Time to read: 4 min

3D printing has grown from $4.4 billion in 2013 to an industry bringing in a projected $21 billionin 2021. This major growth is due to the growing number of applications of this technology across industries from printing food to在火星上建造殖民地。3D打印的其他更实际的应用程序包括医疗保健，汽车，建筑和制造业的创新。塑料，金属，陶瓷甚至人类细胞都被用作印刷这些行业重要组成部分的材料 - 成本更快，成本较低。通过从3D数字文件开始（从Internet下载它或使用软件设计），可以将复杂的形状上传到计算机，然后一层打印到有形的，可用的对象中。3D打印需要3D打印机，适当的材料和3D草图。个人甚至可能选择收缩3D printing services如果他们没有工作的所有必要零件，或者需要帮助工具自定义原型或部分作为更大项目的一个阶段。3D打印的未来仍在实现4th industrial revolution。

卫生保健

Using human tissue and cells as material, healthcare professionals are now able to 3D print skin, body parts, and organs with cells that are compatible with a particular person’s anatomy — leaving less room for rejection.3D打印正在为医疗突破提供动力包括生物打印，复制和假肢领域。There are several medical advancements in which 3D printing is lending a hand。The technology has encouraged the anticipation of solving organ donation shortages, transforming heart surgery, and the creation of custom braces for chronic health problems such as scoliosis. Additionally, sterile surgical instruments can be made quickly while remaining inexpensive, and correcting deformity due to certain trauma and injury can be made possible and easier with 3D printing. In addition to being able to 3D print surgical instruments, the technology can also help improve the healthcare supply chain by making medical items more available, abundant, and obtainable at a lower cost.

教育

Science, technology, engineering, and math(STEM) have become increasingly popular, thanks in part to the fact that3D printing is helping transform classrooms从K-12到大学，各个级别。例如，工程专业的学生现在可以打印出其原型，学习建筑的学生可以制造其结构的3D模型，化学学生可以打印分子的3D雕塑。可以使用3D打印机和材料的各种受试者的老师可以打印出教育辅助工具。3D打印可以补充课程，有助于提高解决问题的技能，并促进对复杂主题的更深入，更基础的知识。

航天

波音，空中客车甚至NASA都利用了3D打印。快速生产的能力lightweight parts at a low cost is valuable to aerospace professionals。3D printing parts for engines, satellite production, aircraft body parts and fixtures, and even taxi drones to facilitate takeoffs and landings are changing the aerospace manufacturing and production chains. These lightweight parts are affordable, but also help cut fuel costs.

汽车

成功的汽车公司Audi has been using 3D printing现在已经有一段时间了，没有停止的计划。与航空航天类似，汽车行业对打印轻量级零件的能力（其中一些可能很复杂且很少使用）的能力非常感兴趣。汽车行业可以将3D打印用于发动机和身体部位，机箱，并且将来可能能够3D print whole carsmuch faster than current manufacturing times currently allow for — making them more fuel-efficient and reducing factory waste byproduct in the process.

Construction

Construction is using 3D printing to fabricate anything from tiny hardware to lightweight, durable tools to printing entire houses.3D打印正在进入室内设计行业to produce office chairs, desks, and tables. A private firm in China has claimed to have3D打印10个全尺寸的独立单层房屋24小时内。It is not out of the realm of possibility to think that full cities can be 3D printed at record speed. 3D printing can be attractive to professionals in the construction industry because it cuts down labor time and cost, and minimizes inefficiencies. This is especially relevant since these professionals are looking to build complex, intricate structures in a shorter, more sustainable manner.

Manufacturing

Most of the industries above have taken advantage of 3D printing for manufacturing benefits. Traditional manufacturing processes that have been in place for generations are now being transformed — allowing goods to be produced at an extraordinary speed, using less and fewer materials, and reducing labor. 3D printing can be used alongside, or in place of,CNC加工为了制作复杂，定制的零件，定制制造零件的精确迭代。3D printing and CNC machiningwill be used throughout manufacturing chains, cutting the cost for manufacturing mid to large units of products, or one-off prototypes. 3D printing during the manufacturing process can also cut down on waste, making for a more sustainable manufacturing process for any industry and reducing the carbon footprint for one of the most wasteful aspects of any industry.

机器人技术

机器人技术，尤其是工业机器人，是极其复杂的机器，具有微妙的零件。3D打印可用于快速，具有成本效益的方式替换这些零件。机器人技术用于3D打印机时，可以以令人难以置信的各种角度移动，能够为定制和大型对象创建复杂的形状。认为将带有3D打印机的机器人技术发送到火星可能并不遥远，这可能会导致其他较大的机器人技术建造到3D印刷屋中，以供太空殖民地。3D打印的应用程序令人着迷，直到最近才实现。目前尚不清楚这将如何影响未来的行业 - 但是，似乎无限的可能性。