10. The Economy

You might remember when the internet revolutionised public access to information. Now we could

be on the cusp of the same thing happening to manufacturing.

As the technology advances over time, most people could very well have a 3D printer in

their homes - meaning manufacturing could begin to shift away from factories. In fact,

3D printing's share of the worldwide manufacturing industry is set to reach $550 billion by 2025,

which is around 5% but it's only set to rise.

Such a change would be disruptive to traditional businesses - but some experts like Steve Sammartino

have urged companies to embrace it by collaborating with their users and making money from designs

rather than just production.

Not only that, but 3D printing - AKA additive manufacturing - could completely change the

concept of economies of scale, since now devices can create incredibly niche designs without

having to sell enough products to recoup setup costs.

9. Prosthetics

Right now, artificial limb replacements and reconstructive surgery can be expensive, arduous

and painstaking processes. Prosthetic legs can cost as much as $50,000 in some cases

- and it's even worse in impoverished countries, which disproportionately contribute to the

30 million people in need of artificial limbs and a 40,000 person shortage of prosthetists.

But with advances in additive manufacturing, we could see that number plummet.

Even now, a group of designers has created a 3D-printable prosthetic hand called the

'Cyborg Beast'. This type of prosthesis was designed to allow children to cheaply

replace their hands as they grow. Each new traditional prosthesis would cost thousands

of dollars, whereas the 3D printing process means that the Cyborg Beast costs just $50

to produce.

It's even possible now to use bioprinters to create artificial skin which can be used

as grafts for patients suffering from burns and disfiguring injuries - though it's not

yet available for public use until it's approved.

8. The Environment

You probably noticed that the coral reef is having a tough time right now. More than half

of Australia's famous Great Barrier Reef has disappeared since 1985 and a quarter of

it was lost in 2016 alone.

It's predominantly due to coral bleaching as a result of climate change increasing the

temperature of the ocean, and while this change is nearly irreversible, 3D printing is providing

a sustainable, albeit depressing solution.

Scientists are now testing fake reefs that carry out biological functions, but are much

more resistant to the damaging effects climate change. In theory, they will be large and

detailed enough to attract the algae that foster the coral ecosystem - essentially acting

like the real thing.

Monaco is currently testing artificial reefs in a bid to combat its own habitat loss, monitoring

the structures for two years to determine how feasible it truly is.

7. Architecture

You're probably thinking 3D printing is just for small objects like consumer products

or really small objects like medical equipment. But recently, we've seen the scale of additive

manufacturing expand dramatically - it's now possible to print entire houses.

This 400 square meter, 2 storey home was created in China in 2016 and is capable of withstanding

a magnitude 8 earthquake. Even more impressively, construction company HuaShang Tengda achieved

the feat in just 45 days by utilising a giant 3D printer - compared to 7 months for the

average family house.

Homes have been created using this technology in the past, but this structure is the first

to have printed the house onto the building frame, rather than creating the parts separately

and assembling them.

Given the massively increased speed and reduced cost compared to conventional construction,

this kind of technology could drastically improve global housing conditions - particularly

in the developing world.

6. Medicine

Prescription medicine is already prohibitively expensive for many people, and that's with

many pills just being 'close enough' to any given patient's individual condition.

But 3D printing is opening up a brave new world of medicine.

Pharmaceutical company Aprecia has created the world's first 3D printed drug, named

Spiritam, which, if you were wondering, is designed to control epilepsy-induced seizures.

The company employs a technology called Zipdose, which allows pills to be 3D-printed and bound

together in an aqueous fluid. That makes them both more dissolvable for patient ease and

can pack in more medicine per pill.

But most importantly, this could lead to pharmacies being able to 3D print drugs with specific

compositions - essentially tailoring them to the individual instead of hoping the closest

appropriate dosage of mass-produced pills does the trick.

That could mean more effective and personalised treatment for future patients, reducing the

risk of incorrect or disproportionate prescriptions.

5. Forensics

When it comes to evidence in trials, you're probably thinking of pixelated printouts and

approximate analysis. But all that could be a thing of the past as 3D printing makes crime

come to life, or close enough at least.

It's now possible to manufacture precise models of any evidence that could be relevant

to solving a case or trying it in court. Everything from footprints, fingerprints and bones to

reconstructed scale models of crime scenes.

In one particularly intriguing case in 2016, forensic investigators used additive manufacturing

to reconstruct the skull of a dead woman from Greene County Ohio, who couldn't be identified

by her DNA, dental records or even her tattoos. After the 72 hour printing process, the Ohio

State University team then managed to recreate the face of the unfortunate woman - it's

hoped that it will eventually lead to her identification.

4. Guns

Like with the internet expanding access to informative and dangerous information alike,

3D printing risks dangerous objects being created with little effective means of regulation

- case in point: guns.

3D printed guns have already been designed and produced as early as 2013 by the controversial

group Defense Distributed, which acts to make so called 'wiki-weapons' publicly available.

The European law agency Europol believes criminals will still be more interested in traditional

firearms, but the increasing ease of 3D printing tech could make this a real risk in the future.

The Chinese city of Chongqing is so worried about the potential that it has made it law

for 3D printers to be registered with the government in order to prevent them being

used to create illegal items.

3. Food

Imagine coming home after work to find your fridge bare and the supermarkets closed. Well

have no fear, soon you'll be able to just download a recipe and print your dinner.

In recent years, a swathe of companies have developed their own 3D food printers. The

early models focussed on the easy stuff like shaping sugary substances, but now it's

possible to make actual meals like pizza, spaghetti and burgers by constructing them

from their base ingredients.

If and when it becomes an everyday feature in the home, this tech could allow people

to have new levels of control over their nutrition by printing meals with specific dietary content

- without having to spend hours sourcing and preparing them.

Some scientists have even suggested that by replacing base ingredients with more renewable

ones like algae, duckweed and grass, this technology could help to combat the world's

ever growing food needs.

2. Space Travel

So this one isn't technically the world, but even so, the burgeoning 3D printing market

could have major implications on how space travel is approached in the future.

One of the big issues for any space mission is the contingency plans for the inevitable

malfunctions - especially when it comes to fixing or replacing broken equipment. But

with an onboard 3D printer, it would be possible to create any given part with the same manufacturing

tools.

That idea has already been put into practice on the International Space Station in 2014,

when its then-new onboard 3D printer tested creating a part while in orbit.

As well as giving the ISS the ability to essentially 'beam up' parts from earth, it could save

as much as $20,000 per kilogram in the cost of sending supplies into space

1.Surgery

As you've already seen, bioprinting has made massive strides in recent years. It's

even thought that within our lifetime, we will be able to 3D print human organs. Using

what's called 'flink' - or functional living ink - it is possible to recreate a

working kidney, lung or even a heart.

When perfected, 3D printed organs could revolutionise medical treatment, ending the wait for the

120,000 people on the US transplant waiting list and theoretically preventing the deaths

of as many as 8,000 people per year in the US alone.

But there are concerns that such innovative technology could be seen as playing god by

reducing people to the sum of their parts - natural or otherwise.

In the meantime, though, , surgeons are making use of 3D printing by creating sophisticated

replicas of the organs and surrounding tissue that they'll be operating on - because as

everyone knows, practice makes perfect.

That was 10 ways 3D printing will change the world, which one will have the biggest impact?

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