STEM Cafe talk explores future of 3-D printing
The technology in your home office probably allows users to print letters and photos, but what if you wanted to print 3-D toys, bracelets or even dinner for your family?
Advances in 3-D printing are actually allowing researchers and average folks to print everything from car parts to body parts. At the next STEM Café, visitors can find out how 3-D printing actually works and how it is changing lives.
STEM Café's "The 3-D Printing Revolution" will take place from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 18, at Rock Bottom Brewery, 28256 Diehl Road in Warrenville. The casual, family-friendly event is free; food and drinks will be for sale from Rock Bottom.
The event is organized by Northern Illinois University's STEM Outreach, promoting interest in science, technology, engineering and math.
Speaker Federico Sciammarella is associate professor of mechanical engineering in Northern Illinois University's College of Engineering and Engineering Technology.
Sciammarella's research focuses on laser-enabled manufacturing. He is a member of America Makes Roadmap Advisory Group for Additive Manufacturing and 3-D Printing, and he recently was awarded a National Institute of Standards and Technology grant for $2.4 million for measurement science in additive manufacturing.
Additive manufacturing is the industry standard term for the process by which 3-D printers create objects. These printers work from a digital, three-dimensional design and create objects by depositing materials layer by layer. This is different than traditional milling, where an object would be created by removing material from a solid block. The difference is what makes 3-D printing greener than traditional manufacturing methods, Sciammarella says.
"Additive manufacturing builds parts with only the necessary amount of material," he says.
As technology continues to evolve and improve, Sciammarella sees additive manufacturing as a way to reduce costs and prevent waste in the manufacturing process.
Sciammarella says the goal of his talk is to help people understand the current landscape of research and industry in additive manufacturing.
Researchers are working on commercial applications such as printing cars, shoes and hamburgers, he says. They also are working on medical applications that seem right out of a science fiction novel: printing human skin, kidneys and even hearts.
"There are a lot of neat things that are happening, but we have a long road ahead to make it better," Sciammarella says.
One of the most exciting aspects of 3-D printing is that the technology is coming of age during a do-it-yourself movement. People can use open-source plans to make their own 3-D printers. While do-it-yourself systems can cost as little as a few hundred dollars, Sciammarella says, the more sophisticated systems can cost more than $1 million.
With this technology becoming less and less expensive, the applications of 3-D printing and the innovations it can spawn will continue to grow.
The STEM Café series is just one of the many engaging events NIU STEM Outreach hosts to increase public awareness of the critical role that STEM fields play in everyday lives.
For information on upcoming STEM Cafés and other events from NIU STEM Outreach, contact Judith Dymond at (815) 753-4751 or jdymond@niu.edu.
If you go
What: "The 3-D Printing Revolution," a STEM Cafe discussion organized by NIU STEM Outreach
When: 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 18
Where: Rock Bottom Brewery, 28256 Diehl Road, Warrenville
Admission: Free
Info: (815) 753-4751, jdymond@niu.edu or niu.edu/stem/