Masters in Information Systems: 3D Printing Technology Report

This report evaluates the use of 3D printing technology within a medium-sized ICT organization in Australia. It defines 3D printing and explores applications such as additive manufacturing, rapid prototyping, and mass customization. The report analyzes the advantages and disadvantages of these applications, including cost-effectiveness, ease of use, and waste reduction, while also addressing implementation costs and production limitations. The analysis considers the organization's need for cost-effective product design and business expansion. Recommendations are provided based on the potential benefits of 3D printing in manufacturing and its applications in the organization's context. The report also provides a detailed overview of the applications of 3D printing across various industries.

Running head: MASTERS IN INFORMATION IN SYSTEMS
Masters in Information in Systems
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

MASTERS IN INFORMATION IN SYSTEMS
Executive Summary
The purpose of this report is to evaluate the use of 3D printing. The report will address the
advantages and the disadvantages associated with the use of 3D printing technology in different
business organization. The effectiveness of using 3D printing in a medium sized organization of
Australia is needed to be evaluated and for that, the different applications of 3D printing is
analysed in the report. The 3D printing applications that will be suitable for the organization will
be proposed in the report and the recommendations for the organization will be provided at the
end of the report.
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Table of Contents
Introduction..........................................................................................................................3
1. 3D Printing technology: Definition.................................................................................3
2. Application of 3D printing in the organization................................................................6
3. Advantages and Disadvantages of the Proposed Applications........................................7
3.1. Benefits and Issues of Additive Manufacturing.......................................................8
3.2. Benefits and Issues of Rapid Prototyping.................................................................9
3.3. Benefits and Issues of Mass Customization...........................................................10
Conclusion.........................................................................................................................11
Recommendations..............................................................................................................12
References..........................................................................................................................13
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Introduction
3D printing is a term that describes the production of tangible products with the help of
digitally controlled machine and tools. The process of 3D printing incorporates selective
addition of the thin layers one after another instead of machining from the solid material objects.
Researches prove that the technology of 3D printing has potential to bring in a much needed
change in the traditional manufacturing process (Campbell & Ivanova, 2013). This is the reason
why 3D printing is considered as a truly disruptive technology which is exploited only by a small
number of global adopters. The purpose of this report is to investigate the advantages of 3D
printing so that the report can be drafter in the next meeting of a medium sized ICT organization.
The organisation was established 10 years ago and currently the organization serves both
corporate and the retail clients. The organization is planning to make use of 3D printing as a way
of designing costs effective products. The decision will be mainly based on the effectiveness
with which 3D printing can have a variety of applications in manufacturing. Since the use of 3D
printing might provide an effective and efficient way to expand the business, it is necessary to
investigate the technology of 3D printing in an effective manner. The report will analyse five
different applications of 3D printing and will propose three applications that is based on 3D
printing. The potential advantages and disadvantages of using 3D printing applications will
further be analysed from a legal and social point of view in the report.
1. 3D Printing technology: Definition
3D printing can be defined as an action or process by which a physical object can be
created with a three dimensional model by lying down thin layers of materials in succession. It
can further be defined as an additive manufacturing process of developing a 3 dimensional object
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by making use of a digital file. The digital file that is used for 3D printing is mainly prepared
with the help of a computer aided software or CAD. The concept of 3D printing is mainly used
for both rapid prototyping and additive manufacturing. The 3D object is created by applying the
successive layers of the materials for creation of the object. Although in earlier days, 3D printing
was considered one of the expensive technologies, and therefore, this technology has limited
adoption. However, in recent times, the technology of 3D printing has emerged as one of the cost
effective options of developing a 3D model. However, the process is quite complex but the
implementation is not.
There are a number of applications of 3D printing technology. In order to understand the
process and definition of 3D printing, the various applications of this technology is needed to be
evaluated. The different applications of 3D printing technology are as follows-
1. Additive Manufacturing: Additive manufacturing is a significant application of 3D
printing (Gross et al., 2014). The application is termed as additive manufacturing as it builds by
adding layer upon layer of material. The material can be plastic, metal concrete or human tissues.
2. Rapid Prototyping: It is an application of 3D printing and is used for developing
prototypes. The industrial level 3D printers make use of this technology is development of
prototypes and all commercial organizations make use of the 3D printing application.
3. Rapid Manufacturing: The technology of 3D printing has its application in the field
of rapid manufacturing as well. 3D printing is therefore adopted in manufacturing organization
as well.
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4. Agile Tooling: Agile tooling is a design tooling that helps in faster prototyping. With
the help of agile tooling the injection moulding can be done quite easily (Compton & Lewis,
2014).
5. Mass Customization: With the help of web based customization software mass
customization is possible with the help of 3D printing.
These are the major applications of 3D printing technology. Additive manufacturing and
rapid prototyping are the important applications of 3D printing that makes the process of
developing prototypes much easier. The use of 3D printing however, is not limited to
manufacturing industry, but also used in Aerospace industry, consumer goods industry, medical
industry, education industry and mould industry as well.
There are a number of applications that make use of 3D printing technology in medical.
3D printing is used in medical applications such as tissue and organ fabrication, in creation of the
customized prosthetics and implants and development of anatomical models (Bose, Vahabzadeh
& Bandyopadhyay, 2013). These applications of 3D printing in medical provide benefits of
customization and personalization of the different medical products. The industrial adoption of
3D printing ranges Aerospace design to healthcare.
Therefore the use of 3D printing will definitely be beneficial to the organization in
consideration and therefore, the organization should definitely include 3D printing application in
their business. The different 3D printing applications that the company can suitably use to
expand its business in next five years is discussed in the following section.
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2. Application of 3D printing in the organization
The use and adoption of 3D printing is widespread and therefore the particular
organization can be benefitted with the use of 3D printing technology (Chia & Wu, 2015). The
three processes by which the technology of 3D printing can be used in different organizations are
as follows.
1. Additive Manufacturing AM: Additive manufacturing is an important application of
3D printing that this organization can make use of. Additive manufacturing process has a number
of advantages over traditional manufacturing process where a material is shaped to a desired
product. Additive manufacturing is a process by which several thin layers are added and
combined altogether in order to create a new product. The use of CAD software is quite
significant in development of a digital image that will be used development of the model
(Gebler, Uiterkamp & Visser, 2014). Since the organization is into manufacturing, the
implementation of 3D printing technology will be of a great help to the organization in
manufacturing. The choice of the 3D printing for this organization is appropriate as it helps in
speedy prototyping (Muth et al., 2014). Therefore, the application of additive manufacturing will
be appropriate to consider for the organization.
2. Rapid Prototyping: This is another application of 3D printing that will be suitable for
the application in this organization. Rapid prototyping will help this organization to develop the
prototype of the product quite easily. With rapid prototyping, the development of the prototype
parts and models can be easily prepared. One of the most promising benefits of making use of
rapid prototyping in this organization is that it will provide the organization with the ability of
developing customized products. For doing so, no special tools are needed. The use of CAD
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software can help in developing the required design of the prototype. Rapid prototyping is an
important technique of fabricating a model of prototype from a CAD file. Therefore the choice of
3D printing in this organization for rapid prototyping is justified. Rapid prototyping helps in
quick building and evaluation of a series of prototypes that helps in determining how the actual
product will look like. This will prevent the organization in designing any flawed structure and
will in turn help the organization in gaining a competitive advantage.
3. Mass Customization: mass customization is an application that will be a significant
use to the said manufacturing industry. With mass customization, the organization can produce
unique goods at a large scale (Petrick & Simpson, 2013). This technique enables a firm to
produce a large array of variety of products so that organization can achieve a competitive
advantage in the market.
Mass customization helps in mass production as with an advanced production line,
thousands of products of different varieties can be developed. Mass customization allows the
manufacturer to offer a number of customization packages to the customer. Furthermore, there
are a number of applications of mass customization as well (Klein, Lu & Wang, 2013). For
example, a footwear firm offers its customers a design tool that can be used by them in
customizing there footwears.
3. Advantages and Disadvantages of the Proposed Applications
There are a number of applications of 3D printing technology, out of which three
applications are proposed for the organization under consideration. There are a number of
advantages and disadvantages associated with the use of those applications of 3D printing in the
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manufacturing organization. The advantages and disadvantages of making use of the three
applications in the organization is discussed in the following sections.
3.1. Benefits and Issues of Additive Manufacturing
There are a number of benefits of making use of additive manufacturing in this
organization which are as follows-
1. The use of additive manufacturing in the organization will provide a cost effective
solution for the organization (Ladd et al., 2013). The additive manufacturing process provides a
cost effective solution of developing 3D models and therefore, this can be used by the different
organizations.
2. The process 3D printing lacks complexities. The simple operations of 3D printing are
an advantage of adopting this technology.
3. The employees of the organization are not needed to be provided with any prolonged
training and the usage of 3D printing is quite simple.
4. One of the significant advantages of making use of 3D printing is that it reduces the
waste produced in the organizations. This can eventually reduce the expenditure of the
organization.
The above discussed points provide an idea of the advantages that can be gained with the
process of additive manufacturing and its adoption in the organization. However, there are a
number of disadvantages of making use of additive manufacturing in the organization which are
as follows-
1. The initial implementation cost of the system is quite high.
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2. The production process is quite discontinuous as only one part can be printed in a time.
3. Post processing is required for the models that are built with 3D printing.
These are the most significant disadvantages associated with the use of additive
manufacturing in the said organization.
However, there are no ethical, legal or social constraints associated with the use of
additive manufacturing in the organization and therefore, the recommendations of making use of
additive manufacturing is justified.
3.2. Benefits and Issues of Rapid Prototyping
Another Application of 3D printing that is proposed for the organization in consideration.
This application of 3D printing has a number of advantages and disadvantages. The advantages
of making use of rapid prototyping in the organization are as follows (Lipson & Kurman, 2013)-
1. The use of rapid prototyping helps in finalizing the actual look of the design and the
product that will be developed. With the help of rapid prototyping, a client will be able to have a
preview of the final product that will be delivered to them.
2. Another significant benefit of making use of rapid prototyping is that it helps in
searching for the flaws in the design or development stage of a product that is designed.
3. The use of rapid prototyping helps in high speed prototyping thus enhancing the speed
of manufacturing.
4. Apart from that the use of rapid prototyping provides a cost effective solution to the
client.
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With the number of advantages, there are certain disadvantages of making use of rapid
prototyping, which are as follows-
1. Inability of replication of the original system is a significant disadvantage of rapid
prototyping as only a prototype of the system can be developed.
2. Additive manufacturing is not suitable in manufacturing of larger products which is a
significant disadvantage of rapid prototyping.
However, there are no ethical legal or social issues associated with the use of rapid
prototyping in the organization and therefore, the choice of rapid prototyping in the organization
is quite justified.
3.3. Benefits and Issues of Mass Customization
The benefits and the issues associated with mass customization are as follows
(Mikołajewska et al., 2014)-
1. Mass customization provides a cost effective solution to the organization.
2. Mass customization helps in improving the experiences of the customers as unique
products can be delivered.
3. The use of mass customization in the organization helps an organization in gaining a
competitive advantage.
However, there are a number of disadvantages associated with the use of mass
customization in organizations which are as follows-
1. The process sometimes can be quite complex.
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2. This option often lacks feasibility in different organizations.
However, the use of mass customization in organization has no legal, ethical or social
issues. Therefore the choice of mass customization for the organization is justified.
Conclusion
The report gives an overview of the use of 3D printing in different organizations. It is a
technology of adding materials layer by layer in order to develop a solid structure or prototype.
3D printing helps in creating a 3D dimensional model from a CAD file. 3D printing can
therefore be considered an action of making a three dimensional physical object from a digital
model by adding many layers of materials in succession. The report gives an idea that the use of
3D printing has increased over the years. The process of 3D printing has a potential of changing
the entire process of traditional manufacturing. 3D printing is an emerging technology that can
be used for the benefits of different business organization. The use of 3D printing therefore is
beneficial for the organizations. The report discusses the different benefits of 3D printing
technology, which are additive manufacturing, rapid prototyping and mass customization. The
use of 3D printing has a number of applications in different industries such as medical,
engineering, manufacturing and aerospace. The use of 3D printing has mostly benefitted the
medical industry which is discussed in the report. Therefore, the use and adoption of the 3D
printing technology in this organization is justified. The report further discusses the benefits of
making use of the 3D printing and its application and a number of disadvantages of the
applications of 3D printing are further discussed in the report. Since any of the proposed
application of 3D printing for this organization has no legal, ethical or social issues, the choice of
3D printing technology for the organization is justified. Further recommendations for the
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organization is made in the following section in order to increase the efficiency in the process of
adopting 3D printing in the organization.
Recommendations
This organization of Australia was founded almost ten years ago with head quarters in in
Melbourne. The organization is planning to integrate 3D printing in their operations, for which
certain recommendations are made. The recommendations for the organization are listed below-
1. It is recommended for the organization that additive manufacturing is used so that
wastes can be reduced. The organization is a medium sized organization and therefore use of
additive manufacturing is justified.
2. The employees of the organization should be properly trained about the use of the 3D
printing technology in organization so that the business of the organization can gain a
competitive advantage.
3. Periodic maintenance of 3D printing machines and the systems that will be
implemented in the organization is necessary.
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References
Bose, S., Vahabzadeh, S., & Bandyopadhyay, A. (2013). Bone tissue engineering using 3D
printing. Materials today, 16(12), 496-504.
Campbell, T. A., & Ivanova, O. S. (2013). 3D printing of multifunctional nanocomposites. Nano
Today, 8(2), 119-120.
Chia, H. N., & Wu, B. M. (2015). Recent advances in 3D printing of biomaterials. Journal of
biological engineering, 9(1), 4.
Compton, B. G., & Lewis, J. A. (2014). 3D‐printing of lightweight cellular
composites. Advanced materials, 26(34), 5930-5935.
Gebler, M., Uiterkamp, A. J. S., & Visser, C. (2014). A global sustainability perspective on 3D
printing technologies. Energy Policy, 74, 158-167.
Gross, B. C., Erkal, J. L., Lockwood, S. Y., Chen, C., & Spence, D. M. (2014). Evaluation of 3D
printing and its potential impact on biotechnology and the chemical sciences.
Klein, G. T., Lu, Y., & Wang, M. Y. (2013). 3D printing and neurosurgery—ready for prime
time?. World neurosurgery, 80(3), 233-235.
Ladd, C., So, J. H., Muth, J., & Dickey, M. D. (2013). 3D printing of free standing liquid metal
microstructures. Advanced Materials, 25(36), 5081-5085.
Lipson, H., & Kurman, M. (2013). Fabricated: The new world of 3D printing. John Wiley &
Sons.
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Mikołajewska, E., Macko, M., Ziarnecki, Ł., Stańczak, S., Kawalec, P., & Mikołajewski, D.
(2014). 3D printing technologies in rehabilitation engineering.
Muth, J. T., Vogt, D. M., Truby, R. L., Mengüç, Y., Kolesky, D. B., Wood, R. J., & Lewis, J. A.
(2014). Embedded 3D printing of strain sensors within highly stretchable
elastomers. Advanced Materials, 26(36), 6307-6312.
Petrick, I. J., & Simpson, T. W. (2013). 3D printing disrupts manufacturing: how economies of
one create new rules of competition. Research-Technology Management, 56(6), 12-16.
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