3D printing technology emerged in the mid-1990s and represents the latest advancement in rapid prototyping, utilizing techniques such as photocuring and paper stacking. It operates on a principle similar to traditional printing, where the printer uses "printing materials" such as liquid or powder. Connected to a computer, the printer stacks these materials layer by layer under computer control, transforming a digital blueprint into a physical object. This technology is known as 3D stereolithography.
In 1986, American scientist Charles Hull developed the first commercial 3D printing machine. In 1993, MIT obtained a patent for 3D printing technology. By 1995, the American company ZCorp secured exclusive rights from MIT and began developing 3D printers. In 2005, ZCorp successfully launched the Spectrum Z510, the first high-definition color 3D printer on the market.
In November 2010, the Jim Kor team from the United States unveiled the world's first 3D-printed car, named the Urban. [7] On June 6, 2011, the world's first 3D-printed bikini was released. In July 2011, British researchers developed the world's first 3D chocolate printer. In August 2011, engineers at the University of Southampton created the world's first 3D-printed aircraft. In November 2012, Scottish scientists used human cells to print artificial liver tissue for the first time using a 3D printer. [9]
In October 2013, a 3D-printed artwork called "ONO God" was successfully auctioned for the first time globally. In November 2013, SolidConcepts, a 3D printing company based in Austin, Texas, designed and manufactured a 3D-printed metal pistol.
Starting August 1, 2018, 3D-printed firearms became legal in the United States, and design files for 3D-printed handguns became freely available online. [11] On December 10, 2018, Russian astronauts printed the thyroid gland of experimental mice under zero gravity using a 3D biological printer on the International Space Station. [12] On January 14, 2019, the University of California, San Diego, published a paper in Nature Medicine detailing the creation of a spinal cord scaffold using rapid 3D printing technology. This scaffold mimics the central nervous system's structure and was implanted into the spinal columns of rats, helping them recover motor function. The scaffold is circular, with a thickness of only two millimeters, and features an H-shaped core surrounded by small channels for guiding neural stem cell and axon growth. [3]
On April 15, 2019, researchers at Tel Aviv University in Israel used a patient's own tissue to 3D-print the world's first "complete" heart, including cells, blood vessels, ventricles, and atria. [13] In March 2022, scientists from the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Canada used 3D technology to print human testicular cells, marking the first signs of promising sperm production. [54] In April 2022, a new 3D printing system was introduced in Nature. This system, developed by American researchers, prints objects in a fixed volume of resin, with the printed object supported entirely by thick resin, allowing for the creation of complex designs while saving time and materials. [55]
In June 2022, a 20-year-old woman from Mexico became the first person to successfully undergo an ear transplant using 3D printing technology. [56] In November 2022, CCTV Military reported that "we have reached a world-leading position in the application of 3D printing technology on airplanes in terms of scale and engineering." [59] In 2022, Yang Zhihua, project leader and doctoral supervisor at the Chongqing Research Institute of Harbin Institute of Technology, led a team to achieve significant breakthroughs in "advanced ceramics and their intelligent manufacturing technology," including the core technology of structural-functional integrated ceramics and large-scale ceramic 3D printing. [60] In 2023, Mendeleev University of Technology in Russia developed a new biopolymer multiphase 3D printing technology. [63] In April 2023, 3D printing was used to create its first circuit in an online worm. [64] In May 2023, an Israeli food technology company successfully produced the world's first artificial fish meat using 3D printing technology, which tasted similar to real fish.