3D printing will one day be in every household like standards printers are now.

3D printing will one day be in every household like standards printers are now.

A few months ago, Professor Abdellah Salhi and his colleague Dr Aris Perperoglou built two RepRap 3D printers in the Department of Mathematical Sciences. They firmly believe that '3D printing will one day be in every household like standards printers are now.' Understand and acquiring this new technology, is the Department's way of showing that we recognise this and are being adaptable. 

Joseph Munroe, an intern working with Professor Salhi, has recently been involved in finding out more about the technology of 3D Printing and the production of basic items which can be used in demonstrating and showing how the 3D Printer works. From a chess piece to a recorder, Joseph has been involved in the cutting edge technology behind the new productions and enjoys working on challenging software to perfect designs. The time taken to produce various items varies between few minutes to few hours. Understandably, it becomes rather frustrating when some items take very long. Equally, it is rewarding to see longer projects complete. 

When asked about the future and the potential of the DMS 3D printers, endless possibilities were discussed such as using them to print 3D graphs and models to improve learning and development as well as hopefully seeing students using them for projects of their own. 

3D Printing is already being used in industry to print parts of classic cars, for instance, and items which are too costly to produce in the old manufacturing way. It has the potential to produce body parts when there are not enough donors to help patients on surgery waiting lists. It has the potential to revolutionise the way manufacturing is carried out now. It is still a budding technology which Maths staff believe is here to stay.