3D printing has revolutionized design and prototyping, transforming ideas from paper or screen into tangible objects. Today, it’s integral to producing everyday items like razor heads, retainers, mascara brushes, shoes, and parts for medical devices. It has also become a $20 billion industry that aims to grow by 24% in the next five years, according to Grand View Research.
The accessibility of 3D printing has expanded, with printers now common in universities, libraries, and homes. Creatives like Clayton Parker, 44, known as Uncle Jessy online, have turned to 3D printing to turn their bold ideas into pieces to share with likeminded, pop-culture fans.
The accessibility of 3D printing has expanded, with printers now common in universities, libraries, and homes. Creatives like Clayton Parker, 44, known as Uncle Jessy online, have turned to 3D printing to turn their bold ideas into pieces to share with likeminded, pop-culture fans.
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00:00As long as you can design it, this is where you can really just explore and play around.
00:04Chances are, you can 3D print it.
00:07From manufacturing microscopic medical devices, to creating stunning cosplay costumes, to
00:13even building affordable homes, 3D printing is increasingly woven into the fabric of our lives.
00:19For design and prototyping, it's really an enhanced communication tool.
00:23If you use a piece of paper to communicate, or use your computer screen to communicate
00:27today, this is just the next level of that, that you have something in your hand that
00:31you can communicate.
00:32And many products using 3D printing in their production process are already being used
00:37in our day-to-day lives.
00:39Consumer goods like razor heads, they need very high tolerances, they're very high resolution.
00:443D printed materials are also found in retainers, mascara brushes, and even some shoes.
00:50In 2023, the 3D printing market was worth over 20 billion dollars, and a report from
00:57Grandview Research projects that the industry will grow by 24% in the next five years.
01:03I think the 3D printing industry is the big win in what a lot of people talk about.
01:07That's John Koala, he's the CEO of Boston Microfabrication.
01:12His company specializes in making detailed parts that require the utmost precision.
01:17And as the name suggests, his company works with clients who commission parts for machinery
01:21that are extremely small.
01:24We can generally get down to about 10 microns, so most people may not have a sense for how
01:28small that is.
01:29It's actually hard to see 10 microns.
01:31Human hair is about 80 microns in diameter, so that gives you a sense for scale.
01:36Some of these microscopic parts can be found in medical devices.
01:40At the low end of that scale, that could be components used for eye surgery, and those
01:45are less than a millimeter, and so that means I could probably fit a thousand of them in
01:50my hand.
01:51Very, very small.
01:52Upwards to parts that are a few inches in size.
01:56BMF specialization points to a trend of miniaturization that's seen across much of tech today.
02:02There's lots of things getting smaller in the world, in medical device.
02:06So whether it's knee surgery, or oral surgery, or eye surgery, increasingly tools are being
02:12developed to make those procedures less invasive.
02:16The opening in your body is smaller, so you need tools that are smaller.
02:19In electronics, maybe our phones aren't getting smaller anymore.
02:22There was a trend where they were all getting smaller, but now there's a lot more in those
02:26phones than there used to be even one, two, three years ago.
02:29But the 3D printing industry encompasses more than building tech and medical devices.
02:34In recent years, 3D printing has become more accessible for consumers.
02:393D printers have become increasingly common at universities and public libraries.
02:43It's also become a near limitless space for creatives to bring their ideas into the world.
02:48Hi, my name is Clayton Parker.
02:50I'm from Rochester, New York.
02:52I am 44 years old, and I'm known online as Uncle Jesse.
02:58I produce a lot of 3D printing content.
03:02Primarily things around cosplay, or just fun builds that I find of different things online
03:07that I find entertaining that I'm assuming lots of other pop culture fans would also
03:11find entertaining.
03:12He found his start in 2014, when he purchased his first printer.
03:17A decade later, Parker has earned nearly half a million subscribers on YouTube, showing
03:22off his 3D printed creations.
03:24My very first 3D printed mask that I've designed in Nomad Sculpt.
03:29Today, you can find 3D printers ranging from a few hundred bucks all the way up to $100,000
03:35higher for premium machines.
03:38Parker says technology has improved since his start.
03:41Even today, it's still a relatively new tool and technology, and it's getting easier and
03:46easier every year.
03:47From my first 3D printer to 3D printers you can buy now, it's insane.
03:52Pretty much now, you take them out of the box, there might be 15 minutes of assembly
03:55that you have to do, and you're up and printing, versus what I had to do before, which was
03:59like a full day of a build, it was very complicated and I had to troubleshoot things.
04:04And the process has become profitable for Parker.
04:06At the height of a TikTok trend.
04:08So there's no way that I'm not going to print one of those.
04:11He sold $3,000 worth of 3D printed ghosts in just a weekend.
04:15To me, that is such an awesome opportunity of not needing to actually produce anything.
04:22You just spend the time creating a digital file once, and then share that online, and
04:27people are then able to pay you for access rights to that, so then they can then spend
04:32the time on 3D printing, troubleshooting, engaging with customers, answering emails,
04:37all of that fun stuff that comes with buying and selling things online.
04:41So if we can easily print something with the right ideas and technology, why can't manufacturers
04:47just 3D print everything?
04:49So I think the misconception may be that that's easy, that we should be printing everything
04:53in the world today instead of using conventional methods, but that's hard work.
04:58So it requires hardware technology, software, materials.
05:01These tools need to be cost effective.
05:03And that's happening over time, and there's some really big wins there.
05:06But I think that maybe the misconception is that you could really print anything.
05:09And I think certainly you can print most shapes, but if you really want it to be something
05:12functional, there's more work for that.
05:14Despite the challenges, could the current state of 3D printing be wielded for public good?
05:19It hasn't stopped companies from seeing its greater potential.
05:23Companies like Alquis 3D have started using 3D printing methods to build concrete homes
05:28in Greeley, Colorado.
05:30In a partnership with the Greeley Weld Habitat for Humanity, the company will build 22 single
05:35family homes, 154 duplexes, and 315 multifamily units.
05:42This multi-million dollar project was funded by land donations, grants, government support,
05:48and investments from private companies.
05:51Alquis 3D hopes that these homes can ultimately create more opportunities for affordable housing.
05:56And if continued successfully, what's to say that innovators can also use 3D printing
06:02to improve other corners of society?