Just Press Print

Imagine waking up one day and—poof!—there’s a new school across the road from your home. Something like that recently happened in a village in Malawi, a country in Africa. No, it wasn’t magic. It was 3-D printing. Last June, the village became home to the world’s first 3-D printed school. Its concrete walls were built in about 18 hours. 

Before the school opened, many kids in the area had to walk miles to reach the nearest school. Other villages in Malawi face the same problem. Now 3-D printed schools can be created in a fraction of the time it takes to build one the usual way. 

The first 3-D printers were developed in the 1980s, and the technology has improved greatly in recent years. 

“3-D printing has come a long way in the last decade,” says Easton LaChappelle. He runs a company that makes a 3-D printed prosthetic arm called TrueLimb. “It’s a lot faster now.”

Around the globe, people are exploring new ways to use 3-D printing to improve our daily lives.

Imagine waking up one day to a surprise. Poof! There’s a new school across the road from your home. Something like that recently happened in a village in Malawi, a country in Africa. No, it wasn’t magic. It was 3-D printing. Last June, the village became home to the world’s first 3-D printed school. Its concrete walls were built in about 18 hours. 

Before the school opened, many kids in the area had to walk miles to reach the nearest school. Other villages in Malawi face the same problem. Now 3-D printed schools can be created in a fraction of the time it takes to build one the usual way. 

The first 3-D printers were developed in the 1980s. The technology has improved greatly in recent years. 

“3-D printing has come a long way in the last decade,” says Easton LaChappelle. He runs a company that makes a 3-D printed prosthetic arm called TrueLimb. “It’s a lot faster now.”

Around the globe, people are exploring new ways to use 3-D printing to improve our daily lives.

A 3-D printer is different from one that uses ink and paper. It uses materials such as plastic or metal to create solid objects that are three-dimensional, which means they have length, width, and height. 

Modern 3-D printing has many advantages over traditional manufacturing, which typically involves making the same object over and over again. With a 3-D printer, you can customize the object that’s being created. 

“You can update and change your designs in minutes and test the changes the same day,” explains LaChappelle. 

Also, 3-D printing enables people to make things when and where they need them. That can save time and money—on Earth and beyond. NASA, the U.S. space agency, sends about 7,000 pounds of spare parts to the International Space Station (ISS) each year. Shipping goods from Earth to space costs about $10,000 a pound. What if astronauts could simply print supplies as needed? NASA has been testing 3-D printers on the ISS since 2014.

Another benefit of 3-D printing is that it creates less waste than traditional manufacturing. The printers use just enough material to make an object without any scraps left over.

These printers can also create complex shapes that many machines can’t. This allows people—and animals—to get prosthetic limbs that are customized for their bodies. Doctors hope to eventually 3-D print human organs. 

A 3-D printer is different from one that uses ink and paper. It uses materials such as plastic or metal to create solid objects. The objects are three-dimensional. That means they have length, width, and height.  

Modern 3-D printing has many advantages over traditional manufacturing, which typically involves making the same object over and over again. With a 3-D printer, you can customize the object that’s being created. 

“You can update and change your designs in minutes and test the changes the same day,” explains LaChappelle. 

Also, 3-D printing lets people make things when and where they need them. That can save time and money. NASA, the U.S. space agency, sends about 7,000 pounds of spare parts to the International Space Station (ISS) each year. Shipping goods from Earth to space costs about $10,000 a pound. What if astronauts could simply print supplies as needed? NASA has been testing 3-D printers on the ISS since 2014.

Another benefit of 3-D printing is that it creates less waste than traditional manufacturing. The printers use just enough material to make an object. There are no scraps left over.

These printers can also create complex shapes that many machines can’t. This allows people and animals to get prosthetic limbs that are customized for their bodies. Doctors hope to eventually 3-D print human organs.