Running head: 3D PRINTING

3D Printing
3D Printing Related to the Keck Center
Rasmus Maukonen
The University of Texas at El Paso

RWS_1302
Dr. Paul Vierra
16 October 2016

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Abstract

The 3D printing has become one of the most significant technologies in the studies of
engineering in past 20 years. Yet, it has not revolute the technology industry. It could be
assumed that in the near future the 3D printing and its applications will be more popular and
those will impact almost every peoples daily basis. In the bigger picture, the 3D printing could
affect in our laws and spending, if it revolute the whole industry. Here, in the University of
Texas at El Paso, the Keck Center is developing 3D printing to the new level with the latest
technologies that are available. All these together are signs how the 3D printing is coming into
our lives in the near future. The world is full of problems that, and 3D printing can actually
increase them or in the best scenario solve most of them.

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Introduction

3D printing was something that many people did not know 20 years ago. We have seen
how the cinemas have taken 3D movies in play in last 10 years. How many people thought that
3D will be something that we could actually print in real life by that time? In Finland, it is not
common that 3D printing labs are in schools, not as yet. But here in El Paso, UTEP has a lab for
3D printing that is called Keck Center. 3D printing is slowly but surely becoming one of the
main studies for engineering and design majors in the universities. Better technology and better
resources have made possible to develop something where you can actually print parts or even
small assemblies straight out of the printer in 3D shape. The future will show how 3D
applications, especially printing, will change peoples lives in daily basis. By using several
sources this literature review will examine 3D printing and its impact in the world.
In order to write a good literature review, it has to present the possible answers to specific
research questions. This literature review will provide information and try to reach new
knowledges by answering three different questions. The questions will give to reader more
information about the main topic which is 3D printing related to the Keck Center. First, in order
to relate Keck Center to this topic, we have to be able to answer questions that will give more
information about 3D printing itself. Is the 3D printing useful in our lives? Will it actually have
any effects to people lives now or in the future? Those two questions are the main questions this
literature review will try to answer to and after that we will conclude the literature review by
answering to question about the Keck Center itself and how it could become better. Under the
three research questions:

Is 3D printing part of our future?

How 3D printing will impact peoples lives?

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What could Keck Center develop in order to become better 3D printing lab?

This literature review will examine 3D printing by using several sources.

How 3D printing will impact peoples lives?
If 3D printing become popular, it will impact peoples lives both, good and bad way. In
order to answer to this questions, this literature review is using many sources where the authors
are arguing that 3D printing is going to change peoples lives. However, it is not always so
simple and sometimes arguments will leave room to disagree with it.
This research question has divided the opinions if people lives will be affected by 3D
printing. Lipson and Kurman (2013) have a point that 3D printing technologies could change our
life (preface), but it also has to remember how almost every each of examples where this
technology has been used are in specialized circumstances. As Lipson and Kurman (2013) said
that 3D printer has produced stuff for an Olympic athletes or NASAs equipment (p. 7), it does
not mean that the 3D printing will change our lives or our laws or our economy. Of course it has
to give some time and see if the 3D printing comes inexpensive enough to make it to actual
market where normal customer could go and buy 3D printed products or even the printer itself.
The speculation is always good but the future is nothing but random. We have to remember that
the book was published in 2013, and yet nothing spectacular has not happened what comes to 3D
printing or it applications. Has anyone seen even any commercials about it?
While Lipson and Kurman (2013) says that 3D printing will change our lives (preface),
Dym and Brown (2012) do not think that 3D printing is the life changing objective (p. 1). They
believe that most important thing in engineering design is how to represent the products. They
have a point in their claim, but the question that must be asked is: Is that the direction where the
engineering world and field is going to? If that is true, is it part of the process where designers

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represent product designs that could be 3D printed? Assuming it is the case, then the 3D printing
could get a big approach in this field.
Ehrenberg (2013) was right when she claimed that 3D printing products can be made if
person can just imagine it in his or her mind, which the in the simplest way has described in the
picture below, but on the other hand, is it possible that the person can think what she or he wants
to print out. Deeper meaning of that is that could you 3D print a car with all details that a car has
to have in order to be a complete vehicle. It is hard to just think about anything that has multiple
parts that create very complicated assembly. However, we could accept Ehrenbergs claim
because the 3D printers and its technology has been evolving and nowadays more and more
complicated items are being able to printed out just by designing them with an application or
software. But how this would impact people lives? People have noticed that this could be an
easy tool for criminals to manufacture guns or ammos for example without anyone being
noticed about it. As shown in the picture below the imagination of people mind can create a cube
and print it out, so why not imagine a gun and print it out too. There are risks like that which
could cause some scary scenarios in everyone lives. That is the dark side of the 3D printing if
and only if it comes so popular that even the laws cant protect how people would use it.

Photo 1 Picture showing what Ehrenberg is claiming. (Butler 2016)

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Lee (2015) argued that 3D printing technology is one possibility to make a potential
revolution in design of membrane modules and could decrease chemicals and energy
consumption in seas (p. 481). This argument is very large and can sound fancy to readers ear.
Authors are promising a lot if the technology of 3D printing would be working perfectly. On the
other hand, seawater garbage and wastewater have been problem during recent decades. If 3D
printing technologies could provide some kind of solution to this problem we would not be
talking anymore about changing people's lives, we would be talking about changing the world.
Actually, making the world better place to live and with strong words, saving the world. If 3D
printing technologies could reduce the energy usage, it could impact to peoples lives
significantly. Assuming that the technology would become cheap for customers, many laws
could be make in order to force people to use this technology because it saves energy and would
not hurt our world and climate. If Lees (2015) argument could be executed, that would be the
big approach from engineers to create something that decreases multiple problems.
Poetzel (2012) claims that high school students would be design 3D sculptures instead of
playing video games on a computer if the 3D printing would come available in schools (p. 103).
What Poetzel claims here is what every parent and teacher are hoping that the students would do,
but the reality is different. Since game consoles and games became more popular, children have
been using their free time on them instead of playing outside for example. The possibility of
having 3D printers available for students in high school would be great but in order to make it
work, the high schools should make 3D printing classes to mandatory at first place. Maybe doing
that, the students would start liking what they actually do in class and some of them could start
designing and printing during free time too. Mostly this could impact to students that are already

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interested in art and math, so that they could actually see and touch their creations in their own
hands.
Is 3D printing part of our future?
When talking about the technology, nothing is 100 percent sure if it will work or not.
This is the biggest concern when talking about id 3D printing will be the part of our future. This
section of literature review is trying to explain how 3D printing could be part of our future. Most
of the arguments that the authors are going to represent includes many buts.
If 3D printing become more popular, the applications and technologies are already there
in many industries to allow 3D printing to take next big approach in our future. According to
Chen, X (2015) the new type of fabrics called hollow woven, could be manufactured in 3D
dimensions. She added that this could be only possible if the certain rules will be followed. As
has been proved before, 3D printing and technology is growing and might be part of our future or
even cause a new industrial revolution, this technology could be very useful when wanting to
create 3D products from fabrics and will include more than just one layer of fabric itself. As her
essays topic says, advances in 3D textiles, it could fast forward the evolution of the textile
materials being 3D printed.
In the second essay from the same collection, Chen, X (2015) argues that from twodimensional plane, the truss configuration could be form 3D form (p. 99). That makes sense
because there are many softwares like solidworks, NX-10, or even AutoCAD which using a
designer is design a part or a product first in two-dimensional plane, in engineering world these
mean XY-plane, YZ-plane, or XZ-plane, and then revolving the created plane about the chosen
axis the designer will create the designed product in three-dimensional dimension. Although,

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with fabrics, this could be another application in the future of 3D printing, because it is new
concept in the concept of fabrics.
For a long time, the protective clothes and armors have been using 2D material instead of
3D, claimed Chen, X (2015) (p. 9). She also noticed that the biggest reason of it was that the
armors had to be easy to wear and not cost too much. Nowadays the policemen safety has been
decreased because of their act or criminals act (leave this to readers mind to decide), so question
could be asked if they should get the better and more safe clothes to wear or not. 3D printed
fabrics could allow the armors to be more complicated and more protect but not necessarily
cheap at all. There is the problem, and the only answer will be that how long it will take to 3D
printing to become more popular in the industrial so that the armors could be made for
reasonable price. Lipson and Kurman (2013) argued that the 3D printing will change our
economy, so that could be interesting to see if it drops the prices of two dimensional products or
will the three dimensional products be the only option in the markets in the future? Chen, X
(2015) had at least a one target where the 3D printing clothes could be used in order to make
someones job safer.
According to Emerson (2013), 3D printing would be able to revolute the manufacturing
of products in the world. She mentions that what if the 3D printer would start and make copies of
itself. Obviously, this is only as called what if speculation but it makes people to rethink
things. Will the engineers let this kind of revolution happen? If so, the whole world could be
different and yes, the 3D printing would be really big part of our future. It would also change a
lot in the world we are living at. As she mentioned that the manufacturing would be totally
different. Who would buy new plates or for example shirts if everyone could design and print
their own inside the own house. This is where the world leaders would step up and maybe limit

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this kind of manufacturing to not to happen. Who knows how, but for example light bulbs could
work forever, but still the companies have made a deal not to manufacture light bulbs that works
forever. Maybe some limitations like that one could be made in this case too.
Chen and Gao (2016) made a point that 3D laser printing could allow designers to create
physical products by using computer programs (p. 189). Laser printing is the most accurate
printing application that world knows so far. And by knowing that the computer software like
CAD, CAE and CAM which Chen and Cao (2016) mention in the introduction have always had
the ability to straight 3D print designs from the software itself. In this case, the laser printing
would make a great impact to the future of 3D printing because it could offer the best product
that is available in the technology. 3D printed parts and products have not been the best quality,
but the laser could insure the best quality. Future of 3D printing will absolutely include in the
laser 3D printing because in 2D technology we have had laser printers for a long time.
What could Keck Center develop in order to become better 3D printing lab?
Keck Center have been constantly developed their 3D printing laboratory. This, the last
research question of the literature review will focus on recent history of the Keck Center. What
has happened and what has changed in more importantly, what will be done in the future.
In order to become better 3D printing lab, Keck Center should keep growing and hire
more people and make sure that people at UTEP and around the city of El Paso knows what it is
and what they are doing. According to the Lab profile: The W.M. keck center (2016), UTEPs
only 3D printing lab is the Keck Center. That is true since there are no other 3D printing
laboratories on campus. The writer also argues that the lab is unique because in the lab there
could be printed out surgical models and engineering products. Grunewald (2015) already
mentioned how UTEPs Keck Center got a grant to build new 3D printer which will give more

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credibility to the laboratory itself. Building new machine which is rare in the whole United States
is something that makes Keck Center very unique. Writer (unknown) also mentions that the
Keck Center has become very large laboratory, including a lot of space which has created the
chance to hire more workers and staff members. The author (unknown) said that the laboratory
has over 60 students who are working as researchers in the laboratory which is making the
laboratory better and better every day.
According to Grunewald (2015), the America Makes provided over $2 million grant to
the UTEPs Keck Center. In order to develop the Keck Center to be better and modern day 3D
printing lab this grant will help a lot to satisfy those values. Keck Centers target is to develop as
called all-in-one electronics 3D printer in the lab. In order to become better lab, the UTEPs
Keck Center got the great opportunity to build this new 3D printer. Since the year of 2000, Keck
Center have developed better opportunities in engineering field and especially evolved their 3D
manufacturing. In the future, the best 3D printing laboratories will be able to have constant
manufacturing and opportunities to print in multiple functions in three-dimensional dimensions.
Those are the criterias that Keck Center is trying to provide.
In order to get recent information about the Keck Center a group of engineering students
answered to a little survey before Mechanics of Materials class since the chance to interview
someone in Keck Center did not work out. The survey took place in 11th of the October in 2016.
The result from the survey was pretty good because 34 students answered and 96% of them
answered to all of the questions. The reason why the survey was given in Mechanics of Materials
class was simply because the students in there were engineering majors and most likely would
have knowledge about the Keck Center and 3D printing. According to my fellow students, the
Keck Center could do better job what comes to spreading information that they exist. The result

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showed that some students did not even know or never heard about Keck Center before. On the
other hand, the students who knew about it argued that the 3D printing lab is very functional.
Below the result from the survey.

Have you ever heard about

Keck Center?

How many times have you

visited in Keck Center?

Is it a functional 3D lab?

Yes

Yes, but I
dont know
what it is

No

Zero Once

Yes

Im not
sure

No

25

22

11

14

10

2-3 More
times than
5
times
3

Table 1 the results of the survey

Conclusion
The 3D printing will impact to people lives if the technology keeps growing as it has
been growing last 20 years. Many designers and engineers today are using software that are
supported to 3D printing possibility. One day it will change peoples life in a good and bad way.
It has its pros and cons because 3D printing will allow almost everything and anything to be
printed out, which would make criminality easier and our streets more dangerous. That is why it
might change our laws and also impact in sales. UTEPs Keck Center has been developing its
ability to be a functional 3D printing laboratory and will be developing its research in the future.

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References

Butler, B. (2016). Retrieved from https://3dprint.com/140448/3d-printing-death-exaggerated/

Chen, Z. (2016). Research on the impact of 3D printing on the international supply chain.
Research on the Impact of 3D Printing on the International Supply Chain., , 1-1-16.
doi:10.1155/2016/4173873

Chen, X. -., Gao, Q., Wang, X. -., & Li, X. -. (2016). Experimental design and parameter
optimization for laser three-dimensional (3-D) printing. Lasers in Engineering (Old City
Publishing), 33(1-3), 189-196. Retrieved from http://0search.ebscohost.com.lib.utep.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=112541736&site=
ehost-live&scope=site

Chen, X. (2015). Hollow three-dimensional woven fabrics. Advances in 3D textiles ().

Cambridge, UK: Woodhead Publishing Limited, in association with the Textile Institute.
Retrieved from http://0-www.sciencedirect.com.lib.utep.edu/science/book /9781782422143

Chen, X. (2015). Nodal three-dimensional woven textiles. Advances in 3D textiles (). Cambridge,
UK: Woodhead Publishing Limited, in association with the Textile Institute.

Chen, X. (2015). Three-dimensional textiles for protective clothing. Advances in 3D textiles ().
Cambridge, UK: Woodhead Publishing Limited, in association with the Textile Institute.

Dym, C. L., & Brown, D. C. (2012). Engineering design: Representation and reasoning. New
York: Cambridge University Press.

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Ehrenberg, R. (2013). THE 3-D PRINTING REVOLUTION: Dreams made real, one layer at a
time. THE 3-D PRINTING REVOLUTION: Dreams made Real, One Layer at a Time,
183(5), 20-20-25.

Emerson, E. (2013). FROM THE EDITOR: 3-D printing poised to hit the mainstream. Science
News, 183(5), 2-2. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/23598815

Grunewald, S. (2015). UTEP receives $2.1 million america makes grant to develop all-in-one
electronics 3D printer. Retrieved from https://3dprint.com/98377/utep-america-makesgrant/

Lab profile: The W.M. keck center for 3D innovation. Retrieved from
http://www.materialstoday.com/lab-profile-keck-center/

Lee, J., Tan, W. S., An, J., Chua, C. K., Tang, C. Y., Fane, A. G., & Chong, T. H. (2016). The
potential to enhance membrane module design with 3D printing technology. Journal of
Membrane Science, 499, 480-490. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.memsci.2015.11.008

Lipson, H., & Kurman, M. (2013). Fabricated :The new world of 3D printing. Indianapolis,
Indiana: John Wiley & Sons.

Poetzel, A., Muskin, J., Munroe, A., & Russell, C. (2012). Three-dimensional printing: A
journey in visualization. The Mathematics Teacher, 106