Three kinds of excitement and three kinds of thinking behind the surging of 3D printing technology

3D Print Fresh Meat, print a house, print a bikini, even print a F1 car ... The news is exciting and novel. It is expected that the 3D printing of this magical technology will bring "the third industrial Revolution." However, China was not previously a major market for 3D printing technology. In the background of the increasing number of domestic users since this year, there are exciting application scenarios, and the development of the printing industry is worth pondering.

3 Kinds of excitement

A Personal life Creative

"When I proposed, I pulled out my printed ring box."

Seven o'clock in the evening, a street building in Shanghai's Changle Road, a French designer with curly hair and nose nails Gao Hualen pointed to the traffic outside the window, said: "The city is so fashionable and modern, Chinese young people should keep up with 3D printing so in Europe and America has been very popular trend." He said that once saw a friend on the network said, he will propose when hand-designed, 3D printed ring box, than LV's also chic, "How Romantic Ah!" In fact, for individuals, today's life is not complicated with small ideas can be achieved through 3D printing. ”

This is the "New workshop", Shanghai's famous "creators" group, Gao Hualen often held here in the activities of the Ministry of 3D print, the audience even some children.

In order to give a demonstration to reporters, he skillfully open a foreign 3D print open source community website, in which various players upload their own design models can be directly copied to SketchUp (master sketch) and other modeling software. Gao Hualen randomly selected a robot model, after a click, the software began to automatically convert the data to the 3D printer can recognize the format, at the same time, he made a half closed box-like 3D printer operation. "In one hours, you'll be able to get a plastic robot." "Gao Hualen laughs, this 3D printer by electric shock melting plastic material, and then according to computer program guidelines, layer by layer, until the final shape of the product.

For those who do not understand the design and application of software, there are a large number of ready-made models of the community not only abroad, the domestic "ant nest" community and so on.

Gao Hualen 3D printer is made in China, from a domestic company in Zhejiang Flash Casting technology, the price of about 4000 yuan. Li Davi, founder of the new workshop, told reporters that now individual players use more of these devices, and prices have been falling since this year.

If your phone shell is broken, you can beat it yourself, then polish the corners to smooth some; if you buy a model of a tank toy, but inadvertently lose one of the parts, you do not have to suffer at all do not have to replace, because you can play a ... these home applications are not difficult to achieve. "Li Davi said.

B Small Micro production unit

"A man can be a factory."

Sip a tea, in a very elegant layout of the interior, Hangzhou people ye narrowed his eyes to enjoy the leisurely creation of their own. In the sight of the most satisfactory to him, I am afraid that those who have a brand-new base of various kinds of stone collection.

In the dim sunlight, from the color and texture, these bases appear to be made of mahogany material, close to the visual experience to show a subtle difference, touch, the original is not wood.

At this time, the green will smile to you said: "This is not a common carpenter to do out of the mile, is my own 3D printing, a lot of previously do not have the appearance now all line!" ”

Odd Stone form The more strange, the more its own collection of value, but the different center of gravity and the bottom of the support surface condition, it is the collector for its selection of suitable base when the more headaches. Order to make a group of the same base is completely wrong, must be for each of the personalized design and production.

Ye said that in the past, please carpenter to do, time and economy are not very satisfactory: "Once the design of the unique style, the production cycle will be very long, and some of the details of the artificial do not so delicate, such as some lines artificial carved not completely straight." But the cost is very expensive, a dollar coin size of the base will be 120 yuan. ”

Today, YE purchased a 4000-yuan personal desktop 3D printer, to Taobao to buy some common ABS plastic as supplies. When printing, first on the computer through the network to receive the teacher in the Academy of Fine Arts as a friend of the three-dimensional modeling data, and then just press the Print button, and then spend a few hours, you can print out a personalized base.

and man-made and design is not the same, 3D printer faithfully follow the design data, so the previous leisurely scene. Ye said, even if the sample needs to be modified also do not have to go to the carpenter to run back and forth: "Each base of the consumable cost of about 5 to 10 yuan, dozen two times also no harm." ”

Ye said that for 3D printers there was a saying that "one person can be a factory" is the concept of "socialized manufacturing" in the information Age. Imagine, in their own desk of the square inch, then through the design to the production of various links, quickly print out their own inspiration, for any designer, this is simply a dream into reality.

At the international Stone Show in Shanghai, Ye showed some 3D-printed odd stone bases to his peers. Interested in a lot of people, surprised at such a creative, Next, ye is ready to apply for this application of patent.

C Enterprise-Class application

"A few hours to deliver the new design model."

Hangzhou Six-D Dental Corporation now provides a "guide plate" for a number of hospitals, in fact, the guide is based on the shape of the patient's teeth before the model, due to the use of 3D printing, higher accuracy.

Xu Congya, six, Department of Dental Science, told the IT Times Reporter: "No use of the guide before the Doctor has two methods of operation, one is direct unarmed, with their own clinical experience to prepare holes, planting, and some of the more difficult to locate cases doctors will also use the surgical guide, but their surgical guide plate is a simple, The guide plate produced in own oral mechanic room is not accurate, and can only determine the position of planting, and cannot control the angle and depth of planting. "After the use of industrial-grade 3D printers from objet to make the resin material guide, doctors can visually simulate the planting position, and the safety of the operation is greatly improved."

The same enterprise-class 3D printer also has Watson Medical Equipment Co., Ltd. its procurement department to reporters that the 3D printer to make parts out of the sample to submit the customer's cycle is greatly shortened, "the past to do the mold to rely on traditional machine tools, if found that need to modify, the factory is in the production of machine tools will stop, Re-making this small sample is time-consuming in terms of process flow. "At the same time, the previous proofing may take one months, in the process of repeated changes can only be more through the drawings to communicate, now using 3D printing but only a few hours, you can resubmit the sample model to the customer."

3 Kinds of thinking

A Personal Application Thinking

Domestic 3D printer Lower price Bo users

3D printing does not bring "impeccable beauty". Before the purchase, Ye also hesitated for a long time: "A year or two ago, the domestic companies do not have their own personal 3D printer products, when they imported from abroad a machine, function than I now this Taiwan still some, the price is more than 20,000 yuan." "In fact, the introduction of domestic personal 3D printer and the sharp price reduction, in the beginning of this year."

Personal Model Designer Shens the 3D printer for five or six years, and still feel unable to buy a perfect device today. Because the personal 3D printer Although the price is indeed falling, there is still a lot of mismatch between his needs. For example, the individual 3D printer can print the size of far less than industrial-grade equipment, if the parts are many, large size ship model, basically only a part to play, and then bonded, or very laborious. and solve the problem of the whole printing, to buy the machine price in million yuan above, is an individual can not afford.

In addition, the current majority of individuals to buy 3D printer, basically to play plastic material mainly. For a Schonsnan, eager to make a boat with more expensive metal, it may not be possible to wait another five years. Based on the experience of ye, ABS plastic is basically only suitable for printing a relatively large area of the plane modelling, gypsum material can do a relatively complex structure, but the surface is more rough, fragile, "As for some high-end resin, can avoid the shortcomings of both." But it is about 100 times times more expensive to make an equivalent size than ABS plastic, let alone metal. ”

In this respect, the domestic 3D printer production company Flash casting Technology marketing manager Chen told reporters, because some foreign well-known 3D printer patent period has passed, into open source, this year some domestic companies on this basis through details of changes, launched its own version, and continue to push prices down.

At present, a similar function of foreign, tens of thousands of yuan products, domestic can do 4000 yuan, so in the direction of foreign trade sales very good. In contrast, domestic sales are still in the initial stage, even if the so-called "China's first professional desktop 3D printer manufacturer," The flash casting technology, the current annual sales are expected to be more than 300 units. Another company, which has been engaged in 3D printing services since 2009, told reporters that its second generation model currently has a cumulative sales of about three hundred or four hundred units. In the United States, a 3D printer production company sold 100 units a day.

Chen said that the domestic products in fact in a lot of details have made changes, such as foreign version of the nozzle easily blocked, sliding easy to jam and other problems have done optimization, coupled with price advantages, in fact, personal 3D printer level, to buy domestic products cost-effective absolute higher.

At present, the domestic purchase of the crowd, the basic to create customers and designers mainly. "Domestic and foreign consumption level is not the same, and personal DIY atmosphere has a significant gap, from the small crowd to the general public, only to further depress prices." Chen said.

Thinking of the concept of B industry

Indifference to the design of 3D printing

Even for companies, industrial-grade 3D printers are "really expensive". Xu Congya said that the current six-dimensional dental unit has not yet recovered costs, "we use it to provide personalized service, each patient mouth is different, not like mass production so quickly in the economic results, more fancy or future market potential." ”

The Watson medical device purchasing department said that the industrial grade 3D printer used in the material can not be bought on Taobao, many can only match the supplies supplied by manufacturers, the price is expensive. Therefore, to say that the cost of a single part model, in fact, the accounting is more expensive than the original. "At present the value can only be 3D printing efficiency, the economy can not be forced." "It is understood that most of the 3D printers can only support a single consumable, so Watson medical devices actually purchased two 3D printers, a import, a domestic."

Mainstream 3D printer brand objet China region manager Zhu Wenbo said, compared with foreign countries, to promote the pace of 3D printers to domestic enterprises is indeed slower, some companies do not agree, others are just to try.

However, Zhu Wenbo that industrial-grade 3D printers, while expensive, are not only a boost to enterprise modeling efficiency but also a rich pioneering nature. For example, in the case of the lid on the Leshing buckle box, the curved parts of the quadrangular buckle are softer than the other parts and are easy to bend. Objet printer can be achieved in a model at the same time printing soft and hard different materials, a molding, "Customers can also adjust their own parameters, testing different soft hardness, greatly facilitate product development." ”

Zhu Wenbo said that in Europe, America, Japan and other areas, this technology has been in-depth enterprise launch the whole process of new products, "IT industry is particularly obvious, such as Apple and Canon, the introduction of new product speed is extremely fast, 3D printing in the design of new product model played an indelible role." ”

In this respect, the Shanghai Industrial Design Association Secretary-General Wang Zhihua to reporters that the price is a constraint on domestic enterprises, one of the main factors, "More importantly, the company's fancy design, rapid updating of new product model needs are not very urgent, some are still driving down the design costs." ”

C government to promote thinking

Can not believe the concept of speculation, but also to look at the general trend

Science and Technology Department of National Manufacturing Information Center three-dimensional digital technology certification Training Management Office (3D) director, 3D Power network president Rouginchamp to reporters, actually 3D printing technology is not a night out, before in the country called "rapid prototyping", at least 20 years, "Give 3D print" The third industrial revolution ' and so on, in fact from Europe and the United States to promote. After the economic crisis, the development of Europe and the United States has stagnated, especially the need for manufacturing return, this time the old mode of production has no advantage to say, with the 3D printing technology is logically combined with it. ”

According to Rouginchamp, scientific research, although the United States in the leading level, but China's XI ' an Jiaotong university, Tsinghua and other also has a top strength, "only in the commercial level than the U.S. companies do so strong." "At the moment, many of the most sci-fi 3D print cases have been coming from abroad, such as printing houses, printing fresh meat and printing a whole AK47 rifle," he said. "There's been a lot of hype about the recent 3D print news, mainly in the back of the two U.S. listed companies (Stratasys and 3D Bae), which are engaged in 3D printing," says Rouginchamp. Or just the experimental nature, is not pushed to apply. ”

In the inability to fully believe the concept of speculation at the same time, Rouginchamp that 3D printer to bring about the innovative trend of production, still deserve attention from all walks of life. "Put aside all kinds of gimmicks and bubbles, in order to grasp the" social manufacturing "trend of 3D printing, or must remind domestic practitioners to start early. ”

It has been reported that the Obama administration allocated 30 million U.S. dollars to establish the U.S. National Center for 3D Printing additive industry, and plans to invest 500 million U.S. dollars for 3D printing, said to ensure that the U.S. manufacturing industry will not continue to be lost to China and India. Wang Zhihua said that the Shanghai Industrial Design Association had planned to hold an international 3D printing exchange this year to further the Government's understanding of the importance of 3D printing for future social development. In his view, 3D printing technology in Shanghai than the promotion of Hangzhou, Zhejiang and other areas, 3D printing technology settled in the enterprise has lagged behind, "if the enterprise feel the use of the cost is too high, the government can be in some industrial design park to build some printing services in the public service platform?" At least in the 12th year to invest in support, reduce costs down, so that enterprises to use first. ”

(Responsible editor: Lu Guang)