Support structures are usually needed
since the material comes out soft, but they are typically generated automatically by the software package [5].
Since the material has to be melted, only metals and polymers can be used practically as base materials. The
most widely used materials for this method, in fact, are both polymers: ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene)
and PLA (polylactic acid). Due to its relative simplistic design and process and being used in the worldwide
RepRap project, FDM is one of the most popular and widely used processes for 3D printing both recreationally
and commercially.

Fig. 4. Typical setup of the material extrusion method [4].

The final methods that will be covered in detail involve the base material starting out in a powder form
and being bound together into a final desired shape. The advantages of these using powder material as a base
include not having to waste material to fabricate additional support structures and generally allowing all
meltable materials to be used, not just polymers. One method that employs powder material is the powder bed
fusion method, shown in Figure 5. The powder material is typically either a thermoplastic (a polymer that
solidifies above its melting temperature) or a metal (commonly alumimum, steel, or titanium). A chamber
supplies the powder, which is gradually fed into a roller that pushes it to the fabrication chamber. There, a
technology known as selective laser sintering (SLS) is used. A laser traces out the pattern for each layer,
melting the metal powder and binding it as a whole piece in the traced out pattern in a process. The precision
of laser technology enables SLS to offer one of the highest resolutions curently possible in 3D printing and
therefore be able to meet tolerances in the XY directions as low as 0.001 (compared with 0.004 at best in
processes utilizing a nozzle), thus making it the most popular choice for high volume productions [6].
The chamber containing the powder is typically heated to 10 C below the melting point of the material
so that the laser can melt the powder quickly [5]. The unused powder is left in the chamber to be used as
support structure for the part. A much faster process known as directed energy deposition, shown in Figure 6,
is emerging in industries that require rapid metal manufacturing. The main difference here is that the energy
source used to melt the metal is of much higher intensity, and can take the form of a laser, electron beam, or
plasma arc. However, melting the powder faster results in rougher dimensional accuracy and may require
further machining. Regardless of the energy source, melting preheating the metal powders to just below their
melting points is akin to heat treatment typically carried out in cold-worked metals to recover ductility at the
cost of reducing toughness and strength. This process therefore eliminates any residual stresses built up from
cold working the metals prior to being turned into powder form, and so powder bed fusion cannot be used for
manufacturing metal parts that require strengthening from cold working.

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 Fig. 5. Typical setup of the powder bed fusion method [4].

Fig. 6. Typical setup of the direct energy deposition method [4].

A similar method involving powdered material was developed by MIT in 1993 called binder jetting,
shown in Figure 7. It involves use of the base material being spread across each layer in powder form. The
key difference from powder bed fusion is that instead of melting the powder and then resolidifying it, a liquid
binder is applied through a nozzle. This means that the entire process can be performed at room temperature
and without any forced heat treatments of metals. The binder used typically depends on the base material. For
example, plaster based materials require a solution containing mostly water to activate and solidify the plaster.
For other materials, some form of glue is used, which may result in weak mechanical properties as the glue
would remain as part of the finished object in holding the base material together. Regardless of the binder
being used, it sets the powder in the specified shape for that layer, and then a roller flattens out that layer and
the next layer begins. The 3D object to be fabricated remains within the box of powder material, which acts
as a support structure until it is finished, after which the loose powder is swept off the finished object and
used for the next printing job [4].

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 Fig. 7. Typical setup of the binder jetting method [4].

There are some other existing processes that can used for 3D printing were not covered in detail above,
mainly due to their current lack of use or continuing research. One of the less common processes used in 3D
printing is the previously mentioned Laminated Object Manufacturing (LOM), or sheet lamination, which is
used by Mcor Technologies and involves sheets of material covered in adhesive being pressed down upon
either other [4]. This method is unique in that in addition to traditional polymers and metal, paper may also
be used as a base material to create objects with wood-like characteristics, which ironically is just pretty much
reversing the process of turning wood into paper. However, it is not widely used due to its dimensional
accuracy being rather poor. One of the newest forms of 3D printing that has steadily been growing in
popularity and success in both academic and general news is bioprinting. The base material used for this
process is actual living cells in the form of thermo-reversible gels, which are then placed by the printer nozzle
in specific positions and allowed to self-form into tissue [5]. With actual living and functioning organs having
been successfully 3D printed, the potential applications for bioprinting seem to be endless.
IV. CRITICAL PROCESS VARIABLES
Many of the critical process variables were mentioned when describing the various methods used for
3D printing, but they will be summarized here. One key variable is resolution or dimensional accuracy in both
the thickness of each layer and the shape of each cross-sectional layer. Currently, the best 3D printers can be
accurate to the thousandths place of an inch, making it about average in that aspect. Another key variable is
the time it takes for the base material to solidify. Since each layer has to be built upon a solidified layer, that
directly translates into how quickly a part can be produced using a certain method and material. For methods
involving the melting of material, the melting temperatures of the base materials dictate at what temperatures
the manufacturing processes have to take place in, and this can affect what environments it can occur in.
Finally, the amount of material used per part is a rather unique aspect, since 3D printing generally uses only as
much material as it needs to make the part itself. Thus, being able to calculate how much material saved per
part when using 3D printing over another manufacturing processes can reduce material costs.

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 V. MATERIALS
Practically any material currently used in manufacturing can be used in 3D printing, so it really only
depends upon the desired properties in the finished part. The processes described in detail above typically only
work with polymers and/or metals. All metals and polymers can theoretically be 3D printed even if nobody
has attempted it with a certain metal or polymer yet since they can all start out in liquid form. However, it is
still worth noting some metals or polymers will still be more difficult to 3D print simply due to their inherent
properties, although that is true of any manufacturing process. For example, tungsten melts at above 3400 C,
and so it would not be wise (or even possible) to have a 3D printer keep powdered tungsten at that temperature
to make a toy in a home environment.
With all the 3D printing processes available now, the only thing close to being a requirement for a
material to be 3D printable is that it has to exist in a liquid form at certain conditions so that it can be formed
in a liquid state and then solidified. Every element and material known to man can exist as a liquid in some
specific temperature and pressure combination, so any material can be 3D printed. Even so, there are methods
such as binder jetting that do not involve melting the material, and research is continuously being done on
finding new ways to 3D print new materials. New materials are being introduced and tested with 3D printing
constantly. In the case of bioprinting, something as unconventional as cells have already been successfully 3D
printed. Other unconventional materials that may have required specific manufacturing processes but either
have been successfully 3D printed or are in the process of being researched include ceramics, wax, recycled
waste plastics, and even chocolate, as Hersheys has recently done [1]. Bottom line is that if a material can
currently be formed in any way by humans, it can be 3D printed.
VI. EXAMPLES OF POSSIBLE FABRICATED PARTS
Everything. In all seriousness though, there does not seem to be a limit to what can be produced by 3D
printing. Mathematically, the proof of Fubinis Theorem states that every object of n dimensions can be
represented as a spectrum of layers of shapes of n-1 dimensional layers, so theoretically, 3D printers can turn
any real world object into 2D layers and create it [5]. Realistically though, 3D printers are limited by their
slicing resolution, or how thin they can make each layer of material, as the layers are not really two-
dimensional. As 3D printing technology improves though, 3D printers will be able to make layers thin enough
to print virtually anything.
Some of the more common and typical items produced by 3D printing haven been toys, robotic parts,
electronics, jewelry, clothing, and shoes. The more impressive products of 3D printing that were considered
breakthroughs in the field of 3D printing were kidneys, 3D printers (i.e. it made a copy of itself), a prosthetic
leg, something as small as blood vessels, and something as large as the body of a car. There is no limit to how
small, how large, or how complex an object 3D printers can make. The only limitation is with humans, whether
or not they have the imagination to design and create the object and how fast they are willing to advance
forward in this still relatively new manufacturing process. Indeed, people may one day driving inside
completely 3D printed cars, living inside 3D printed houses, and eating 3D printed food.
VII. ADVANTAGES
Because of how additive manufacturing constructs an object, it can save enormous amounts of money
from using less material overall. Additive manufacturing uses exactly how much material it needs for the
finished part, whereas subtractive manufacturing processes will always require more material to be removed
from the finished part. For example, casted parts will typically have excess material, known as flash, flowing
out of the molded pattern that will have to be removed to finish the desired shape. In best case scenarios, 3D
printing can require as little as just one-tenth of the amount of material, meaning that up to ten times as much
product can be made with the same amount of material resources [8]. Granted, some 3D printing methods will
require support structures, but methods such as powder bed fusion just use the same base material as support
and then reuse it in the next produced part. In addition, parts produced by traditional manufacturing processes
often contain redundant material that serve absolutely no engineering function in the finished part and only

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exist because it was impractical or impossible to remove. For example, a beam that only needs to withstand
stresses along its longitudinal axis can be hollowed out while still providing relatively the same structural
integrity. Since 3D printers can make complex shapes that no other process can make, they can create the part
without redundant material in those areas and therefore reduce the weight of the finished product. Weight
reduction is highly sought after in transportation vehicles and many other machines that require energy to
power motion, so 3D printing parts to remove redundant and useless material can both save material and energy
costs. Being able to manufacture lighter parts with remarkably complex geometries has resulted in 3D printing
being used extensively in the aerospace and automobile industry sectors [10].
The speed and flexibility in creating complex shapes that a 3D printer can offer to a customers needs
is unparalleled in manufacturing. With previous traditional casting methods, customers would typically have
to place bulk orders in the tens of thousands to minimize the fixed costs of the manufacturer having to create
a new mold, whether temporary or permanent, for each different part [9]. With 3D printing, the only fixed cost
is the cost of the 3D printer, and it is the only fixed cost for every part, regardless of any differences, made on
that 3D printer until the end of its lifespan. In fact, the 3D printer can be thought of as an infinite investment
mold that can be used to form any shape for as long as it functions, which makes it superior to practically all
casting processes (subject to certain limitations that will be discussed in the next section). The 3D printer is
already economically competitive with plastic injection-molding for volumes of just 1,000 items [8]. As the
costs of 3D printers continue to fall, 3D printing may well one day be more economically viable for even
greater volumes. The flexibility of 3D printing would be well worth the added cost in the rare cases of orders
of just a few items, as the customer would only have to send the manufacturer an updated STL file with the
changes they want and avoid having to pay for a new mold for just a dozen parts. Better yet, the customer can
simply invest in purchasing 3D printers to have onsite and avoid having to deal with a manufacturer altogether,
thus speeding up and streamlining the design process even further. This would allow companies to more easily
modify their designs based on customer feedback as it would cost basically nothing in terms of manufacturing
to change the design, which has led to 3D printing being categorized as a form of rapid prototyping due to how
quickly it can manufacture and change prototypes in the design phase where certain mechanical properties are
not necessary yet.
The flexibility of 3D printing is not limited to just big industrial companies though. No longer will
inventors have to worry about the high costs of manufacturing a prototype of their designs. An inventor or
startup company can toy around with a design idea on CAD software, 3D print a few prototypes to test out the
practicality and maybe test the market with them [8]. The costs making a few prototypes with a 3D printer at
home would be far less than having them made with a dozen different processes from a manufacturer, not to
mention how much more quickly it would be to 3D print a design from scratch, without existing molds or die
tools. A prototype of a complex gaming die was manufactured using 3D printing in just hours, whereas a
traditional manufacturer took weeks to create to same prototype [11]. The ability to print anything will also
free designers from being constrained by traditional manufacturing process. No longer will they have to wonder
whether or not their designs are too complex and therefore impossible to be manufactured. Overall, 3D printing
lowers the risks and inhibitions of manufacturing for newcomers to the manufacturing industry, and will
promote more creativity and inventive designs.
VIII. LIMITATIONS
As amazing as 3D printing sounds, there are reasons manufacturers have not completely abandoned
traditional manufacturing processes in favor of it. While 3D printing can certainly create a three-dimensional
shape of anything, the result may not necessarily have the mechanical properties desired in the part. In tensile
tests, 100% casted polymer parts achieved tensile strengths 5% greater than 100% additively manufactured
polymer parts [10]. In the comparisons between metal parts, wrought parts can reach even greater tensile
strengths. This is mainly due to the fact that 3D printing creates a 3D part in layers separately, so the material
bonds between the layers are not as strong as those in a part that was manufactured as one single piece. 3D
printed parts also tend to be manufactured in their final forms so as to not require further machining, and so

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cold working to increase tensile strength or heat treating to increase ductility in 3D printed metal parts is not
an option. As a result, the main use for 3D printing in metal manufacturing industries is still currently as a
faster alternative to casting large chunks of metal that will be later worked and machined into shape anyways
[4]. Also, if mechanical properties such as strength and ductility are not required in the part, then 3D printing
will still be vastly superior to traditional manufacturer processes for the freedom and production speed that it
offers.
However, the accuracy of current 3D printers still leaves something to be desired. Ideally, a three-
dimensional object would be constructed as a continuous sum of infinitesimal layers. Realistically though, the
layers are discrete and have a finite thickness, despite all efforts to make them as thin as possible. Technological
advances are currently capable of making layers as thin as 0.002 and are going to continue to lower that limit
to make 3D printed parts as realistic as possible. However, as the layers get thinner, the amount of layers
increases. Thus, the time needed for manufacturing becomes inversely proportional to desired dimensional
accuracy. This is true of all manufacturing processes though, the tradeoff between accuracy and production
speed and cost. The layering of material also results in terrible surface finish both aesthetically and functionally,
depending on the resolution. In fact, it is possible to tell whether or not a part has been 3D printed just by
looking for signs of layers on the surface with the naked eye. Therefore, an additional step of refining the
surface quality would have to be performed after the 3D printing. Vehicles using 3D printed outer shells would
require that for streamlining purposes, and toys would need to look aesthetically pleasing. This process would
increase total production time and rob 3D printing of its advantage in speed, but as resolution increases with
advances in 3D printing technology, this problem should be minimal.
The numerous applications of 3D printing can also be a disadvantage. While 3D printing can make
virtually anything with any material, not every process is suited for every object of every shape and made of
any material. Certain methods are more capable of producing small objects, and others are more optimized for
large scale productions. Stereolithography can only be used to make polymer parts, while LOM is the only
method that 3D prints with paper and wood. Therefore, one single 3D printer is not going to be able to make
everything forever. Companies, households, and individuals will have to decide on which type of products they
will be making primarily, and then invest in the appropriate version of a 3D printer.
IX. FUTURE OF 3D PRINTING
From an industrial point of view, one huge advantage of 3D printing is how much of the process can
be automated, meaning that mass production can be possible with minimal human labor. Researchers from the
Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands have already presented a mathematical model showing
the economic feasibility of mass production in a manufacturing factory composed only of 3D printers [7]. In
fact, the only jobs for humans would be to create the CAD file of the object to be produced, oversee and
maintain the machines, and finally package and ship the finish products. The complete automation of the entire
production process can be considered an evolution of the existing assembly line. In additional to not having to
pay for human labor, the greater reliability of machines when compared to humans lowers the amount of
variable unpredictability in the overall manufacturing process, thus increasing overall reliability and
productivity. After all, 3D printers will never go on strike or have to miss work to take care of a child, and
there are no laws preventing machines from working 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. However, this may cause
people to become hesitant to adopt 3D printing, though, if it means replacing workers and eliminating jobs.
The limitations of 3D printing technology mentioned above can also be improved upon. As more
companies begin to find the production of 3D printers a viable business, the amount of funding put into the
technologies of the various processes will increase their accuracy in 3D printing to the point where a 3D printed
object will be virtually indistinguishable from one made from casting or forging. The problem of 3D printed
parts lacking desired mechanical properties, mainly strength and toughness, is a more difficult one to solve
though. For all of human history, metals have had to be cold worked into shape to achieve those properties.
Nevertheless, any successful research into how to make 3D printed parts just as strong as cold worked parts
will be an incredible discovery, and will complete revolutionize the metalworking industry.

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 However, as of right now, the main direction for 3D printing research still seems to be focused on
bioprinting. It has already seen success in the printing of healthy, living organs, which have been successfully
transplanted. If mass production of organs can be optimized to the point of economic feasibility, it may just be
able to cure almost all diseases. If someone contracts cancerous cells, the person could simply just swap out
that body part with a 3D printed one. People would no longer be at risk of dying while waiting for an organ
donor. It is almost tempting to see if an entire person could be 3D printed, as after all, a person is just
biologically and physically a collection of tissues and cells bound together. But then ethics come into question,
and science might be going too far in this case.
X. CONCLUSION
Just a few years ago, if a typically person was asked how a particular part was made, he or she would
probably have had no idea. Today, that person would just need to know about 3D printing and probably be
able to correctly name a possible manufacturing process for most of his or her everyday items. Even though
3D printing is not suitable to become the major manufacturing process for many large scale engineering
projects in industry yet, its capabilities are able to meet the basic requirements of about 90% of products that
the average person is consciously aware of using in their daily lives. That alone may be enough for 3D printing
to start becoming the manufacturing process of choice for the 21st century.

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 REFERENCES
[1] A. Savini and G. G. Savini, "A short history of 3D printing, a technological revolution just started,"
History of High-Technologies and their Socio-Cultural Contexts Conference (HISTELCON), 2015
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