The world has changed significantly from the moment that 3D printing made its way onto the scene. People in various industries thought about ways to adjust their hardware and its software to apply the benefits of 3D printing to make the world run more smoothly and efficiently. Here are some of the top ways 3D printing is helping change the world today and every day moving forward.
Table of Contents
Improving Education
This technology has incredible implications for the future of education. Schools that have these printers can print models and schematics at a moment’s notice to make visual aids for class lessons, research, and examinations. These machines will change the face of learning, shifting schoolwork from blackboards and projectors to more tangible learning tools.
Advancing Medicine
Many of the tools used in medical practice are plastic and have been for decades now. Using plastic reduces the risk of infection and disease, as this material can be easily discarded and recycled.
3D printers have eased the production process for industries that manufacture and deliver products and parts to medical facilities. The use of these printers has reduced the stress felt by medical professionals regarding a lack of resources. These 3D printers work day and night to supply the medical field with resources. Thanks to these machines, suppliers can print consistently so that the medical industry always has the supplies it needs.
In the past, medical professionals needed to spend a lot of time sterilizing parts and equipment in order to reuse it. Now, medical devices like catheters, IV bags, and tubes for blood draws can all be recycled because it is possible to simply reprint them. This eliminates the sterilization process altogether, as the newly printed equipment is already sterile.
Diminishing Shipping Pollution
Now that manufacturers can use 3D printers to create all the parts they need in-house, there is a reduced need to ship items to and from different manufacturing facilities.
These printers can print anything they are programmed to, which means that manufacturers do not need to rely on shipments from other companies to build their products. This results in a significant reduction in shipping pollution. This is true of shipments that travel overseas or domestically. Most manufacturing that is done overseas is shipped using harmful packaging that’s loaded with toxins and chemicals that aren’t good for the environment or people. Being able to print things in-house reduces these pollutants significantly.
These are just a few top ways 3D printing is helping change the world, but it doesn’t account for all its applications. We are just skimming the surface of what we can do with these printers, so it will be exciting to see what the future holds for 3D printing.
