Evaluation of 3 D Printing and Its Potential Impact on Biotechnology and the Chemical Sciences Nearing

■ HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE The conception of 3D printing, also referred to as additive manufacturing (AM), rapid prototyping (RP), or solid-freeform technology (SFF), was developed by Charles Hull. With a B.S. in engineering physics from the University of Colorado, Hull started work on fabricating plastic devices from photopolymers in the early 1980s at Ultra Violet Products in California. The lengthy fabrication process (1−2 months) coupled with the high probability of design imperfections, thereby, requiring several iterations to perfect, provided Hull with the motivation to improve current methods in prototype development. In 1986, Hull obtained the patent for stereolithography and would go on to acquire countless more patents on the technology, including, but not limited to, those cited in this article. In 1986, he established 3D Systems and developed the .STL file format, which would “complete the electronic ‘handshake’ from computer aided design (CAD) software and transmit files for the printing of 3D objects.” Hull and 3D Systems continued to develop the first 3D printer termed the “Stereolithography Apparatus” as well as the first commercial 3D printer available to the general public, the SLA-250. With Hull’s work, in addition to the development and subsequent patenting of fused deposition modeling (FDM) by Scott Crump at Stratasys in 1990, 3D printing was poised to revolutionize manufacturing and research. MIT professors Michael Cima and Emanuel Sachs patented the first apparatus termed “3D printer” in 1993 to print plastic, metal, and ceramic parts. Many other companies have developed 3D printers for commercial applications, such as DTM Corporation and Z Corporation (which merged with 3D Systems), and Solidscape and Objet Geometries (which merged with Stratasys). Others include Helisys, Organovo, a company that prints objects from living human tissue, and Ultimaker. Open source options such as RepRap, a desktop 3D printer capable of replicating the majority of its own parts, have been available since 2008. 3D printing technology has found industrial applications in the automotive and aerospace industries for printing prototypes of car and airplane parts, in the architectural world for printing structural models, and in the consumer goods industry for prototype development for companies like Trek and Black and Decker. The applications of 3D printing in private and government defense have been rapidly recognized. For example, applications in gun prototyping and manufacturing processes for the military have already been established. Medical applications of 3D printing date back to the early 2000s, with the production of dental implants and prosthetics. Applications in the food industry, as well as in fashion, have also emerged. With regard to research settings, 3D printing has been limited to biomedical applications and engineering, although it shows tremendous potential in the chemical sciences. This feature aims to present and compare the basic printing methods available and discuss some of the current work in chemistry as well as in other research and teaching efforts that utilize 3D printing technology.