Report on 3-D Printing

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ABSTRACT
3D Printing is a process of manufacturing the product on the layer by layer. And it is best
processes for producing a finished objects. It was started in 1980‟s with the invention of stereo
lithography. It has gone through various ups and downs throughout its development and rejection
of new technologies. In this paper, we h3ave summarized the printing of hollow compounds with
different shapes. Applications of 3D printed hollow compounds are turbine blades, gears, disc
brakes etc. One of the major application of 3D printing is hollow turbine blade. A turbine blade is
the individual components. These are used to up the turbine section of a gas turbine. The blades
must designed to withstand the high pressure and high temperature comings from combustor.
These 3D printed hollow compounds has same strength as solid compounds when compared.
Major advantages of the Hollow shaped compounds are heat transfer, low material cost. The aim
of the paper is to reduce the cost of material and easy manufacturing of hollow compounds
compared to traditional process and taken hollow turbine blade as example.
3-D object security is increasingly brought to the attention of the public by the expansion of new
multimedia technologies such as the 3-D printing. In the development of cryptosecurity systems
of 3-D objects, we can identify two major directions represented by the cryptography and digital
watermarking. A good security system has to be format compliant, has to preserve the original bit
rate and, whenever possible, it should be reversible. Watermarking methodology has the
advantage of ensuring that the embedded hidden message can be verified at any processing stage
such as the transmission, storage and when visualizing the embedding media. In this paper, we
review the previous work in 3-D security and analyze the crypto-security of a 3-D watermarking
method which embeds information by mesh surface distortion minimization. Then, we discuss
future avenues of research by presenting emerging applications.

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Chapter1
INTRODUCTION
Early Additive Manufacturing (or AM) equipment and materials were developed in the 1980s. In
1981, Hideo Kodama of Nagoya Municipal Industrial Research Institute invented two AM
fabricating methods of a three-dimensional plastic model with photo-hardening polymer, where
the UV exposure area is controlled by a mask pattern or the scanning fiber transmitter. But on
July 16, 1984 Alain Le Méhauté, Olivier de Witte and Jean Claude André filed their patent for the
stereolithography process.[8]
It was three weeks before Chuck Hull filed his own patent for
stereolithography. The application of French inventors were abandoned by the French General
Electric Company (now Alcatel-Alsthom) and CILAS (The Laser Consortium). The claimed
reason was ―for lack of business perspective‖. Then in 1984, Chuck Hull of 3D
Systems Corporation developed a prototype system based on a process known
as stereolithography, in which layers are added by curing photopolymers with ultraviolet
light lasers. Hull defined the process as a "system for generating three-dimensional objects by
creating a cross-sectional pattern of the object to be formed. but this had been already invented by
Kodama. Hull's contribution is the design of the STL (Stereolithography) file format widely
accepted by 3D printing software as well as the digital slicing and infill strategies common to
many processes today. The term 3D printing originally referred to a process employing standard
and custom inkjet print heads. The technology used by most 3D printers to date especially
hobbyist and consumer-oriented models is fused deposition modeling, a special application of
plastic extrusion.
AM processes for metal sintering or melting (such as selective laser sintering, direct metal laser
sintering, and selective laser melting) usually went by their own individual names in the 1980s
and 1990s. At the time, nearly all metal working was produced by casting, fabrication, stamping,
and machining; although plenty of automation was applied to those technologies (such as by robot
welding and CNC), the idea of a tool or head moving through a 3D work envelope transforming a
mass of raw material into a desired shape layer by layer was associated by most people only with
processes that removed metal (rather than adding it), such as CNC milling, CNC EDM, and many
others. But AM-type sintering was beginning to challenge that assumption. By the mid 1990s,
new techniques for material deposition were developed at Stanford and Carnegie Mellon
University, including micro casting and sprayed materials. Sacrificial and support materials had
also become more common, enabling new object geometries.

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The umbrella term additive manufacturing gained wider currency in the decade of the 2000s. As
the various additive processes matured, it became clear that soon metal removal would no longer
be the only metalworking process done under that type of control (a tool or head moving through
a 3D work envelope transforming a mass of raw material into a desired shape layer by layer). It
was during this decade that the term subtractive manufacturing appeared as a retronym for the
large family of machining processes with metal removal as their common theme. However, at the
time, the term 3D printing still referred only to the polymer technologies in most minds, and the
term AM was likelier to be used in metalworking contexts than among
polymer/inkjet/stereolithography enthusiasts. The term subtractive has not replaced the
term machining, instead complementing it when a term that covers any removal method is
needed.
By the early 2010s, the terms 3D printing and additive manufacturing developed senses in which
they were synonymous umbrella terms for all AM technologies. Although this was a departure
from their earlier technically narrower senses, it reflects the simple fact that the technologies all
share the common theme of sequential-layer material addition/joining throughout a 3D work
envelope under automated control. (Other terms that have appeared, which are usually used as
AM synonyms (although sometimes ashypernyms), have been desktop manufacturing, rapid
manufacturing [as the logical production-level successor to rapid prototyping], and on-demand
manufacturing [which echoes on-demand printing in the 2D sense of printing]. The 2010s were
the first decade in which metal parts such as engine brackets and large nuts would be grown
(either before or instead of machining) in job production rather than obligatory being machined
from bar stock or plate. As technology matured, several authors had begun to speculate that 3D
printing could aid in sustainable development in the developing world.
3D printing, additionally referred to as additive manufacturing, may be a method of basically
making a three-dimensional object from a package model. The thing may be of just about any
form. The method of making these objects in largely additive. Within the additive method, an
object to be written is built from the base-up by in turn adding it to layers of the development
material. The additive method may be contrasted with the subtractive process, where material is
removed from a block by methods such as sculpting or drilling. The main material utilized in the
development of 3D objects is plastic, though recently, there has additionally been a slew of
innovation toward using alternative materials like metals of various sorts and additionally organic
matter like carbon and its varied derivatives. Hideo Kodama of Nayoga Municipal Industrial

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Research Institute is generally regarded to have printed the first solid object from a digital design.
However, the credit for the first 3D printer generally goes to Charles Hull, who in 1984 designed
it while working for the company he founded, 3D Systems Corp. Charles a Hull was a pioneer of
the solid imaging process known as stereo lithography and the STL (stereo lithographic) file
format which is still the most widely used format used today in 3D printing. He is also regarded to
have started commercial rapid prototyping that was concurrent with his development of 3D
printing. He initially used photopolymers heated by ultraviolet light to achieve the melting and
solidification effect. In 3D printing, successive layers of material are formed under computer
control to create an object. These objects can be of almost any shape or geometry and are
produced from a 3D model or other electronic data source. A 3D printer is a type of industrial
robot.
Futurologists such as Jeremy Rifkin believe that 3D printing signals the beginning of a third
industrial revolution, succeeding the production line assembly that dominated manufacturing
starting in the late 19th century. Using the power of the Internet, it may eventually be possible to
send a blueprint of any product to any place in the world to be replicated by a 3D printer with
"elemental inks" capable of being combined into any material substance of any desired form.
3D printing in the term's original sense refers to processes that sequentially deposit material onto
a powder bed with inkjet printer heads. More recently, the meaning of the term has expanded to
encompass a wider variety of techniques such as extrusion and sintering-based
processes. Technical standards generally use the term additive manufacturing for this broader
sense.
1.1 PRINCIPLES OF 3D PRINTING
The main principle of 3D printing is stereo lithography, outlined by Charles Hull in a 1984 patent
as ―a system for generating three-dimensional objects by making a cross-sectional pattern of the
object to be formed‖. This means that any 3D object generated using a 3D drawing software is
first split into layers and these layers are then successively printed by the machine on top if one
another.
Step one of 3D printing is the generation of a 3D printable model. This model is generated using
a computer aided design software or via a 3D scanner. A real life object can be set to be 3D
printed by scanning it to get a 3D model that is realistically within the bounds of the 3D printer’s
capability. Then the STL file is generated by running the design through a converting software.

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You can customize various aspects of the design such as the layer thickness, temperature, and
outer finish, etc. Once the STL file is generated, then the object is ready to be printed. After the
designing step comes the printing part. The converted STL file is fed into the printer and
according to the layers we have obtained, the machine starts out laying the plastic out layer by
layer. The material need not be plastic but it can be anything ranging from liquid, powder, paper
or sheet material. The layers are automatically fused to get the final shape. Its advantage over
conventional machining techniques is that it can be used to create almost any geometric shape.
The object may take anywhere from several minutes to several hours to complete depending on
the size and complexity of the model and also on the type of machine used. Some additive
manufacturing techniques are capable of using multiple materials to construct parts. They can also
use multiple color combinations simultaneously. In case there are projecting parts in the model,
supports are used like scaffolding until the overhanging part sufficiently hardens. These supports
can be dissolved in water when the model is printed.
1.1.1 General Principles:
 Modeling
3D printable models may be created with a computer aided design (CAD) package, via a 3D
scanner or by a plain digital camera and photogrammetric software. 3D printed models created
with CAD results in reduced errors and can be corrected before printing, allowing verification in
the design of the object before it is printed.
Fig.1.1: CAD model used for 3D printing
The manual modeling process of preparing geometric data for 3D computer graphics is similar to
plastic arts such as sculpting. 3D scanning is a process of collecting digital data on the shape and
appearance of a real object, creating a digital model based on it.

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 Printing
Fig 1.2: Video of a hyperboloid object (designed by George W. Hart) made of PLA using a
RepRap "Prusa Mendel" 3-D printer for molten polymer deposition
Before printing a 3D model from an STL file, it must first be examined for errors. In fact, most of
the CAD software produced errors in the STL files: holes, faces normal's, self-intersections, noise
shells or manifold errors. This step is called "repair", as the original model needs to be
fixed. Generally STLs that have been produced from a model obtained through 3D scanning often
have more of these errors. This is due to how 3D scanning works : as it's often point to point
acquisition, reconstruction will include errors in most cases.
Once completed, the STL file needs to be processed by a piece of software called a "slicer,"
which converts the model into a series of thin layers and produces a G-code file containing
instructions tailored to a specific type of 3D printer (FDM printers). This G-code file can then be
printed with 3D printing client software (which loads the G-code, and uses it to instruct the 3D
printer during the 3D printing process).
Printer resolution describes layer thickness and X-Y resolution in dots per inch (dpi)
or micrometers (µm). Typical layer thickness is around 100 µm (250 DPI), although some
machines can print layers as thin as 16 µm (1,600 DPI). X-Y resolution is comparable to that of
laser printers. The particles (3D dots) are around 50 to 100 µm (510 to 250 DPI) in diameter.
Construction of a model with contemporary methods can take anywhere from several hours to
several days, depending on the method used and the size and complexity of the model. Additive
systems can typically reduce this time to a few hours, although it varies widely depending on the
type of machine used and the size and number of models being produced simultaneously.
Traditional techniques like injection moulding can be less expensive for manufacturing polymer
products in high quantities, but additive manufacturing can be faster, more flexible and less

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expensive when producing relatively small quantities of parts. 3D printers give designers and
concept development teams the ability to produce parts and concept models using a desktop size
printer.
 Finishing
Though the printer-produced resolution is sufficient for many applications, printing a slightly
oversized version of the desired object in standard resolution and then removing material with a
higher-resolution subtractive process can achieve greater precision.
Some printable polymers such as ABS, allow the surface finish to be smoothed and improved
using chemical vapor processes.
Some additive manufacturing techniques are capable of using multiple materials in the course of
constructing parts. These techniques are able to print in multiple colors and color combinations
simultaneously, and would not necessarily require painting.
Some printing techniques require internal supports to be built for overhanging features during
construction. These supports must be mechanically removed or dissolved upon completion of the
print.
All of the commercialized metal 3D printers involve cutting the metal component off the metal
substrate after deposition. A new process for the GMAW 3D printing allows for substrate surface
modifications to remove aluminum or steel.
1.1.2 OTHER PRINCIPLES
Principle one: Manufacturing complexity is free. In traditional manufacturing, the more
complicated an object's shape, the more it costs to make. On a 3D printer, complexity costs the
same as simplicity. Fabricating an ornate and complicated shape does not require more time, skill,
or cost than printing a simple block. Free complexity will disrupt traditional pricing models and
change how we calculate the cost of manufacturing things.
Principle two: Variety is free. A single 3D printer can make many shapes. Like a human artisan,
a 3D printer can fabricate a different shape each time. Traditional manufacturing machines are
much less versatile and can only make things in a limited spectrum of shapes. 3D printing
removes the over- head costs associated with re-training human machinists or re-tooling factory

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machines. A single 3D printer needs only a different digital blueprint and a fresh batch of raw
material.
Principle three: No assembly required. 3D printing forms interlocked parts. Mass
manufacturing is built on the backbone of the assembly line. In modern factories, machines make
identical objects that are later assembled by robots or human workers, sometimes continents
away. The more parts a product contains, the longer it takes to assemble and the more expensive it
becomes to make. By making objects in layers, a 3D printer could print a door and attached
interlocking hinges at the same time, no assembly required. Less assembly will shorten supply
chains, saving money on labor and transportation; shorter supply chains will be less polluting.
Principle four: Zero lead time. A 3D printer can print on demand when an object is needed. The
capacity for on-the-spot manufacturing reduces the need for companies to stockpile physical
inventory. New types of business services become possible as 3D printers enable a business to
make specialty -- or custom -- objects on demand in response to customer orders. Zero-lead-time
manufacturing could minimize the cost of long-distance shipping if printed goods are made when
they are needed and near where they are needed.
Principle five: Unlimited design space. Traditional manufacturing technologies and human
artisans can make only a finite repertoire of shapes. Our capacity to form shapes is limited by the
tools available to us. For example, a traditional wood lathe can make only round objects. A mill
can make only parts that can be accessed with a milling tool. A molding machine can make only
shapes that can be poured into and then extracted from a mold. A 3D printer removes these
barriers, opening up vast new design spaces. A printer can fabricate shapes that until now have
been possible only in nature.
Principle six: Zero skill manufacturing. Traditional artisans train as apprentices for years to
gain the skills they needed. Mass production and computer-guided manufacturing machines
diminish the need for skilled production. However traditional manufacturing machines still
demand a skilled expert to adjust and calibrate them. A 3D printer gets most of its guidance from
a design file. To make an object of equal complexity, a 3D printer requires less operator skill than
does an injection molding machine. Unskilled manufacturing opens up new business models and
could offer new modes of production for people in remote environments or extreme
circumstances.

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Principle seven: Compact, portable manufacturing. Per volume of production space, a 3D
printer has more manufacturing capacity than a traditional manufacturing machine. For example,
an injection molding machine can only make objects significantly smaller than itself. In contrast,
a 3D printer can fabricate objects as large as its print bed. If a 3D printer is arranged so its
printing apparatus can move freely, a 3D printer can fabricate objects larger than itself. A high
production capacity per square foot makes 3D printers ideal for home use or office use since they
offer a small physical footprint.
Principle eight: Less waste by-product. 3D printers that work in metal create less waste by-
product than do traditional metal manufacturing techniques. Machining metal is highly wasteful
as an estimated 90 percent of the original metal gets ground off and ends up on the factory floor.
3D printing is more waste less for metal manufacturing. As printing materials improve, "Net
shape" manufacturing could be a greener way to make things.
Principle nine: Infinite shades of materials. Combining different raw materials into a single
product is difficult using today's manufacturing machines. Since traditional manufacturing
machines carve, cut, or mold things into shape, these processes can't easily blend together
different raw materials. As multi-material 3D printing develops, we will gain the capacity to
blend and mix different raw materials. New previously inaccessible blends of raw material offer
us a much larger, mostly unexplored palette of materials with novel properties or useful types of
behaviors.

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Chapter 2
PROCESS
Several 3D printing processes have been invented since the late 1970s. The printers were
originally large, expensive, and highly limited in what they could produce. A large number of
additive processes are now available. The main differences between processes are in the way
layers are deposited to create parts and in the materials that are used. Some methods melt or
soften the material to produce the layers, for example. selective laser melting (SLM) or direct
metal laser sintering (DMLS), selective laser sintering(SLS), fused deposition
modeling (FDM), or fused filament fabrication (FFF), while others cure liquid materials using
different sophisticated technologies, such as stereolithography (SLA). With laminated object
manufacturing (LOM), thin layers are cut to shape and joined together (e.g., paper, polymer,
metal). Each method has its own advantages and drawbacks, which is why some companies offer
a choice of powder and polymer for the material used to build the object. Others sometimes use
standard, off-the-shelf business paper as the build material to produce a durable prototype. The
main considerations in choosing a machine are generally speed, costs of the 3D printer, of the
printed prototype, choice and cost of the materials, and color capabilities. Printers that work
directly with metals are generally expensive. However less expensive printers can be used to
make a mold, which is then used to make metal parts.
2.1 Extrusion deposition
Fused deposition modeling: 1 – nozzle ejecting molten material, 2 – deposited material (modeled
part), 3 – controlled movable table
Fig 2.1: Fused deposition modeling

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Fused deposition modeling (FDM), derives from automatic polymeric foil hot air welding system,
hot-melt gluing and automatic gasket deposition. Such principle has been further developed by S.
Scott Crump in the late 1980s and was commercialized in 1990 by Stratasys. After the patent on
this technology expired, a large open-source development community developed and both
commercial and DIY variants utilizing this type of 3D printer appeared. As a result, the price of
this technology has dropped by two orders of magnitude since its creation.
In fused deposition modeling the model or part is produced by extruding small beads of material
which harden immediately to form layers. A thermoplastic filament or metal wire that is wound
on a coil is unreeled to supply material to an extrusion nozzle head (3D printer extruder). The
nozzle head heats the material and turns the flow on and off. Typically stepper motors or servo
motors are employed to move the extrusion head and adjust the flow. The printer usually has 3
axes of motion. A computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) software package is used to generate the
G-Code that is sent to a microcontroller which controls the motors.
Extrusion in 3D printing using material extrusion involves a cold end and a hot end. Various
polymers are used, including acrylonitrile butadiene
styrene (ABS), polycarbonate (PC), polylactic acid (PLA), high density polyethylene (HDPE),
PC/ABS, polyphenylsulfone (PPSU) and high impact polystyrene (HIPS). In general, the polymer
is in the form of a filament fabricated from virgin resins. There are multiple projects in the open-
sourced community aimed at processing post-consumer plastic waste into filament. These involve
machines used to shred and extrude the plastic material into filament. Additionally,
fluoropolymers such as PTFE tubing are used in the process due to the material's ability to
withstand high temperatures. This ability is especially useful in transferring filaments.
FDM is somewhat restricted in the variation of shapes that may be fabricated. For example, FDM
usually cannot produce stalactite-like structures, since they would be unsupported during the
build. Otherwise, a thin support must be designed into the structure, which can be broken away
during finishing. Fused deposition modeling is also referred to as fused filament fabrication (FFF)
by companies who do not hold the original patents like Stratasys does.
2.2 Binding of granular materials
Another 3D printing approach is the selective fusing of materials in a granular bed. The technique
fuses parts of the layer and then moves upward in the working area, adding another layer of
granules and repeating the process until the piece has built up. This process uses the unfused

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media to support overhangs and thin walls in the part being produced, which reduces the need for
temporary auxiliary supports for the piece. A laser is typically used to sinter the media into a
solid. Examples include selective laser sintering (SLS), with both metals and polymers (e.g., PA,
PA-GF, Rigid GF, PEEK, PS, Alumide, Carbonmide, elastomers), and direct metal laser
sintering (DMLS).
Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) was developed and patented by Dr. Carl Deckard and Dr. Joseph
Beaman at the University of Texas at Austin in the mid-1980s, under sponsorship of DARPA. A
similar process was patented without being commercialized by R. F. Housholder in 1979.
Selective laser melting (SLM) does not use sintering for the fusion of powder granules but will
completely melt the powder using a high-energy laser to create fully dense materials in a layer-
wise method that has mechanical properties similar to those of conventional manufactured metals.
Electron beam melting (EBM) is a similar type of additive manufacturing technology for metal
parts (e.g. titanium alloys). EBM manufactures parts by melting metal powder layer by layer with
an electron beam in a high vacuum. Unlike metal sintering techniques that operate below melting
point, EBM parts are void-free.
Another method consists of an inkjet 3D printing system. The printer creates the model one layer
at a time by spreading a layer of powder (plaster, or resins) and printing a binder in the cross-
section of the part using an inkjet-like process. This is repeated until every layer has been printed.
This technology allows the printing of full color prototypes, overhangs, and elastomer parts. The
strength of bonded powder prints can be enhanced with wax or thermoset polymer impregnation.
2.3 Lamination
In some printers, paper can be used as the build material, resulting in a lower cost to print. During
the 1990s some companies marketed printers that cut cross sections out of special adhesive coated
paper using a carbon dioxide laser and then laminated them together.
In 2005 Mcor Technologies Ltd developed a different process using ordinary sheets of office
paper, a tungsten carbide blade to cut the shape, and selective deposition of adhesive and pressure
to bond the prototype.
There are also a number of companies selling printers that print laminated objects using thin
plastic and metal sheets.

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2.4 Photo Polymerization
Fig 2.2: Stereo lithography apparatus
Stereolithography was patented in 1986 by Chuck Hull. Photopolymerization is primarily used in
stereolithography (SLA) to produce a solid part from a liquid. This process was a dramatic
departure from the "photosculpture" method of François Willème (1830–1905) developed in 1860
and the photopolymerization of Mitsubishi's Matsubara in 1974.
The "photosculpture" method consisted of photographing a subject from a variety of equidistant
angles and projecting each photograph onto a screen, where a pantograph was used to trace the
outline onto modeling clay. In photo-polymerization, a vat of liquid polymer is exposed to
controlled lighting under safelight conditions. The exposed liquid polymer hardens.
Polymerization occurs when photopolymers are exposed to light when photopolymers
contain chromophores, otherwise, the addition of molecules that are photosensitive are utilized to
react with the solution to begin polymerization. Polymerization of monomers lead to cross-
linking, which creates a polymer. Through these covalent bonds, the property of the solution is
changed. The build plate then moves down in small increments and the liquid polymer is again
exposed to light. The process repeats until the model has been built. The liquid polymer is then
drained from the vat, leaving the solid model. The EnvisionTEC Perfactory is an example of a
DLP rapid prototyping system.
Inkjet printer systems like the Objet PolyJet system spray photopolymer materials onto a build
tray in ultra-thin layers (between 16 and 30 µm) until the part is completed. Each photopolymer

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layer is cured with UV light after it is jetted, producing fully cured models that can be handled
and used immediately, without post-curing. The gel-like support material, which is designed to
support complicated geometries, is removed by hand and water jetting. It is also suitable for
elastomers.
Ultra-small features can be made with the 3D micro-fabrication technique used
in multiphoton photopolymerisation. This approach uses a focused laser to trace the desired 3D
object into a block of gel. Due to the nonlinear nature of photo excitation, the gel is cured to a
solid only in the places where the laser was focused while the remaining gel is then washed away.
Feature sizes of under 100 nm are easily produced, as well as complex structures with moving and
interlocked parts.
Yet another approach uses a synthetic resin that is solidified using LEDs.
In Mask-image-projection-based stereolithography a 3D digital model is sliced by a set of
horizontal planes. Each slice is converted into a two-dimensional mask image. The mask image is
then projected onto a photocurable liquid resin surface and light is projected onto the resin to cure
it in the shape of the layer. The technique has been used to create objects composed of multiple
materials that cure at different rates. In research systems, the light is projected from below,
allowing the resin to be quickly spread into uniform thin layers, reducing production time from
hours to minutes. Commercially available devices such as Objet Connex apply the resin via small
nozzles.
2.5 Metal wire processes
Laser-based wire feed systems, such as Laser Metal Deposition-wire (LMD-w), feed wire through
a nozzle that is melted by a laser using inert gas shielding in either an open environment (gas
surrounding the laser), or in a sealed chamber. Electron beam freeform fabrication uses an
electron beam heat source inside a vacuum chamber.
It is also possible to use conventional gas metal arc welding attached to a 3D stage to 3-D print
metals such as steel and aluminum. Low-cost open source RepRap-style 3-D printers have been
outfitted with Arduino-based sensors and demonstrated reasonable metallurgical properties from
conventional welding wire as feedstock.

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Chapter 3
3D PRINTERS
Although most 3D printers are expensive, recently there has been a steep decline in the prices of
3D printers. This has led to it going from being a niche industry novelty to a hobbyist’s item.
There are many affordable 3D printers that are available for much less than they are worth, if we
take all its production capabilities into account. Companies have also realized the potential of a
consumer market for 3D printers and as such have been aggressively courting enthusiasts with
cheaper and better models. There are many communities formed around these enthusiast groups
which are active on the internet set up to share projects and ideas and new possibilities. One of the
most popular is known as RepRap. Its goal is to produce a free and open-source hardware (FOSH)
3D printer licensed under GNU Public License. These printers are also intended to be capable of
replicating itself printing many of its own plastic parts to create more machines.
3.1 Industry use
As of October 2012, additive manufacturing systems were on the market that ranged from $2,000
to $500,000 in price and were employed in industries including aerospace, architecture,
automotive, defense, and medical replacements, among many others. For example, General
Electric uses the high-end model to build parts for turbines. Many of these systems are used for
rapid prototyping, before mass production methods are employed.
3.2 Consumer use
Fig 3.1: RepRap version 2.0 (Mendel)

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Fig 3.2: Meccano repstrap of RepRap 0.1 prototype (created by Vik Olliver)
Several projects and companies are making efforts to develop affordable 3D printers for home
desktop use. Much of this work has been driven by and targeted at DIY/Maker/enthusiast/early
adopter communities, with additional ties to the academic and hacker communities.
RepRap Project is one of the longest running projects in the desktop category. The RepRap
project aims to produce a free and open source hardware (FOSH) 3D printer, whose full
specifications are released under the GNU General Public License, and which is capable of
replicating itself by printing many of its own (plastic) parts to create more machines. RepRap
have already been shown to be able to print circuit boards and metal parts.
Because of the FOSH aims of RepRap, many related projects have used their design for
inspiration, creating an ecosystem of related or derivative 3D printers, most of which are also
open source designs. The availability of these open source designs means that variants of 3D
printers are easy to invent. The quality and complexity of printer designs, however, as well as the
quality of kit or finished products, varies greatly from project to project. This rapid development
of open source 3D printers is gaining interest in many spheres as it enables hyper-customization
and the use of public domain designs to fabricate open source appropriate technology. This
technology can also assist initiatives in sustainable development since technologies are easily and
economically made from resources available to local communities.
The cost of 3D printers has decreased dramatically since about 2010, with machines that used to
cost $20,000 now costing less than $1,000. For instance, as of 2013, several companies and
individuals are selling parts to build various RepRap designs, with prices starting at about €400
/ US$500. The open source Fab @Home project has developed printers for general use with
anything that can be squirted through a nozzle, from chocolate to silicone sealant and chemical
reactants. Printers following the project's designs have been available from suppliers in kits or in

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pre-assembled form since 2012 at prices in the US$2000 range. The Kickstarter funded Peachy
Printer is designed to cost $100 and several other new 3D printers are aimed at the small,
inexpensive market including the mUVe3D and Lumifold. Rapide 3D has designed a professional
grade crowdsourced 3D-printer costing $1499 which has no fumes nor constant rattle during
use. The 3Doodler, "3D printing pen", raised $2.3 million on Kickstarter with the pens selling at
$99, though the 3D Doodler has been criticized for being more of a crafting pen than a 3D printer.
As the costs of 3D printers have come down they are becoming more appealing financially to use
for self-manufacturing of personal products. In addition, 3D printing products at home may
reduce the environmental impacts of manufacturing by reducing material use and distribution
impacts.
In addition, several RecycleBots such as the commercialized Filastruder have been designed and
fabricated to convert waste plastic, such as shampoo containers and milk jugs, into inexpensive
RepRap filament.There is some evidence that using this approach of distributed recycling is better
for the environment.
The development and hyper-customization of the RepRap-based 3D printers has produced a new
category of printers suitable for small business and consumer use. Manufacturers such
as Solidoodle, Robo 3D, RepRapPro and Pirx 3D have introduced models and kits priced at less
than $1,000, thousands less than they were in September 2012. Depending on the application, the
print resolution and speed of manufacturing lies somewhere between a personal printer and an
industrial printer. A list of printers with pricing and other information is maintained.[67]
Most
recently delta robots, like the TripodMaker, have been utilized for 3D printing to increase
fabrication speed further. For delta 3D printers, due to its geometry and differentiation
movements, the accuracy of the print depends on the position of the printer head.
Some companies are also offering software for 3D printing, as a support for hardware
manufactured by other companies.
3.3 Large 3D printers
Large 3D printers have been developed for industrial, education, and demonstrative uses. A
large delta-style 3D printer was built in 2014 by SeeMeCNC. The printer is capable of making an
object with diameter of up to 4 feet (1.2 m) and up to 10 feet (3.0 m) in height. It also uses plastic
pellets as the raw material instead of the typical plastic filaments used in other 3D printers.

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Fig 3.3: The BigRep 1.1 with its 1 m³ volume.
Another type of large printer is Big Area Additive Manufacturing (BAAM). The goal is to
develop printers that can produce a large object in high speed. A BAAM machine of Cincinnati
Incorporated can produce an object at the speeds 200-500 times faster than typical 3D printers
available in 2014. Another BAAM machine is being developed by Lockheed Martin with an aim
to print long objects of up to 100 feet (30 m) to be used in aerospace industries.
3.4 Microscale and Nanoscale 3D printing
Microelectronic device fabrication methods can be employed to perform the 3D printing of
nanoscale-size objects. Such printed objects are typically grown on a solid substrate, e.g. silicon
wafer, to which they adhere after printing as they're too small and fragile to be manipulated post-
construction.
In one technique, 3D nanostructures can be printed by physically moving a dynamic stencil mask
during the material deposition process, somewhat analogous to the extrusion method of traditional
3D printers. Programmable-height nanostructures with resolutions as small as 10 nm have been
produced in this fashion, by metallic physical vapor deposition through a piezo-actuator
controlled stencil mask having a milled nanopore in a silicon nitride membrane.
Another method enhances the photopolymerization process on a much smaller scale, using finely-
focused lasers controlled by adjustable mirrors. This method has produced objects with feature
resolutions of 100 nm.

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Chapter 4
APPLICATIONS OF 3D PRINTING
3D printing has a wide variety of uses and it can also be put to some unconventional uses. People
have tried to make stuff that not only eschews the usual plastic used to make the objects but also
makes use of non-traditional and commonly unavailable material to print objects. Scientists have
successfully been able to print ears, skin, kidney, blood vessels and bones using 3D printers.
Instead on typical plastic, a gel-like substance made of cells is used. For bones, a ceramic powder
is used instead. In the future, every patient will have their own matching set of skin for a graft, a
bone fragment or an organ. Already, 3D printers are capable of printing prosthetic limbs for
people with disabilities. The biggest challenge is the challenge of printing a fully beating human
heart that works just as well as a natural one. Bio-engineers at the Cardiovascular Innovation
Institute at the University of Louisville have printed a coronary artery some small blood vessels of
the heart muscle and are hoping to soon print a functioning heart. Of course, to keep them alive
must prove daunting. In the future, we may live in houses that have been 3D printed. A researcher
at University of Southern California claims to have designed an enormous 3D printer that is
capable of printing a whole house in just a day. This conceptual model uses concrete as its base
element in order to replicate computer programs of houses. In order to ensure that the house is
compatible with plumbing and electrical apparatuses, it uses a layered fabrication tech called
―Contour Craft‖. A printed house could have far-reaching implications for low-income housing,
disaster recovery applications such as creating models of plastic that can serve as a sample or a
prototype of a larger-scale version of itself. NASA has been developing technologies to print
wood from the printers using 3D bioprinting technology. The basic theory is that the printer will
lay out living cells in a specific manner upon a gel. This gel stimulates the cells to start excreting
wood. One application could be that astronauts could bring wood to space without actually having
to carry any of it. NASA will have the technology ready by the year-end. Modern Meadow, a
company that lies at the intersection of traditional farming and modern cutting-edge 3D printing
technologies, is a company that believes we can sustainably 3D print food. According to the
company, traditional slaughtering of animals to obtain animal by-products such as meat or leather
is unsustainable and that we might be better off trying to 3D print our meat. The company also
thinks that there will be a high demand for that sort of meat in the future. Though it may sound

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like something farfetched, the company has patented techniques to make it happen. This
technology, according to their own description, achieves it as follows:
In this technology, conveniently prepared multicellular aggregates (the bio-ink particles) are
delivered into a biocompatible support structure according to a design template (compatible with
the shape of the desired biological construct) by a computer-controlled delivery device (the bio-
printer).More research is still needed to make it happen but the company evidently has the brains
and research to figure it out. NASA has also jumped on the 3D printed food bandwagon and are
said to be extensively funding research in this area in order to feed astronauts in space. In fact, we
already can print chocolate confectioneries and desserts from a special printer invented recently
called Chocedge. Also, Hershey and 3D Systems have partnered to presumably create all kinds of
printable food items. Should the company replace factory workers with 3D printers, it might be
able to streamline the process of manufacturing. Speaking of astronauts, by far the most ambitious
of these 3D printed futures is where we set up an entire moon base by printing out the
construction blocks to be used to construct the base. Researchers have theorized that in the
absence of plastic, we might be able to utilize the abundantly available moon soil to print out
building blocks to form a lunar habitat for humans. Researchers at the European Space Agency
have been able to create a 1.5 tone building block make of synthetic lunar soil. The result was a
sturdy yet light material that the astronauts can assemble themselves. It should be noted that, so
far, these technologies have been tested only on Earth. The real test will occur whenever the ESA
decides that it is ready for space launch.
4.1 Manufacturing Applications
Three-dimensional printing makes it as cheap to create single items as it is to produce thousands
and thus undermines economies of scale. It may have as profound an impact on the world as the
coming of the factory did Just as nobody could have predicted the impact of the steam engine in
1750 or the printing press in 1450, or the transistor in 1950 it is impossible to foresee the long-
term impact of 3D printing. But the technology is coming, and it is likely to disrupt every field it
touches.
AM technologies found applications starting in the 1980s in product development, data
visualization, rapid prototyping, and specialized manufacturing. Their expansion into production
(job production, mass production, and distributed manufacturing) has been under development in
the decades since. Industrial production roles within the metal working industries achieved
significant scale for the first time in the early 2010s. Since the start of the 21st century there has

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been a large growth in the sales of AM machines, and their price has dropped substantially.
According to Wohlers Associates, a consultancy, the market for 3D printers and services was
worth $2.2 billion worldwide in 2012, up 29% from 2011. There are many applications for AM
technologies, including architecture, construction (AEC), industrial design,
automotive, aerospace, military engineering, dental and medical industries, biotech (human tissue
replacement), fashion, footwear, jewelry, eyewear, education, geographic information systems,
food, and many other fields.
Additive manufacturing's earliest applications have been on the tool room end of the
manufacturing spectrum. For example, rapid prototyping was one of the earliest additive variants,
and its mission was to reduce the lead time and cost of developing prototypes of new parts and
devices, which was earlier only done with subtractive tool room methods such as cnc milling and
turning, and precision grinding, far more accurate than 3d printing with accuracy down to
0.00005" and creating better quality parts faster, but sometimes too expensive for low accuracy
prototype parts. With technological advances in additive manufacturing, however, and the
dissemination of those advances into the business world, additive methods are moving ever
further into the production end of manufacturing in creative and sometimes unexpected ways.
Parts that were formerly the sole province of subtractive methods can now in some cases be made
more profitably via additive ones. In addition, new developments in RepRap technology allow the
same device to perform both additive and subtractive manufacturing by swapping magnetic-
mounted tool heads.
4.1.1 Cloud-based additive manufacturing
Additive manufacturing in combination with cloud computing technologies allows decentralized
and geographically independent distributed production. Cloud-based additive manufacturing
refers to a service-oriented networked manufacturing model in which service consumers are able
to build parts through Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS), Hardware-
as-a-Service (HaaS), and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS). Distributed manufacturing as such is
carried out by some enterprises; there is also a services like 3D Hubs that put people needing 3D
printing in contact with owners of printers.
Some companies offer on-line 3D printing services to both commercial and private
customers, working from 3D designs uploaded to the company website. 3D-printed designs are
either shipped to the customer or picked up from the service provider.

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4.1.2 Mass customization
Fig 4.1: Miniature face models (from FaceGen) produced using several colored plastics on a 3D
Printer
Companies have created services where consumers can customize objects using simplified web
based customization software, and order the resulting items as 3D printed unique objects. This
now allows consumers to create custom cases for their mobile phones. Nokia has released the 3D
designs for its case so that owners can customize their own case and have it 3D printed.
4.1.3 Rapid manufacturing
Advances in RP technology have introduced materials that are appropriate for final manufacture,
which has in turn introduced the possibility of directly manufacturing finished components. One
advantage of 3D printing for rapid manufacturing lies in the relatively inexpensive production of
small numbers of parts.
Rapid manufacturing is a new method of manufacturing and many of its processes remain
unproven. 3D printing is now entering the field of rapid manufacturing and was identified as a
"next level" technology by many experts in a 2009 report. One of the most promising processes
looks to be the adaptation of selective laser sintering (SLS), or direct metal laser
sintering (DMLS) some of the better-established rapid prototyping methods. As of 2006,
however, these techniques were still very much in their infancy, with many obstacles to be
overcome before RM could be considered a realistic manufacturing method.

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4.1.4 Rapid prototyping
Industrial 3D printers have existed since the early 1980s and have been used extensively for rapid
prototyping and research purposes. These are generally larger machines that use proprietary
powdered metals, casting media (e.g. sand), plastics, paper or cartridges, and are used for rapid
prototyping by universities and commercial companies.
4.2 Research
3D printing can be particularly useful in research labs due to its ability to make specialized,
bespoke geometries. In 2012 a proof of principle project at the University of Glasgow, UK,
showed that it is possible to use 3D printing techniques to assist in the production of chemical
compounds. They first printed chemical reaction vessels, then used the printer to
deposit reactants into them. They have produced new compounds to verify the validity of the
process, but have not pursued anything with a particular application.
4.3 Food
Cornell Creative Machines Lab announced in 2012 that it was possible to produce customized
food with 3D Hydrocolloid Printing. Additive manufacturing of food is currently being developed
by squeezing out food, layer by layer, into three-dimensional objects. A large variety of foods are
appropriate candidates, such as chocolate and candy, and flat foods such as crackers, pasta and
pizza. NASA has considered the versatility of the concept, awarding a contract to the Systems and
Materials Research Consultancy to study the feasibility of printing food in space. One of the
problem with food printing is the nature of the texture of a food. For example, foods that are not
strong enough to be filed are not appropriate for 3D printing for now.
4.4 Medical applications
Professor Leroy Cronin of Glasgow University proposed in a 2012 TED Talk that it was possible
to use chemical inks to print medicine.[109]
Similarly, 3D printing has been considered as a method
of implanting stem cells capable of generating new tissues and organs in living humans.
4.5 Industrial Application
4.5.1 Apparel
3D printing has entered the world of clothing with fashion designers experimenting with 3D-
printed bikinis, shoes, and dresses. In commercial production Nike is using 3D printing to

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prototype and manufacture the 2012 Vapor Laser Talon football shoe for players of American
football, and New Balance is 3D manufacturing custom-fit shoes for athletes.
3D printing has come to the point where companies are printing consumer grade eyewear with on-
demand custom fit and styling (although they cannot print the lenses). On-demand customization
of glasses is possible with rapid prototyping.
However, comment has been made in academic circles as to the potential limitation of the human
acceptance of such mass customized apparel items due to the potential reduction of brand value
communication.
4.5.2 Vehicle
Fig 4.2: The Audi RSQ was made with rapid prototyping industrial KUKA robots
In early 2014, the Swedish supercar manufacturer, Koenigsegg, announced the One:1, a supercar
that utilizes many components that were 3D printed. In the limited run of vehicles Koenigsegg
produces, the One:1 has side-mirror internals, air ducts, titanium exhaust components, and even
complete turbocharger assemblies that have been 3D printed as part of the manufacturing process.
Urbee is the name of the first car in the world car mounted using the technology 3D printing (his
bodywork and his car windows were "printed"). Created in 2010 through the partnership between
the US engineering group Kor Ecologic and the company Stratasys(manufacturer of printers
Stratasys 3D), it is a hybrid vehicle with futuristic look.
In May 2015 Airbus announced that its new Airbus A350 XWB included over 1000 components
manufactured by 3D printing.
3D printing is also being utilized by air forces to print spare parts for planes. In 2015, a Royal Air
Force Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jet flew with printed parts. The United States Air Force has

25
begun to work with 3D printers, and the Israeli Air Force has also purchased a 3D printer to print
spare parts.
4.5.3 Construction
Until recent years models were built by hand, often taking a long time. Thus, architects are often
forced to show their clients drawings of their projects. According to Erik Kinipper, clients usually
need to see the product from all possible viewpoints in space to get a clearer picture of the design
and make an informed decision. In order to get these scale models to clients in a small amount of
time, architects and architecture firms tend to rely on 3D printing. Using 3D printing, these firms
can reduce lead times of production by 50 to 80 percent, producing scale models up to 60 percent
lighter than the machined part while being sturdy. Thus, the designs and the models are only
limited by a person's imagination.
The improvements on accuracy, speed and quality of materials in 3D printing technology have
opened new doors for it to move beyond the use of 3D printing in the modeling process and
actually move it to manufacturing strategy. A good example is Dr. Behrokh Khoshnevis’ research
at the University of Southern California which resulted in a 3D printer that can build a house in
24 hours .The process is called Contour Crafting. Khoshnevis, Russell, Kwon, & Bukkapatnam,
define contour crafting as an additive manufacturing process which uses computer controlled
systems to repeatedly lay down layers of materials such as concrete. Bushey also discussed
Khoshnevis's robot which comes equipped with a nozzle that spews out concrete and can build a
home based on a set computer pattern. Contour Crafting technology has great potential for
automating the construction of whole structures as well as sub-components. Using this process, a
single house or a colony of houses, each with possibly a different design, may be automatically
constructed in a single run, embedded in each house all the conduits for electrical, plumbing and
air-conditioning.
4.5.4 Firearms
In 2012, the US-based group Defense Distributed disclosed plans to "[design] a working
plastic gun that could be downloaded and reproduced by anybody with a 3D printer". Defense
Distributed has also designed a 3D printable AR-15 type rifle lower receiver (capable of lasting
more than 650 rounds) and a 30 round M16 magazine The AR-15 has multiple receivers (both an
upper and lower receiver), but the legally controlled part is the one that is serialized (the lower, in
the AR-15's case). Soon after Defense Distributed succeeded in designing the first working

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blueprint to produce a plastic gun with a 3D printer in May 2013, the United States Department of
State demanded that they remove the instructions from their website. After Defense Distributed
released their plans, questions were raised regarding the effects that 3D printing and widespread
consumer-level CNC machining may have on gun control effectiveness.
In 2014, a man from Japan became the first person in the world to be imprisoned for making 3D
printed firearms. Yoshitomo Imura posted videos and blueprints of the gun online and was
sentenced to jail for two years. Police found at least two guns in his household that were capable
of firing bullets.
4.5.5 Medical
Fig 4.3: 3D printed human skull from computed computer tomography data.
3D printing has been used to print patient specific implant and device for medical use. Successful
operations include a titanium pelvisim planted into a British patient, titanium
lower jaw transplanted to a Belgian patient and a plastic tracheal splint for an American
infant. The hearing aid and dental industries are expected to be the biggest area of future
development using the custom 3D printing technology. In March 2014, surgeons in Swansea used
3D printed parts to rebuild the face of a motorcyclist who had been seriously injured in a road
accident. Research is also being conducted on methods to bio-print replacements for lost tissue
due to arthritis and cancer.

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3D printing technology can now be used to make exact replicas of organs. The printer uses
images from patients' MRI or CT scan images as a template and lays down layers of rubber or
plastic.
In October 24, 2014, a five-year-old girl born without fully formed fingers on her left hand
became the first child in the UK to have a prosthetic hand made with 3D printing technology. Her
hand was designed by US-based Enable, an open source design organization which uses a
network of volunteers to design and make prosthetics mainly for children. The prosthetic hand
was based on a plaster cast made by her parents. A boy named Alex was also born with a missing
arm from just above the elbow. The team was able to use 3D printing to upload an e-NABLE
Myoelectric arm that runs off of servos and batteries that are actuated by the electromyography
muscle. With the use of 3D printers, E-NABLE has so far distributed more than 400 plastic hands
to children.
Printed prosthetics have been used in rehabilitation of crippled animals. In 2013, a 3D printed foot
let a crippled duckling walk again. In 2014 a Chihuahua born without front legs was fitted with a
harness and wheels created with a 3D printer. 3D printed hermit crab shells let hermit
crabs inhabit a new style home. A prosthetic beak was another tool developed by the use of 3D
printing to help aid a bald eagle named Beauty, whose beak was severely mutilated from a shot in
the face. Since 2014, commercially available titanium knee implants made with 3D printer for
dogs have been used to restore the animal mobility. Over 10,000 dogs in Europe and United
States have been treated after only one year.
In February 2015, FDA approved the marketing of a surgical bolt which facilitates less-invasive
foot surgery and eliminates the need to drill through bone. The 3D printed titanium device, 'Fast
Forward Bone Tether Plate' is approved to use in correction surgery to treat bunion. In October
2015, the group of Professor Andreas Herrmann at the University of Groningen has developed the
first 3D printable resins with antimicrobial properties. Employing stereolithography, quaternary
ammonium groups are incorporated into dental appliances that kill bacteria on contact. This type
of material can be further applied in medical devices and implants.
4.5.6 Bio-printing
As of 2012, 3D bio-printing technology has been studied by biotechnology firms and academia
for possible use in tissue engineering applications in which organs and body parts are built using
inkjet techniques. In this process, layers of living cells are deposited onto a gel medium or sugar

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matrix and slowly built up to form three-dimensional structures including vascular
systems.[145]
The first production system for 3D tissue printing was delivered in 2009, based
on NovoGen bioprinting technology. Several terms have been used to refer to this field of
research: organ printing, bio-printing, body part printing and computer-aided tissue engineering,
among others. The possibility of using 3D tissue printing to create soft tissue architectures for
reconstructive surgery is also being explored.
In 2013, Chinese scientists began printing ears, livers and kidneys, with living tissue. Researchers
in China have been able to successfully print human organs using specialized 3D bio printers that
use living cells instead of plastic. Researchers at Hangzhou Dianzi University designed the "3D
bio printer" dubbed the "Regenovo". Xu Mingen, Regenovo's developer, said that it takes the
printer under an hour to produce either a mini liver sample or a four to five inch ear cartilage
sample. Xu also predicted that fully functional printed organs may be possible within the next ten
to twenty years. In the same year, researchers at the University of Hasselt, in Belgium had
successfully printed a new jawbone for an 83-year-old Belgian woman.
4.6 Computers and robots
3D printing can also be used to make laptops and other computers and cases. For
example, Novena and VIA Open Book standard laptop cases. i.e. a Novena motherboard can be
bought and be used in a printed VIA Open Book case.
Open-source robots are built using 3D printers. Double Robotics grant access to their technology
(an open SDK). On the other hand, 3&DBot is an Arduino 3D printer-robot with
wheels and ODOI is a 3D printed humanoid robot.
4.7 Space
The Zero-G Printer, the first 3D printer designed to operate in zero gravity, was built under a joint
partnership between NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) and Made In Space, Inc. In
September 2014, SpaceX delivered the zero-gravity 3D printer to the International Space
Station (ISS). On December 19, 2014, NASA emailed CAD drawings for a socket wrench to
astronauts aboard the ISS, who then printed the tool using its 3D printer. Applications for space
offer the ability to print parts or tools on-site, as opposed to using rockets to bring along pre-
manufactured items for space missions to human colonies on the moon, Mars, or elsewhere. The
European Space Agency plans to deliver its new Portable On-Board 3D Printer (POP3D for short)
to the International Space Station by June 2015, making it the second 3D printer in space.

29
Furthermore, the Sinterhab project is researching a lunar base constructed by 3D printing
using lunar regolith as a base material. Instead of adding a binding agent to the regolith,
researchers are experimenting with microwave sintering to create solid blocks from the raw
material.
Similar researches and projects like these could allow faster construction for lower costs, and has
been investigated for construction of off-Earth habitats.
4.8 Socio cultural applications
Fig 4.4: An example of 3D printed limited edition jewellery. This necklace is made of glass fiber-
filled dyed nylon. It has rotating linkages that were produced in the same manufacturing step as
the other parts
In 2005, a rapidly expanding hobbyist and home-use market was established with the
inauguration of the open-source RepRap and Fab@Home projects. Virtually all home-use 3D
printers released to-date have their technical roots in the ongoing RepRap Project and associated
open-source software initiatives. In distributed manufacturing, one study has found that 3D
printing could become a mass market product enabling consumers to save money associated with
purchasing common household objects. For example, instead of going to a store to buy an object
made in a factory by injection molding (such as a measuring cup or a funnel), a person might
instead print it at home from a downloaded 3D model.

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4.9 Art
In 2005, academic journals had begun to report on the possible artistic applications of 3D printing
technology. By 2007 the mass media followed with an article in the Wall Street Journal and Time
Magazine, listing a 3D printed design among their 100 most influential designs of the year.
During the 2011 London Design Festival, an installation, curated by Murray Moss and focused on
3D Printing, was held in the Victoria and Albert Museum (the V&A). The installation was
called Industrial Revolution 2.0: How the Material World will Newly Materialize.
Fig 4.5: Flower model made with a 3D printer
Some of the recent developments in 3D printing were revealed at the 3DPrintshow in London,
which took place in November 2013 and 2014. The art section had in exposition artworks made
with 3D printed plastic and metal. Several artists such as Joshua Harker, Davide Prete, Sophie
Kahn, Helena Lukasova, Foteini Setaki showed how 3D printing can modify aesthetic and art
processes. One part of the show focused on ways in which 3D printing can advance the medical
field. The underlying theme of these advances was that these printers can be used to create parts
that are printed with specifications to meet each individual. This makes the process safer and
more efficient. One of these advances is the use of 3D printers to produce casts that are created to
mimic the bones that they are supporting. These custom-fitted casts are open, which allow the

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wearer to scratch any itches and also wash the damaged area. Being open also allows for open
ventilation. One of the best features is that they can be recycled to create more casts.
3D printing is becoming more popular in the customizable gifts industry, with products such as
personalized mobile phone cases and dolls as well as 3D printed chocolate. The use of 3D
scanning technologies allows the replication of real objects without the use
of moulding techniques that in many cases can be more expensive, more difficult, or too invasive
to be performed, particularly for precious or delicate cultural heritage artifacts where direct
contact with the moulding substances could harm the original object's surface.
Critical making refers to the hands on productive activities that link digital technologies to
society. It is invented to bridge the gap between creative physical and conceptual exploration. The
term was popularized by Matt Ratto, an Assistant Professor and director of the Critical Making
lab in the Faculty of Information at the University of Toronto. Ratto describes one of the main
goals of critical as "to use material forms of engagement with technologies to supplement and
extend critical reflection and, in doing so, to reconnect our lived experiences with technologies to
social and conceptual critique". The main focus of critical making is open design, which includes,
in addition to 3D printing technologies, also other digital software and hardware. People usually
reference spectacular design when explaining critical making.
4.10 Communication
Employing additive layer technology offered by 3D printing, Terahertz devices which act as
waveguides, couplers and bends have been created. The complex shape of these devices could not
be achieved using conventional fabrication techniques. Commercially available professional grade
printer EDEN 260V was used to create structures with minimum feature size of 100 µm. The
printed structures were later DC sputter coated with gold (or any other metal) to create a Terahertz
Plasmonic Device.
4.11 Domestic use
As of 2012, domestic 3D printing was mainly practiced by hobbyists and enthusiasts. However,
little was used for practical household applications, for example, ornamental objects. Some
practical examples include a working clock and gears printed for home woodworking machines
among other purposes. Web sites associated with home 3D printing tended to include
backscratchers, coat hooks, door knobs, etc.

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The open source Fab@Home project has developed printers for general use. They have been used
in research environments to produce chemical compounds with 3D printing technology, including
new ones, initially without immediate application as proof of principle. The printer can print with
anything that can be dispensed from a syringe as liquid or paste. The developers of the chemical
application envisage both industrial and domestic use for this technology, including enabling
users in remote locations to be able to produce their own medicine or household chemicals.
3D printing is now working its way into households, and more and more children are being
introduced to the concept of 3D printing at earlier ages. The prospects of 3D printing are growing,
and as more people have access to this new innovation, new uses in households will emerge.
The Open Reflex SLR film camera was developed for 3D printing as an open-source student
project.
4.12 Education and research
3D printing, and open source RepRap 3D printers in particular, are the latest technology making
inroads into the classroom. 3D printing allows students to create prototypes of items without the
use of expensive tooling required in subtractive methods. Students design and produce actual
models they can hold. The classroom environment allows students to learn and employ new
applications for 3D printing. RepRap, for example, have already been used for an educational
mobile robotics platform.
Some authors have claimed that RepRap 3D printers offer an unprecedented "revolution"
in STEM education. The evidence for such claims comes from both the low cost ability for rapid
prototyping in the classroom by students, but also the fabrication of low-cost high-quality
scientific equipment from open hardware designs forming open-source labs. Engineering and
design principles are explored as well as architectural planning. Students recreate duplicates of
museum items such as fossils and historical artifacts for study in the classroom without possibly
damaging sensitive collections. Other students interested in graphic designing can construct
models with complex working parts. 3D printing gives students a new perspective with
topographic maps. Science students can study cross-sections of internal organs of the human body
and other biological specimens. And chemistry students can explore 3D models of molecules and
the relationship within chemical compounds.
According to a recent paper by Kostakis. 3D printing and design can electrify various literacies
and creative capacities of children in accordance with the spirit of the interconnected,

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information-based world. Future applications for 3D printing might include creating open-source
scientific equipment.
4.13 Environmental use
In Bahrain, large-scale 3D printing using a sandstone-like material has been used to create
unique coral-shaped structures, which encourage coral polyps to colonize and regenerate
damaged reefs. These structures have a much more natural shape than other structures used to
create artificial reefs, and, unlike concrete, are neither acid nor alkaline with neutral PH.
4.14 Cultural Heritage
In the last several years 3D printing has been intensively used by in the cultural heritage field for
preservation, restoration and dissemination purposes. Many Europeans and North American
Museums have purchased 3D printers and actively recreate missing pieces of their of relics.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the British Museum have started using their 3D printers to
create museum souvenirs that are available in the museum shops. Other museums, like the
National Museum of Military History and Varna Historical Museum, have gone further and sell
through the online platform Threeding digital models of their artifacts in 3D printing friendly file
format, which everyone can 3D print at home.

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Chapter 5
PRESENT & FUTURE IMPACT
Additive manufacturing, starting with today's infancy period, requires manufacturing firms to be
flexible, ever-improving users of all available technologies to remain competitive. Advocates of
additive manufacturing also predict that this arc of technological development will
counter globalization, as end users will do much of their own manufacturing rather than engage in
trade to buy products from other people and corporations. The real integration of the newer
additive technologies into commercial production, however, is more a matter of complementing
traditional subtractive methods rather than displacing them entirely.
5.1 Social change
Since the 1950s, a number of writers and social commentators have speculated in some depth
about the social and cultural changes that might result from the advent of commercially affordable
additive manufacturing technology. Amongst the more notable ideas to have emerged from these
inquiries has been the suggestion that, as more and more 3D printers start to enter people's homes,
so the conventional relationship between the home and the workplace might get further
eroded. Likewise, it has also been suggested that, as it becomes easier for businesses to transmit
designs for new objects around the globe, so the need for high-speed freight services might also
become less. Finally, given the ease with which certain objects can now be replicated, it remains
to be seen whether changes will be made to current copyright legislation so as to protect
intellectual property rights with the new technology widely available.
As 3D printers became more accessible to consumers, online social platforms have developed to
support the community. This includes websites that allow users to access information such as how
to build a 3D printer, as well as social forums that discuss how to improve 3D print quality and
discuss 3D printing news, as well as social media websites that are dedicated to share 3D
models. RepRap is a wiki based website that was created to hold all information on 3d printing,
and has developed into a community that aims to bring 3D printing to everyone. Furthermore,
there are other sites such as Pinshape, Thingiverse and MyMiniFactory, which was created
initially to allow users to post 3D files for anyone to print, allowing for decreased transaction cost
of sharing 3D files. These websites have allowed for greater social interaction between users,
creating communities dedicated around 3D printing.

35
Some call attention to the conjunction of Commons-based peer production with 3D printing and
other low-cost manufacturing techniques. The self-reinforced fantasy of a system of eternal
growth can be overcome with the development of economies of scope, and here, the civil society
can play an important role contributing to the raising of the whole productive structure to a higher
plateau of more sustainable and customized productivity. Further, it is true that many issues,
problems and threats rise due to the large democratization of the means of production, and
especially regarding the physical ones. For instance, the recyclability of advanced nanomaterials
is still questioned; weapons manufacturing could become easier; not to mention the implications
on counterfeiting and on IP. It might be maintained that in contrast to the industrial paradigm
whose competitive dynamics were about economies of scale, Commons-based peer
production and 3D printing could develop economies of scope. While the advantages of scale rest
on cheap global transportation, the economies of scope share infrastructure costs (intangible and
tangible productive resources), taking advantage of the capabilities of the fabrication tools. And
following Neil Gershenfeld in that "some of the least developed parts of the world need some of
the most advanced technologies", Commons-based peer production and 3D printing may offer the
necessary tools for thinking globally but act locally in response to certain problems and needs.
Larry Summers wrote about the "devastating consequences" of 3D printing and other technologies
(robots, artificial intelligence, etc.) for those who perform routine tasks. In his view, "already
there are more American men on disability insurance than doing production work in
manufacturing. And the trends are all in the wrong direction, particularly for the less skilled, as
the capacity of capital embodying artificial intelligence to replace white-collar as well as blue-
collar work will increase rapidly in the years ahead." Summers recommends more vigorous
cooperative efforts to address the "myriad devices" (e.g., tax havens, bank secrecy, money
laundering, and regulatory arbitrage) enabling the holders of great wealth to "avoid paying"
income and estate taxes, and to make it more difficult to accumulate great fortunes without
requiring "great social contributions" in return, including: more vigorous enforcement of anti-
monopoly laws, reductions in "excessive" protection for intellectual property, greater
encouragement of profit-sharing schemes that may benefit workers and give them a stake in
wealth accumulation, strengthening of collective bargaining arrangements, improvements in
corporate governance, strengthening of financial regulation to eliminate subsidies to financial
activity, easing of land-use restrictions that may cause the real estate of the rich to keep rising in

36
value, better training for young people and retraining for displaced workers, and increased public
and private investment in infrastructure development e.g. in energy production and transportation.
Michael Spence wrote that "Now comes a powerful, wave of digital technology that is replacing
labor in increasingly complex tasks. This process of labor substitution and disintermediation has
been underway for some time in service sectors—think of ATMs, online banking, enterprise
resource planning, customer relationship management, mobile payment systems, and much more.
This revolution is spreading to the production of goods, where robots and 3D printing are
displacing labor." In his view, the vast majority of the cost of digital technologies comes at the
start, in the design of hardware (e.g. 3D printers) and, more important, in creating the software
that enables machines to carry out various tasks. "Once this is achieved, the marginal cost of the
hardware is relatively low (and declines as scale rises), and the marginal cost of replicating the
software is essentially zero. With a huge potential global market to amortize the upfront fixed
costs of design and testing, the incentives to invest [in digital technologies] are compelling."
Spence believes that, unlike prior digital technologies, which drove firms to deploy underutilized
pools of valuable labor around the world, the motivating force in the current wave of digital
technologies "is cost reduction via the replacement of labor." For example, as the cost of 3D
printing technology declines, it is "easy to imagine" that production may become "extremely"
local and customized. Moreover, production may occur in response to actual demand, not
anticipated or forecast demand. Spence believes that labor, no matter how inexpensive, will
become a less important asset for growth and employment expansion, with labor-intensive,
process-oriented manufacturing becoming less effective, and that re-localization will appear in
both developed and developing countries. In his view, production will not disappear, but it will be
less labor-intensive, and all countries will eventually need to rebuild their growth models around
digital technologies and the human capital supporting their deployment and expansion. Spence
writes that "the world we are entering is one in which the most powerful global flows will be
ideas and digital capital, not goods, services, and traditional capital. Adapting to this will require
shifts in mindsets, policies, investments (especially in human capital), and quite possibly models
of employment and distribution."
Forbes investment pundits have predicted that 3D printing may lead to a resurgence of American
Manufacturing, citing the small, creative companies that comprise the current industry landscape,
and the lack of the necessary complex infrastructure in typical outsource markets.

37
CONCLUSION
Now to come to the conclusion of the report, in this report the topics covered are seem a foregone
conclusion that 3D printing will change the world. It’s already revolutionized prototyping, and
we’re now getting a glimpse of the technology’s potential in mass customization, medicine and
home use. It’s easy to imagine a future where everything is bespoke: even items mass
manufactured in China will be complemented with 3D printed customization in stores. Once
printers become commonplace in the home, one can conceive printing custom glasses and plates
for a dinner party. In medicine, hospitals are already printing structural body components. In labs
they are working on printing out organs, though it will be a while before this becomes
commonplace.
As 3D printers are following (a somewhat slower) Moore’s law in terms of improvements (finer
resolution, multi-material printing, etc.) and cost decreases, we can foresee a day where they will
be common in the home.

38
REFERENCES
[1] H. Lipson, M. Kurman, 1st Initial. , Fabricated: The New World of 3D Printing, 1st edition,
Indiana: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2013, p.
[2] E. Canessa, C. Fonda, M. Zennaro, Low-cost 3D Printing for Science, Education &
Sustainable Development, 1st edition, : ICTP—The Abdus Salam International Centre for
Theoretical Physics, 2013.
[3] K. France, Make: 3D Printing, 2nd ed., Gravenstein Highway North, Sebastopol: Maker
Media, 2014, p.
[4] http://www.engineering.com/3DPrinting/3DPrintingArticles/ArticleID/6262/Infographic-The-
History-of-3D-Printing.aspx
[5] http://3dprinting.com/what-is-3d-printing/#whatitis
[6].http://3d.about.com/od/Other-Resources/tp/The-Ten-Principles-Of-3d-Printing-By-Hod-
Lipson-and-Melba-Kurman.htm
[7]
http://www.ti.com/lsds/ti/arm/sitara_arm_cortex_a_processor/sitara_arm_cortex_a8/am335x_arm
cortex_a8/products.page
[8] http://www.philforhumanity.com/3D_Printing.html
[9] http://www.appropedia.org/Humboldt_3D_printer_workshop#Motor_System

39
IEEE Research Paper
3D Printing and Its Applications
Abstract: This is a research paper on 3D
printing which has become a notable topic in
today’s technological discussion. In this
paper, we will look at additive
manufacturing or 3D printing. We will firstly
define what we mean by this term and what
is so significant about it. We will delve a bit
into the history. Then we shall see about the
process of 3D printing and the materials used
in the manufacture of 3D printed objects. We
shall also see the advantages of 3D printing
as compared to conventional methods of
manufacturing. We shall observe the
numerous applications it is being out to use
today. Finally the future potential of this
technology is outlined Keywords: 3D
printing, 3D printers, polymers,
Stereolithography, Additive manufacturing,
RepRap, contour craft.
I. INTRODUCTION 3D printing,
additionally referred to as additive
manufacturing, may be a method of basically
making a three-dimensional object from a
package model. The thing may be of just
about any form. The method of making these
objects in largely additive. Within the
additive method, an object to be written is
built from the base-up by in turn adding it to
layers of the development material. The
additive method may be contrasted with the
subtractive process, where material is
removed from a block by methods such as
sculpting or drilling. The main material
utilized in the development of 3D objects is
plastic, though recently, there has
additionally been a slew of innovation
toward using alternative materials like
metals of various sorts and additionally
organic matter like carbon and its varied
derivatives. Hideo Kodama of Nayoga
Municipal Industrial Research Institute is
generally regarded to have printed the first
solid object from a digital design. However,
the credit for the first 3D printer generally
goes to Charles Hull, who in 1984 designed
it while working for the company he
founded, 3D Systems Corp. Charles a Hull
was a pioneer of the solid imaging process
known as stereolithography and the STL
(stereolithographic) file format which is still
the most widely used format used today in
3D printing. He is also regarded to have
started commercial rapid prototyping that
was concurrent with his development of 3D
printing. He initially used photopolymers
heated by ultraviolet light to achieve the
melting and solidification effect. II.
PRINCIPLES OF 3D PRINTING
The main principle of 3D printing is
stereolithography, outlined by Charles Hull
in a 1984 patent as ―a system for generating
three-dimensional objects by making a cross-
sectional pattern of the object to be formed‖.
This means that any 3D object generated
using a 3D drawing software is first split into
layers and these layers are then successively
printed by the machine on top if one another.
Step one of 3D printing is the generation of a
3D printable model. This model is generated
using a computer aided design software or
via a 3D scanner. A real life object can be set
to be 3D printed by scanning it to get a 3D
model that is realistically within the bounds
of the 3D printer’s capability. Then the STL
file is generated by running the design

40
through a converting software. You can
customize various aspects of the design such
as the layer thickness, temperature, and outer
finish, etc. Once the STL file is generated,
then the object is ready to be printed. After
the designing step comes the printing part.
The converted STL file is fed into the printer
and according to the layers we have
obtained, the machine ISSN 2348-1196
(print) International Journal of Computer
Science and Information Technology
Research ISSN 2348-120X (online) Vol. 2,
Issue 2, pp: (378-380), Month: April-June
2014, Available at:
www.researchpublish.com Page | 379
Research Publish Journals
starts out laying the plastic out layer by
layer. The material need not be plastic but it
can be anything ranging from liquid, powder,
paper or sheet material. The layers are
automatically fused to get the final shape. Its
advantage over conventional machining
techniques is that it can be used to create
almost any geometric shape. The object may
take anywhere from several minutes to
several hours to complete depending on the
size and complexity of the model and also on
the type of machine used. Some additive
manufacturing techniques are capable of
using multiple materials to construct parts.
They can also use multiple color
combinations simultaneously. In case there
are projecting parts in the model, supports
are used like scaffolding until the
overhanging part sufficiently hardens. These
supports can be dissolved in water when the
model is printed. III. 3D PRINTERS
Although most 3D printers are expensive,
recently there has been a steep decline in the
prices of 3D printers. This has led to it going
from being a niche industry novelty to a
hobbyist’s item. There are many affordable
3D printers that are available for much less
than they are worth, if we take all its
production capabilities into account.
Companies have also realized the potential
of a consumer market for 3D printers and as
such have been aggressively courting
enthusiasts with cheaper and better models.
There are many communities formed around
these enthusiast groups which are active on
the internet set up to share projects and ideas
and new possibilities. One of the most
popular is known as RepRap. Its goal is to
produce a free and open-source hardware
(FOSH) 3D printer licensed under GNU
Public License. These printers are also
intended to be capable of replicating itself
printing many of its own plastic parts to
create more machines.
IV.UNCONVENTIONAL
APPLICATIONS OF 3D PRINTING 3D
PRINTING has a wide variety of uses and it
can also be put to some unconventional uses.
People have tried to make stuff that not only
eschews the usual plastic used to make the
objects but also makes use of non-traditional
and commonly unavailable material to print
objects. Scientists have successfully been
able to print ears, skin, kidney, blood vessels
and bones using 3D printers. Instead on
typical plastic, a gel-like substance made of
cells is used. For bones, a ceramic powder is
used instead. In the future, every patient will
have their own matching set of skin for a
graft, a bone fragment or an organ. Already,
3D printers are capable of printing prosthetic
limbs for people with disabilities. The
biggest challenge is the challenge of printing
a fully beating human heart that works just
as well as a natural one. Bio-engineers at the
Cardiovascular Innovation Institute at the
University of Louisville have printed a
coronary artery some small blood vessels of

41
the heart muscle and are hoping to soon print
a functioning heart. Of course, to keep them
alive must prove daunting. In the future, we
may live in houses that have been 3D
printed. A researcher at University of
Southern California claims to have designed
an enormous 3D printer that is capable of
printing a whole house in just a day. This
conceptual model uses concrete as its base
element in order to replicate computer
programs of houses. In order to ensure that
the house is compatible with plumbing and
electrical apparatuses, it uses a layered
fabrication tech called ―Contour Craft‖. A
printed house could have far-reaching
implications for low-income housing,
disaster recovery applications such as
creating models of plastic that can serve as a
sample or a prototype of a larger-scale
version of itself. NASA has been developing
technologies to print wood from the printers
using 3D bioprinting technology. The basic
theory is that the printer will lay out living
cells in a specific manner upon a gel. This
gel stimulates the cells to start excreting
wood. One application could be that
astronauts could bring wood to space without
actually having to carry any of it. NASA will
have the technology ready by the year-end.
Modern Meadow, a company that lies at the
intersection of traditional farming and
modern cutting-edge 3D printing
technologies, is a company that believes we
can sustainably 3D print food. According to
the company, traditional slaughtering of
animals to obtain animal by-products such as
meat or leather is unsustainable and that we
might be better off trying to 3D print our
meat. The company also thinks that there
will be a high demand for that sort of meat in
the future. Though it may sound like
something farfetched, the company has
patented techniques to make it happen. This
technology, according to their own
description, achieves it as follows:
In this technology, conveniently prepared
multicellular aggregates (the bio-ink
particles) are delivered into a biocompatible
support structure according to a design
template (compatible with the shape of the
desired biological ISSN 2348-1196 (print)
International Journal of Computer Science
and Information Technology Research ISSN
2348-120X (online) Vol. 2, Issue 2, pp:
(378-380), Month: April-June 2014,
Available at: www.researchpublish.com
Page | 380 Research Publish Journals
construct) by a computer-controlled delivery
device (the bio-printer).More research is still
needed to make it happen but the company
evidently has the brains and research to
figure it out. NASA has also jumped on the
3D printed food bandwagon and are said to
be extensively funding research in this area
in order to feed astronauts in space. In fact,
we already can print chocolate
confectioneries and desserts from a special
printer invented recently called Chocedge.
Also, Hershey and 3D Systems have
partnered to presumably create all kinds of
printable food items. Should the company
replace factory workers with 3D printers, it
might be able to streamline the process of
manufacturing. Speaking of astronauts, by
far the most ambitious of these 3D printed
futures is where we set up an entire moon
base by printing out the construction blocks
to be used to construct the base. Researchers
have theorized that in the absence of plastic,
we might be able to utilize the abundantly
available moon soil to print out building
blocks to form a lunar habitat for humans.
Researchers at the European Space Agency

42
have been able to create a 1.5 tonne building
block make of synthetic lunar soil. The result
was a sturdy yet light material that the
astronauts can assemble themselves. It
should be noted that, so far, these
technologies have been tested only on Earth.
The real test will occur whenever the ESA
decides that it is ready for space launch.

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