India’s first 3D-printed post office was virtually inaugurated by Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw in Bengaluru’s Cambridge Layout on Friday (August 18). Its construction was completed in just 43 days — two days ahead of the deadline.
Multinational company Larsen & Toubro Limited built the post office with technological support from IIT Madras under the guidance of Professor Manu Santhanam, Building Technology and Construction Management Division, Department of Civil Engineering.
Invented in the 1980s, 3D printing burst into the mainstream around the 2010s, when many thought it would take over the world. The technology, however, at the time was expensive, slow and prone to making errors. In recent years, some of these flaws have been done away with, making 3D printing more prevalent than ever before. For instance, it’s being used in automotive and aerospace sectors to make parts of cars and rockets respectively.
What exactly is 3D printing ? And how do 3D printers work?
What is 3D printing?
3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing, is a process that uses computer-created design to make three-dimensional objects layer by layer. It is an additive process, in which layers of a material like plastic, composites or bio-materials are built up to construct objects that range in shape, size, rigidity and colour.
How is 3D printing done?
To carry out 3D printing, one needs a personal computer connected to a 3D printer. All they need to do is design a 3D model of the required object on computer-aid design (CAD) software and press ‘print’. The 3D printer does the rest of the job.
3D printers construct the desired object by using a layering method, which is the complete opposite of the subtractive manufacturing processes. Think about the great Italian sculptor Michelangelo making his masterpiece sculpture David. He famously carved out the colossal statue from one single block of marble. This is an ideal example of the subtractive manufacturing method.
3D printers, on the other hand, build from the bottom up by piling on layer after layer until the object looks exactly like it was envisioned. “The (3D) printer acts generally the same as a traditional inkjet printer in the direct 3D printing process, where a nozzle moves back and forth while dispensing a wax or plastic-like polymer layer-by-layer, waiting for that layer to dry, then adding the next level. It essentially adds hundreds or thousands of 2D prints on top of one another to make a three-dimensional object,” a report by Built In, an online tech news outlet, said.
Notably, these machines are capable of printing anything from ordinary objects like a ball or a spoon to complex moving parts like hinges and wheels.
“You could print a whole bike – handlebars, saddle, frame, wheels, brakes, pedals and chain – ready assembled, without using any tools. It’s just a question of leaving gaps in the right places,” The Independent said in a report.
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What are some of the notable examples of 3D printing?
As mentioned before, 3D printing is being used in a host of different industries like healthcare, automobile and aerospace. In May this year, aerospace manufacturing company Relativity Space launched a test rocket made entirely from 3D-printed parts, measuring 100 feet tall and 7.5 feet wide. Shortly after its take off, however, it suffered a failure.
At the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, the healthcare industry used 3D printers to make much-needed medical equipment, like swabs, face shields, and masks, as well as the parts to fix their ventilators.
