If your library is lucky enough to have a makerspace with a 3D printer, you may already feel like you’re living in the future. However, that printer is really just the beginning of what’s possible with this technology. There’s been a good number of recent developments that may affect libraries (or, perhaps, you might hope they won’t). From phone hacking to sex dolls, the 3D printing evolution is moving fast.
- MIT can shrink 3D objects down to nanoscale versions [Engadget] “However, the potential is vast. The researchers suspect this could initially be used for creating specialized optics for science, microscopes and even smartphones, but it could be tremendously useful for nano-sized parts in robots. “
- We Broke Into A Bunch Of Android Phones With A 3D-Printed Head [Forbes] “Anyone worried about anyone having their device compromised with a fake head, either through our method or others’, should perhaps consider not using facial recognition at all. “
- 3D-printed sex robots are cheaper and more lifelike than ever [The Next Web] “Until now, the traditional method for manufacturing silicone sex doll components is through using molds and setting casts. Using a 3D printer to create humanlike faces for DSDoll’s AI gynoids means that the assembly line process will be sped up considerably and therefore, the bots will be cheaper to produce.”
- To heal injured astronauts, experts want to 3D print “skin, bone and body parts” [Futurism.com] “Humans are spending more and more time in space, for stretches totalling months or even years at a time. But that also means we’ll have to address any health concerns they run into — and find ways to tackle medical emergencies. “
From the Ohio Web Library:
- Using 3D Printing (Additive Manufacturing) to Produce Low-Cost
Simulation Models for Medical Training (Lichtenberger, J. P., Tatum, P. S., Gada, S., Wyn, M., Ho, V. B., & Liacouras, P. (2018). Using 3D Printing (Additive Manufacturing) to Produce Low-Cost Simulation Models for Medical Training. Military Medicine, 183, 73–77.) - Disruptive Technology as an Enabler of the Circular Economy: What Potential Does 3D Printing Hold? (Garmulewicz, A., Holweg, M., Veldhuis, H., & Yang, A. (2018). Disruptive Technology as an Enabler of the Circular Economy: What Potential Does 3D Printing Hold? California Management Review, 60(3), 112–132.)
- Dangers and Benefits of 3D Printing (Hornick, J. (2018). Dangers and Benefits of 3D Printing. FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, 1.)
