Investigating Emerging Information Technologies, 3D Printing Technology - Essay Example

Investigate Emerging Information Technologies Table of Contents Introduction 3 3D Printing Technology 4 Findings of 3D Printing Technology and Its Use by the Consumers 4 Conclusion 10 References 11 Introduction The constant innovation and advancement in technological ambit has been combined with significant impact along with benefits on the business and the society as a whole. In this regard, the advances in the information technology are identified to create opportunities for organizations to redesign their traditional form of work processes. It is noticeable that advancement in technologies in the recent times is accompanied with the potential to bring changes in the global world. The emerging technologies occupy a wide array of technologies which creates an impact in the modern world of business. Contextually, 3D printing is one of the latest advents of the emerging technologies, which has the ability to transform the world through its usage. It is no more used as a prototyping application but is used in diverse sectors including manufacturing business, medical, defence, art and educational among others for facilitating consumers with path-breaking facilities (World Economic Forum, 2012; Kendall, 1999). The aim of this essay is to create awareness of the technological changes taking place in the Information Technology (IT) and to gain an in-depth understanding of their impact and/or benefit to both business and society. Correspondingly, this essay primarily intends to derive an in-depth understanding regarding the impact and/or benefit of 3D printing to both businesses and consumers. 3D Printing Technology 3D printing is a type of additive industrial technology where a three dimensional article is formed by placing consecutive coatings of materials. It is a new tool which is gaining widespread popularity in the global arena and is being implemented rapidly for a greater performance with quality assurance. The 3D printers are machines which are used for the production of the physical 3D model. It can form designs with the use of the CAD program and hence, are beneficial for various sectors. This technology is used in various industries such as the jewellery, architecture, construction, automotive, medical industries as well as education. It is observed that 3D printing is usually applied to low volume production and is useful for the production of customised products as per the need of the customers. The technology is considered to be an important innovation as it can deliver products according to the preference of the people and can be controlled as well as supervised regularly at relative ease. Conversely, this is not possible with the use of the traditional form of machine as it would involve high cost if the product line is altered (IEEE, 2014). Findings of 3D Printing Technology and Its Use by the Consumers 3D printing is evolving as a boon for both business and society. The technology is used in various industries for designing and other purposes including jewellery business, architectural sector, defence, automotive and also in the educational sector owing to its broad applicability. One single machine can lead to the production of several products without incurring any extra cost. Moreover, the technology is of importance as it can be used near the point of consumption. This would lead to the elimination of the various segments of the supply chain. Furthermore, the technology brings fundamental alteration in the business model by the elimination of the warehouse and distribution. This will be possible as the new technology would provide the required products by the customer in a customised manner near the consumption point. For instance, 3D printing is used by companies such as Nokia in its manufacturing process. The company through the use of 3D printing technology develops customised cases for the consumers as per their preferences. Furthermore, the online companies have also been viewed to be using the technology in printing products for customers according to their needs and demands. They primarily use the technology to print decorative materials for consumers. Fashion designers use the technology to make fashionable and experimental clothes along with shoes for the masses. In this regard, it is observed that Nike with the use of the 3D printing technology has made customised shoes for the soccer players as well as for the common users (Nokia, 2014; Wohlers & Caffrey, 2013). Figure: 1 Source: (Nokia, 2014; Wohlers & Caffrey, 2013) For the convenience of the consumers and to make the transportation comfortable, car manufacturing companies use the 3D printing technology to increase the efficiency of the vehicles used by the common public. The incorporation of this technology also assists in changing the economies of the manufacturing. It is observed that the because of this technology, the manufacturing activities have become less labour intensive, use less material and incur less wastes (Computer Sciences Corporation, 2012). Besides, the technology is applicable in the field of medicine. In this context, it can be evaluated that the surgeons use 3D printing machine before the critical surgeries as they print the part of the body for the purpose of reference. This makes their task easier and less complex. Additionally, in the field of medicine, the printing technique is used to build the bone grafts for the injured patients who are suffering from the traumatic damages. For the advanced features that the 3D printing techniques provides, it is observed that the researchers are finding ways of creating organs as a replacement. This would help the society as it would lead to saving the life of various people in the society who require transplantation (National Informatics Centre, n.d). This can depicted as one of the valuable contributions of 3D printing towards the public. Figure 2 represents the use of 3D printing for the medical purpose to benefit the public. Figure: 2 Source: (Evans, 2012) The common usage of the 3D printing is in the field of architecture. As the architect first makes the mockups of their design which they plan to implement while constructing. With the advent of the 3D printing the architectures are being able to make viable plans rapidly along with ensuring quality and accuracy of the proposed plan (National Informatics Centre, n.d.). In the field of art 3D printing technology has been seen as an emerging opportunity in the modern time. The printing method has helped in creating images and pictures which are incredibly difficult to design. In addition, the technology has supported the business to save money by reducing manpower, cost rendered on the equipment and by reducing the time taken per hour for the purpose of production. This indirectly has its positive impact on the consumers as they are now being able to acquire goods at a lower cost with customisation as per their need. The technology is also ascertained to offer greater speed to the business, easy affordability and simple mechanism which has acted as a cornerstone for its widespread applicability and popularity (Arc Tron 3D, 2009). As per the research conducted, it is observed that 3D printing acts as a weapon against intentional obsolescence by extending the tenure or sustainability of the damaged product. In one of the analysis by the home-based 3D printers evaluated that an average household can save about thousands of dollars by printing the normally used objects at home rather than buying it from the market. This depicts that household production would increase as people will be able to produce goods such as toys, fashionable designer clothes as well as gadgets using the materials available at home such as plastics. In this regard, it can be stated that an American household spends in between US$312 to US$1944 while buying online products which are used on a daily basis. While with the advent of 3D printing technology being available at a lower price, it could reduce the spending to US$18 if the goods are made at home using the technology (Williams, 2013). Moreover, 3D printing technology can have a positive impact on the people as it would help them in manufacturing products for themselves according to their preferences at home rather than buying it ready made from the market. Thus, promoting saving considerable amount of business organisation as well as people in the society which would have otherwise been not possible (Kovac, 2013). Conversely, it is observed from recent news report in The Guardian that people were misusing the 3D printing technique in making plastic guns in the household which is illegal as the metal detector will not be able to detect the gun carried by the people. This is creating a negative impact on the law and the society as well (Guardian News, 2013). The technology has shown its importance not only in the field of the consumer goods but also in the aerospace industry. The technology of 3D printing is widely appreciated by NASA because of its lighter ‘printed’ parts which lead to the saving of the fuel and the greenhouse gas for the benefit of the society and the businesses. The advantage of the 3D printing is its ability to reduce waste specifically when using the metals (Kovac, 2013). Additionally, 3D printing technique has assisted the process of extraction of titanium from the ore to be easier as the titanium is incredibly energy intensive. Titanium is used in the batteries of the vehicles and hence the cost of transportation would reduce. Also, the emission leading to pollution would reduce to a certain extent with the use of the 3D printing mechanism (Kovac, 2013). The 3D printing is being effectively used in the dental department because of its technique to improve the quality as well as the precision. With the help of the 3D printing, the dentists are able to conduct oral scanning which supports them in creating accurate crowns. The designs of the crowns are accurate and customised with quality due to the use of the 3D printing technique. Correspondingly, the people in the society are now able to easily do oral scanning and get proper treatment with the help of the 3D printing techniques (2Stratasys Ltd, 2014). Another key finding about the usage and relevance of the 3D printing is in the field of education. The innovation of the 3D technology is observed to be greatly useful if it is implemented in the classroom for the students to enhance their creativity and innovation (The New Economy, 2013; Weinberg, 2010). In the present day context, the price of the 3D printers has declined considerably as compared to its initial price. Thus, it has become more affordable for the consumers, which further enhances the chances of its usage in an extensive manner in the coming future to make toys, napkins and other household products (Evans, 2012). Conclusion It can be observed from the foregoing discussion that the advanced technology of 3D printing is of great relevance in the life of the people and for the purpose of business. It has its applicability in various sectors including manufacturing business, defence, medical and educational which help in attaining economies of scale by reducing cost as well as promoting increased level of creativity and innovation. The main feature of 3D printing is its capability to produce accurate and customised products. Hence, it can be admitted that the technology of 3D printing is of importance for the betterment of the quality of life of the consumers as well as business. References Arc Tron 3D, 2009. How 3D Printing Works. The Vision, Innovation and Technologies behind Inkjet 3D Printing, pp. 2-14. Computer Sciences Corporation, 2012. 3D Printing and the Future of Manufacturing. Innovation, pp. 2-36. Evans, H., 2012. 3D Printing: The Game Changer. 3D Printing. [Online] Available at: http://individual.troweprice.com/public/Retail/Planning-&-Research/Connections/3D-Printing/The-Game-Changer [Accessed February 17, 2014]. Guardian News, 2013. 3D-Printed Guns Prompt US House To Renew Prohibition On Plastic Firearms. World News. [Online] Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/04/3d-guns-house-renew-prohibition-plastic-firearms [Accessed February 14, 2014]. IEEE, 2014. Top Technology Trends for 2014. Portal. [Online] Available at: http://www.computer.org/portal/web/membership/Top-10-Tech-Trends-in-2014 [Accessed February 14, 2014]. Kendall, K.E., 1999. Emerging Information Technology: Improving Decisions, Cooperation, and Infrastructure. SAGE. Kovac, K., 2013. How Green Is 3D Printing? Paper. [Online] Available at: http://www.ecosmagazine.com/?paper=EC13276 [Accessed February 14, 2014]. National Informatics Centre, No Date. 3d Printing Technology. Printing Technology. [Online] Available at: http://nicsu.up.nic.in/knowdesk/3D-Printing-Technology.pdf [Accessed February 14, 2014]. Nokia, 2014. 3D Print A Shell For Your Nokia Phone. Nokia Developer. [Online] Available at: http://developer.nokia.com/community/wiki/3D_print_a_shell_for_your_Nokia_Phone [Accessed February 17, 2014]. 1Stratasys Ltd, 2014. Defence. 3D Printing Lets You Customize When Timing Is Critical. [Online] Available at: http://www.stratasys.com/industries/defense [Accessed February 14, 2014]. 2Stratasys Ltd, 2014. Digital Dentistry. 3D Printing Makes Digital Dentistry Happen. [Online] Available at: http://www.stratasys.com/industries/dental [Accessed February 14, 2014]. The New Economy, 2013. 3D Printing: A New Dimension. Technology. [Online] Available at: http://www.theneweconomy.com/technology/3d-printing-a-new-dimension [Accessed February 14, 2014]. World Economic Forum, 2012. Global Agenda Councils Emerging Technologies. Issue Overview. [Online] Available at: http://reports.weforum.org/global-agenda-council-2012/councils/emerging-technologies/ [Accessed February 14, 2014]. Weinberg, M., 2010. IT Will Be Awesome If They Don’t Screw It Up: 3D Printing, Intellectual Property, And The Fight Over The Next Great Disruptive Technology. 3D Printing Paper, pp. 2-15. Wohlers, T. & Caffrey, T., 2013. Additive Manufacturing: Going Mainstream. Manufacturing, pp. 1-5. Williams, R., 2013. 3d Printing Could Save Us Households $2,000 A Year. The Telegraph. [Online] Available at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/10218083/3D-printing-could-save-US-households-2000-a-year.html [Accessed February 14, 2014]. Read More