3DPrinting - Disruptive Evolution.

We live in unusual times.

The second great Industrial revolution has happened peacefully. The internet has spread globally and now its true disruptive nature, namely political upheaval is in full swing, less peacefully.

These quietly cataclysmic events are under pinned by one simple technology - Digital. Right now, as you breathe and read, a further disruption is happening. Everyone is able to create, share globally and manufacture digital based files relatively simply. This in turn is enabled by 3Dprinting technology.

Democratic skilled making and creation; This has never happened before. 

Perspective; I was fortunate to be heavily involved with the UK/digital music industry as it started to change from the mid 1990s. In 1999, for a year, I ran an early website company as creative lead and Manager creating sites for major label artists. The music industry at that time was in full panic mode trying to stamp out, suppress and limit digital music distribution. At odds with having just started to sell digital masters to each purchaser in the form of the CD. The industries very heavy handed approach took the form of litigation of the end user, take down notices and numerous attempts at DRM (Digital rights management) All doomed to fail.

The music industry had missed both the point and the boat.

A handful of coders had created a non centralised file distribution service that could easily be monetised and given it away. Instead of seeing this as a revolution to move forward with it was mistakenly seen as a threat. 

Fortunately we have the benefit of learning from that monumental debacle.

Open source has become a thing in itself. Talented makers, creators and coders now support free software, hardware and creativity allowing evolution to blossom. Their willingness to give is oxygen to the bacteria of technical evolution.

There are a number of approaches to take the next step from invention to market; Firstly and considered somewhat European, in that it is a long term approach; not relying on huge IPO profits as such and more outward looking.

Secondly, a much more capitalistally aggressive approach to buy, contain and monetise said investment, broadly practised more in the US.

These two models are at odds and produce notably different outcomes. Fortunately, again we now have the benefit of hindsight, be it only 2 decades long.

It is now better understood that allowing new ideas to flourish, breathe and grow in the light can produce amazing results. Whilst not perhaps showing a return on investment for shareholders and the like. However any development needs sweat invested, free time applied and personal funds added. Inevitably funding rounds are needed and the startup culture is new and novel allowing green shoots to be watered financially without locking the greenhouse door.

How does this relate to my subject?

Simply put, if a number of individuals had not chosen to give away their hard work (often University funded) then the ongoing process of democratically available digital manufacturing that is transforming our lives would have withered early on due to patents, lawsuits and avarice.

RepRap Project

How is this transforming our lives, in some ways it is just a load of headlines and click bait. The real killer app for 3Dprinting will become obvious to all of us intimately.

Very soon 3Dprinting will save your life, or a relatives and enhance your well being, longevity and health.

This in my opinion seems to be not well understood.

The fanfare of trick 3dprinted plastic parts is the brass section of our transformation; Engineered metal and composite 3dprints that create lighter more efficient technology is our woodwind. Our bedrock, the Timpani drum, the lower notes are without doubt medical

Medical 3Dprinting is currently a minute Industry. It will eclipse all others very soon and completely change Human life and medical treatment on Earth.

Again we have a confluence of technologies driven by digital processing. From Genome sequencing to deep data, digital distribution to atomic tunnelling microscopes. All are contributing to the imminent revolution of medicine.

As the adoption of newly figured approaches to the solving of many intractable medical issues increases and the internet effectively spreads the virus of knowledge globally then the open source movement, like a wave does for a surfer, will propel this revolution onward.

Currently titanium spinal implants are hitting the news, however this will be supplanted with actual bone structures and scaffolds inserted to be grown in situ.

As the development of cellular printing gathers pace and simple organs are printed with neutral or specific cells to prevent rejection then you will start to understand why everything will change.

3Dprinting enables Frankenstein the  fictitious, ambitious story to bear fruit.

As new bone and limb elements are created to repair our wounded soldiers (each having been scanned pre deployment), as eyeballs can be created to fix vision, as glands are repaired by a combination of 3Dprinted technology and inserted genes. As this happens we will look back to a very recent past with a look of shock at its cumbersome medical hacking.

As new veins, heart tissue and skin is created to suit each patient quicker and more cheaply with less follow up issues, then you will see the revolution.

A further culmination will be 3Dprinted robot based surgeons able to go in via keyhole surgery to do complex procedures remotely or locally. Augmented with stereoscopic vision, haptic feedback for the operator and as well as cutting tools, suturing and repair devices. Processes that stop bleeding, inject and grow repair tissue on demand within the person. Once treated a patients Pills can be 3dprinted to test their efficacy for delivery. 

This is happening. What will happen next?

...even greater confluence of 3Dprinting, medical innovation, deep data, IOT and networked enablement.

A battlefield drone, or a 999/911 unit will detect a wounded individual and land administering rapid first aid having received the patients status from their embedded device. As internal bleeding is detected go in and close up haemorrhages and life threatening wounds. All the while having called for evac, transmitted full charts and vital signs data. Internal 3Dscans will be sent for quick production in the field hospitals bone and tissue 3Dprint unit. Required fluids will be synthesised to suit. The drone itself a result of digital fabrication and molecular manipulation enabling strength, lightness and power efficiency...Data mining departments will assess the likelihood of survival, the time to be redeployed. The intake for new recruits will be adjusted accordingly. Lessons the Medic drone (Medrone) learns will be assessed and integrated into future models, data clouds or medical canon.

There is no longer any science fiction. Mary Shelley's story is now fact and transforming lives, 3Dprinting and digital distribution has enabled it.

We live in unusual times.

All of the above examples drop into my news feed daily. Please feel free to follow my twitter feeds:

@rgproductdotcom generally or 3DPrinting specific @FuseDeep

Thank you for reading.