Here’s what I know and who I think you can confidently listen to on the topic of 3D printing.
But first, why should you care? What has 3D printing got to do with assistive technology?
To answer these questions I have to first distinguish between two concepts:
- mass production, and
- mass customization.
We’ve all encountered the benefits of mass production. The reason why you can purchase most products cheaply and with confidence that the particular one you take home with you will perform as expected is because some company put a tremendous amount of thought in to the design of that product and then determined the most cost effective way to produce it. All of that work was done up-front, before the first component of that product was molded, machined, soldered, welded, or painted. The machines were all purchased and the workers were all trained on exactly how to do their work with no wasted effort or material. Every widget that comes off the manufacturing line looks and behaves exactly like every other. This process really shines when the customer market is large and uniform in its needs and desires – or they could convince you of that. Many years ago, there was a saying that the telephone company would be happy to give you any color telephone you wanted as long as what you wanted was a black telephone. Fortunately for Ma Bell, no one knew that life could be different.
Mass production cannot accommodate changes and customization because doing so would require creating additional, expensive production lines or disrupting flow and returning to square one to redesign, configure, and train the factory which would be even more costly.
The disabled community is neither large nor uniform. Every disabled individual is a unique amalgam of needs and desires. The market for assistive technology doesn’t have a “sweet spot”. Therefore, there’s no place to target your mass production process. This is a community that needs highly customized and personalized products. This is a market that absolutely requires mass customization.
There is a new category of technology that is completely general-purpose. Nothing in the shape and structure of a 3D printer will give you a hint as to what it can or will create. The 3D printer itself doesn’t know, or care, whether the item that it will create next is in any way like the item it created last. In particular, unlike other machines and manufacturing methods, the 3D printing process is exceptional at producing something in this run that is “slightly different” from the thing that it just produced.
Iterating on a design in an effort to get just the right fit, look, and function is, by definition, a process of enhancement through small changes.
Now combine that inherent characteristic of the 3D printing process with the fact that the printers themselves are cheap, easy to use, utilize inexpensive materials, and not reliant on other machines or technologies. The result is the ability to create, from scratch, new devices, by non-technologists, close to the individual who will be the user of that device. The fact that one can iterate quickly and inexpensively on a device in close proximity to the end user enables the design process to be a cooperative one between the service provider (e.g., therapist, caregiver, teacher) and the service recipient (the individual with disabilities).
Volksswitch tries to make this work easier by supporting the device design and iteration process through the creation of easy-to-use design tools with customization and personalization built-in from the start.
Given that foundation, read on to learn more about 3D printing. Look at the following list and jump in at the first topic you’re unfamiliar with – then read on from there.
What are the flavors of 3D printing?
Who can I turn to on YouTube when I want to learn more?
What 3D printers do you “currently” recommend?
What filaments do you recommend?
How do I obtain 3D-printed devices if I don’t have a 3D printer?
Where should I look for things to print?
How can I start designing my own 3D objects?