BIS202 - Computer and Business Information System

University of Bahrain

College of Information Technology

Department of Information System

BIS202 – Computer and Business Information System

Student name :	ID :
1.

Assignment 1

Objective:

A report discussing the process of 3D Printing, the uses of 3D printing, the effect of 3D printing in our life and the cost of 3D printers.

Introduction:

3D Printing is a process of manufacturing the product on the layer by layer. It was created by Chuck Hull in 1983. It has gone through a lot of ups and downs throughout its development and sometimes rejected by new technologies. It is an additive manufacturing process that transforms a digital design to a physical object. There are different materials and different 3D printing technologies that can be used to create a physical object. The solid three-dimensional physical object are made by adding material layer by layer, following the design or the model that is being made in the digital design.

The process of making a physical object form a digital model, basically by laying down many thin layers of material. So the way that it works is by having a digital 3D design file. This design file is sliced into many thin layers which is sent to the 3D printer, after that the printing process starts. The printing process depends on the technology that is being used, starting from desktop printers that melt a plastic material and lay it down onto a print platform to large industrial machines that use a laser to selectively melt metal powder. The printing process can take hours to complete depending on the shape and the size of the object that is being created. Materials also differ by printer type, it could be sandstone, metals, alloys, plastics or even rubber.

An example for this process, a designer in the process of creating a new laptop can use a software package to create a three-dimensional model that can be viewed on the computer screen. Then the 3D printer uses the presented object and builds it to a full-size physical model. Also it can help the designer to understand the limitations and the strengths of the design that they have made.

In this report we will discuss the process of 3D printing in detail, the uses of 3D printing in our daily life, advantages/disadvantages, and the effect it can have on our environment and the cost of 3D printers.

The uses of 3D printing:

Jewelry: 3D printers is becoming a popular aspect for making or designing unique looks for jewelry because traditional jewelry methods cannot make some unique design. Also 3D printers make it cheaper to produce or customize unique shapes and pieces of jewelry for customers.

Construction: concrete 3D printing is a cheaper and a faster way to build buildings and it is being developed for years. A large scale 3D printers are used, and designed to print concrete that can pour foundation of the building and also build walls. For example, Shanghai in China has used 3D printing to build a concrete bridge, it only took them 450 hours to make and it was made only by two-thirds of the usual cost. They also installed a detector devices that could give them information of the movement on the bridge so they could observe the city status.

Automotive: 3D printing gives more freedom in automotive manufacturing comparing to traditional methods. 3D printing shortens the time required to manufacture an automotive parts (from a few months to a few days). Other than it shortens the time taken for the product development but it also improve the product that is being made by increasing the number of the repeats. Overall, 3D printers in automotive manufacturing reduces the cost of product development and gives a more rapid development.

The process of 3D printer:

The term three-dimensional refers to changing the model from a surface model to a model closer to reality. This development is used to provide effort and time for most of the construction processes. With the development of the device, the idea of the device remains constant. The idea started from creating a computer-aided design program until it evolved To create an integrated device for 3D design however, the actual process used to create the

physical object varies.

There are four different types of 3D printing processes that you are likely to encounter, and they are as follows:

Stereolithography (SLA)
Selective Laser Sintering (SLS)
Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM)
Multi-Jet Modeling (MJM)

Advantage and disadvantage for 3D printer:

Each device contains defects and advantages, as it is appropriate for some of the processes and is not suitable for the other ones and here some of advantages points..

Less material can be used; the researcher’s certainly see environmental benefits in the technology of 3D printing. Since only so much material is needed, as in the end is also present min the product, so there is almost no loss, can save raw materials. In addition, particularly lightweight parts can be produced locally, for example, in aircraft construction and so fuel can be saved.
The starting material for printing is also crucial from an ecological point of view. So far, only plastic and metal is mainly used in 3D printers .
Save energy:energy savings through 3D printing is critical.Energy can be saved in warehousing and transportation, providing a variety of raw materials for printing instead of having to spend money to source new material.
The revolution that supposes for manufacture of products. A single 3D printing is capable of making many different products. Much of the current manufacturing is done with specific machines whose function is limited and if the product changes, the machine must also be readjusted or changed.
Flexibility and rapid prototyping. It allows prototypes of products with ease, which can imply an improvement in the design.
Cost reduction. Instead of buying a product it can be done at home
You would be able to of making your own clothes that fits your style ,objects, products … in a personalized and exclusive way.

Also we have some of disadvantages points..

Potentially more garbage :Consumers could use products shorter in the future and throw them away if they can easily “reprint” them over and over again, scientists fear. So not only would more material be consumed, but also more waste would be produced. Especially for complex 3-D products, which consist of several materials, steel here sees a potential problem for recycling.
If in the future wood 3D printing become more popular it can have a detrimental effect on our environment.
Decrease in work position. The elaboration of the products themselves, and the reduction of machinery can lead to fewer jobs in manufacturing.
Infringement of copyright. The replication of copyrighted objects will be difficult to control because 3D scanners allow the replication of any object.
Increase in useless products.
The prices are very high.

The effect on our environment:

Higher energy use the 3D printer consumes a lot of energy to make the stereo appear identical and clear. As the average energy consumption reaches 100 electrical cycles, this greatly affects villages and small cities. lower distribution emissions one of benefits of 3D printer is its ability to print in all places. This benefit contributes to reducing emission resulting from moving the printer from places to another. Recyclable materials the 3D printer is usually made of plastic and its derivatives. Yes it can be recycled, but it poses some risks. Due to frequent recycling, this plastic becomes more fragile, which makes the user hesitate to try it. Industries and developers are working to improve the quality of recycled products.