User:Dwest43d

​In the past forty years technology has been progressing at an extremely rapid rate. This can be attributed to Moore’s Law, stating that every eighteen months the power of computer chips doubles because the number of transistors in integrated chips doubles as well. With the abilities of technology always increasing, there come great technological advancements. A new potentially great advancement in technology is three-dimensional printing. 3d printing is the ability to print three-dimensional objects. Three-dimensional printing has the potential to be the next big innovation. The significance of this new development in information technology must be assess through critical evaluation of three dimensional printing from legal, social, ethical, and security perspectives in order to determine three dimensional printing potential impact. Background ​Three-dimensional printing is the printing of three-dimensional objects. Chuck Hull invented three-dimensional printing in his lab in 1986. (Gradual build-up 2013) Though the idea has been around for over a decade but due to Moore’s law the capabilities of three-dimensional printing has grown immensely over the past few years. Three-dimensional printing in its early stages just printed plastic molds. Now you can print anything from an automatic rifle to a car that can get up to two hundred miles per gallon of fuel. Though it may seem like three-dimensional printing is as simple as pressing print but unlike conventional two-dimensional printing the process can be a bit more complicated. “It begins, with software that takes a series of digital slices through a computer model of an object. The shape of each slice is used selectively to harden a layer of light-sensitive liquid, usually with ultraviolet light, to form the required shape. After each layer has been made, the build tray lowers by a fraction, another layer of liquid is added and the process is repeated until the object is complete”. (Gradual build-up 2013) In order to have the ability to print what you want from a three-dimensional printer it takes great skills with computer aided design software but it’s worth the time to learn because of it potential benefits