Expectations vs Reality: If Every Home Had a 3D Printer?

On average, over 8,000 people die each year in the U.S. because they can't get an organ transplant. But, what if we could actually rebuild our failing organs?

That possibility of creating anything you want from home could be just around the corner with a 3D printer. Right now, our bodies face the possibility of breaking down. But, what if we could wipe out that risk by creating medical devices that can help us, like hearing aids, pacemakers, or new dentures. Imagine if we could actually 3D bioprint our vital organs.

3D printing, also known as Additive Manufacturing is a manufacturing process that takes a digital file known as computer-aided design or CAD and brings that 3D model to life. The most common 3D printing process is known as it works the same way as your standard ink-jet printer, except instead of ink, it uses thermoplastic material, which gets pushed through a nozzle, like a hot glue gun. A spool of filament is loaded into a printer and gets heated up. It keeps layering 2D cross-sections in thin horizontal lines that sit on one another until you end up with a solid three-dimensional object. The 3D Printing materials can also be in the form of liquid (for SLA and MJ processes) or powder form (for SLS/SLM, and DED process). It's the creation of living tissues, such as blood vessels, bone, heart cells, skin cells, or cartilage. Imagine what 3D bioprinting could do for organ donations.

In 2019, in the U.S., there were more than 100,000 people on waiting lists for organ transplants. The average wait time for a kidney is between three and five years. Scientists hope that someday soon they will be able to print a kidney. All they'll require is a sample of your blood, to create one in six to eight weeks. Imagine the lives this would save.

Advances in this biotechnology would allow us to eliminate testing on animals. Instead, we could use three-dimensional living tissue, which would be more accurate when conducting medical studies. Dying of old age could be eliminated. When certain parts of your body start to deteriorate, you would swap them out. Lungs, heart, liver, whatever you desire. Just replace them every 20 years, or sooner if needed, like upgrading to the newest version of an iPhone. You wake up in the morning, log in to your computer and type pancakes and call a 3D Printing service company. Minutes later, your breakfast is printed and ready.

Now, what should I wear today? A new shirt, it is! Next, shoes. Perfect. Then, you drive to work in your 3D printed car.

3D printing would allow us to create anything we dream of a one-stop Amazon shop, right under your own roof. In the U.S. alone, there are approximately and in 2018, two out of every 1,000 homes had a 3D printer. It will be years before 3D printing is feasible in the average home. But, imagine if they become affordable for the average consumer. Retailers could be removed from the economic equation, with consumers choosing to print virtually anything they want. The 3D printing industry is rapidly growing, despite the fact that less than 1% of global manufacturers currently use this technology.

In 2019, the market grew to over $10.4 billion, crossing the double-digit billion thresholds for the first time in its nearly 40-year history. The 3D printing market is set to double in size every three years, with an annual growth forecasted between 3D printing could create less need for transportation and distribution, resulting in a smaller carbon footprint.

Finally, a well-deserved break for Mother Earth. Well, maybe not. 3D printing currently relies primarily on plastics that produce toxic by-products and fumes. It also requires a lot of energy. Some 3D printing processes call for 50 to 100 times more electricity than traditional injection molding methods to make an object of equal weight. What's to stop someone from 3D printing illegal drugs, weapons, or bootleg products. Governments would have to impose restrictions on a tool that could provide endless possibilities. But before you get too excited, the reality of every home having a 3D printer as a common household item is doubtful.

The cost of materials is still expensive, and the skill required to make and assemble finished objects is high. Similar to the prediction of everyone having flying cars, we likely have a long road ahead of us.

What do you think about the 3D printing revolution? Let us know in a comment below or on our Facebook page!