Need to Know: 7 ways 3-D printing will change your life

On this week's "TechKnow," contributor Kosta Grammatis meets 17-year-old inventor Easton LaChappelle, who is using a 3-D printer to create inexpensive alternatives to modern prosthetics. Here are seven things you should know about 3-D printing:

1. What is 3-D printing?
3-D printing, also known as additive printing, is the process by which a materials printer generates layers of materials to create a three-dimensional object from a digital file.

2. 3-D printing is a key component of the "maker" movement.
"The promise of 3-D printing is that you can live in a world where you don't need to buy things, you just make them at your house," Grammatis says. "The big vision behind 3-D printing is that it will replace manufacturing processes. That's really far away, but we're making a lot of inroads, and it's really exciting."

3. Access to 3-D printing is about to take a big leap ...
"There are some key patents that will be expiring soon that I think will make 3-D printing a little more mainstream and a little bit easier to access," Grammatis says. "So far, we've heard of the dream of what 3-D printing can do for the world, and it's mostly been about the future. I think in the next couple of years, that future will be a little bit closer."

4. ... BUT the future usefulness of the technology is still up in the air.
"It definitely has applications," Grammatis explains. "The reason why 3-D printing exists is for rapid prototyping. So you can design something and make it immediately and hold it and see what it's like ... As far as the promise of 3-D printing, it's yet to be (fully) demonstrated for how many years it's been around."

5. 3-D printing is gaining popularity mostly because it's so cool.
"3-D printing is very visually appealing," Grammatis says. "The whole process — there's so much movement. You're watching something being built out of nothing. It's incredibly exciting. I think that's also why camera crews love it and news people love it, because the visuals are great."

6. Consumer 3-D printing may be farther off than you think.
"Right now it's kind of in the hobbyist domain," Grammatis explains. "It's the hobbyists and it's the hard-core scientists. Consumers aren't using 3-D printers and that's where everyone would love to see 3-D printing going. Where everybody has a little printer in their house and they're making their everyday home objects."

7. Keep calm and carry on thinking you'll have a 3-D printer one day.
"It's an evolving technology, but so many promises have been made about what it will be able to do," he concludes. "We're just still waiting for it to do it, which is why I think more explanation is needed. But is it an awesome start? Yes."

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