5 Reasons Why You Should Definitely Ignore All that 3D Printing Buzz

Let's cut to the chase. We're here to kill the hype surrounding 3D printing. Why? Because there are some REAL, actual achievements to discuss. And there is no better way to start a meaningful conversation than by ripping through some ridiculously uninformed thoughts.

1. "In as little as 5 years you might be living in a 3D-printed house". Good god, that sounds ugly.

In March 2014, a Chinese company 3D-printed 10 £3,200 concrete houses in a day, and in January this year, it has unveiled a 3D-printed 1,100-square-metre villa that even came complete with internal and external decorations, raising the question of whether the technology has reached the tipping point and is close to becoming commercially viable.

Recognizing the opportunity to save significant amounts of money, the Egyptian government has already entered into an agreement with the Chinese manufacturer to build 20,000 single-storey dwellings in the desert, using sand as "ink" to print houses on the site.

The £105,000 villa was built in one month and took only 8 people to do the job.

Many hope 3D printing will help tackle the global problem of affordable housing shortage. Savings in time and costs should spur governments into embracing the new technology, especially since it offers the opportunity to build entire neighborhoods with elegant houses, not the cookie-cutter solutions available now.

2. "3D printing's ability to prepare doctors for surgeries drastically reduces surgery times and chances of death". But who wants to live forever?

The operating room is no place for doubts. When a surgeon makes the first incision, she must be radiating confidence and she must be one step ahead. It's hard to be prepared when you can't physically practice before the actual surgery, so this is where 3D printing comes into full effect. 3D printing exact replicas of organs before the surgery gives doctors an unprecedented opportunity to prep before complex procedures, drastically reducing the chances of complications and costly "surprises".

3D printing is actively used in printing prosthetics and implants that can include everything from prosthetic ears for babies to skull implants. The fact that 3D printing enables doctors to produce implants tailored exactly to the patient's anatomy is a real game changer in modern medicine and significantly reduces recovery time as well as increases chances of survival.

Anatomically accurate replica of a liver. (Credit: Cleveland Clinic)

3. 3D-printed snacks that sprout plants and mushrooms from edible soil housed within a pastry or pasta shell is actually a real thing. And so is 3D printed ravioli and pizza in space. Does that sound like #nomnom to you? Yes, you can think about it.

The idea itself is a little shocking. How's this even possible? Well, it somehow is. Welcome to the age of "everything is possible". So far, 3D printing companies have been able to print Oreo cookies (one cookie is printed in 2 minutes), Nutella creations, chocolate products, pancakes, confections, even eatable pizzas.

Some more flamboyant projects are also on the way. A 3D printer that can create hamburgers with embedded layers of mustard and ketchup and mini space-shuttle-shaped scallop nuggets is in advanced stages of development and promises to add some really unique variations to culinary techniques. A Dutch tech company is working to release a 3D printer that would be able to produce custom-shaped pasta pieces in just a few minutes.

An Eindhoven-based food designer Chloé Rutzerveld has developed an extraordinary concept for “healthy and sustainable” 3D-printed snacks that sprout mushrooms and plants for flavour. The idea is based on specially designed dough that contains "edible soil" and various seeds. What at first seems like a 3D-printed basket-like shell, a few days later becomes a fresh, nutritious snack with mushrooms and greens poking out through the holes. Since it's a "live" snack, it is obviously good to eat for a few days only, but when the mushrooms and plants grow, the taste intensifies, too. According to the designer, "it will take at least another eight to ten years before this can be on the market", but it's an exciting start.

4. "3D printing allows for tailor-made materials for personalized medicine. And what it means, really, is that in the future treating each patient's unique condition could become a norm." The question, though, is simple: do people want to be treated effectively, without the damaging side effects?

Oh, but do you really want to steer away from all the horrible side effects? Remember, what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger.

Patients with long-term illness or older people often have to take up to 20 tablets a day. According to research, 30-50% of them don't take their medication correctly, which can seriously diminish the effectiveness of the treatment and even cause side effects. Scientists at the Nottingham University are working on a new, 3D-printed solution that could help reduce the number of tablets from 20 to 1. Using a simple 3D printer, scientists are printing tablets that have different ingredients in each of their nozzles, which the printer precisely fills in with tiny drops of each material. Some ingredients are coated in special materials to delay the release of the drug and give the scientists a precise control over how the tablet works after the patient has taken it.

The hope is that in the future a combination of treatments specific to each person become a norm. That is, to enable doctors to formulate and print off a tablet that has an exact combination of medicines required to treat each patient's unique condition.

Credit: Vice

However, it may be years before patients are treated with highly personalized 3D-printed tablets due to serious regulation in medicine. On the other hand, these technological developments can be successfully applied to less potentially harmful tablets, like vitamins and supplements. People suffering from certain allergies or unable to eat certain types of food often lack vital vitamins - and that's where custom designed 3D-printed tablets can come to hand.

READ MORE: Why 3D Printing is a Real Game Changer in Modern Medicine

5. "3D printing can be used to eliminate the possibility of ever losing any of the amazing ancient art pieces to natural disasters or human ignorance." Preserving ancient art? Ain't nobody got time for that...

Attempting to define art is a little like trying to describe a colour to a blind person. It's an elusive concept that gains different meanings and forms in the eyes of different persons. However, what seems to be important now is our decision whether we care enough to spend our time thinking how to better or rescue it.

Art and 3D printing seem like an obvious match. Museums and governments around the world have already taken to 3D printing to preserve ancient artefacts and sculptures.

Engineers in China have recently used scanning and 3D printing technologies to restore an 800 year old Buddhist goddess sculpture, which was carved into a cliff during the reign of the Southern Song Dynasty (1127–1279). If done the traditional way, using molding and casting to reproduce the missing parts, the restoration would have cost a lot more time and money. Whereas with the help of 3D printing, incredible accuracy and speed have been achieved.

3D printing has given some artists a new method of communication. Incredibly intricate, complicated concepts of interlocking forms and structures that can be printed in one go, have been funnelled from artists' imagination to the material world thanks to additive manufacturing.

And last, but surely not least, by utilizing 3D printing technology, artists are able to produce as many copies of one design as they like. If you look at it from the perspective that art is for people, rich and poor, and should be available to more people than a private gallery (or worse, a billionaire’s mansion) can accommodate, than you would agree that 3D printing is just the right tool to make art available to everyone who’s eager enough to enjoy it.

“Undulating in a sine wave, the 12 arms depict the 12 musical notes in a chromatic scale, the 12 colours in a colour wheel, as well as the representation of time & measure.” Image credit: Joshua Harker

Is that enough reason to kill the hype and start a discussion? You tell us.