3D Pirating by Mike Wright & Teddy Bruder

Description of Project

3D printing is something that is becoming very popular in future technologies. It will soon be an everyday household item that everyone uses and is proficient at. It will be so common to the point where most of online shopping will be printed at home. This is a very optimistic outlook at what 3D printing will become, but is also not far off of what it can become. This arises the concern for pirating. Once upon a time everyone had to pay for music and movies off the internet, but now everyone downloads everything illegally, and that is what could happen with 3D printing. So we will cover the possibilities of pirating and the protective measures that must be taken into account before it is too late.

Why we Chose Our Project

We chose this project because it is a real possibility and is not far in the future. This is a real issue that could cause pandemonium. People see 3D printing as a very optimistic future and really only think about the wonderful possibilities of 3D printing, never the downsides of 3D printing and the negative effect of it. Plus everyone loves some good drama.

Challenges

Challenges faced during this project will be finding adequate and reliable data to define what the future holds for 3D printing. While 3D printers are a hot technological item currently, there is not much discussion based upon the negative impacts. People are more interested in the possibility of being able to print a pair of boots from amazon rather than consider the impact it has of the postal service or the manufactures. Data may be slim with this look into the subject. Another challenge will be developing or finding restrictions that will be put on these devices to control illegal downloading and printing. If this technology becomes available to the public, overly-restricting the technology will turn people away and reduce the possible advancement in 3D printing. 

Deliverables

For this project the main deliverable will be a paper of 1,750 words or more. A powerpoint project will also be created to present our research and paper.

Relation to Intelligent Buildings

It is possible that 3D printers may one day be capable of printing buildings. While this capability is exciting, it is also dangerous. This project will look deeply into manual labor vs. intelligent buildings and whether or not they can coexist or if the advancement of automated manufacturing will destroy the jobs of manual laborers.  

Project Outline

1. Introduction
1. 3-D printing is a recent development in manufacturing that allows a user to develop a model to be mass produced. This essentially cuts out manufactures of these items. Designers of the models can potentially design, manufacture, and sell the good all in-house. In the future, it may be possible for 3-D printers to be a household item where users can purchase the rights to a model and print at their home. While this technology has great capabilities, it may prove detrimental to many aspects of society.  
2. 3-D Printing- Current State
1. Discuss the current state of 3-D printing and their capabilities.
1. Background information
2. Discuss limitations of current technology.
1. Cost of equipment
2. Ease of use
3. 3-D Printing- Future State
1. Explain what is possible with future technology
1. Future cost
2. Household item possibility
2. Discuss future plans for commercial 3-D printing
1. How will it be incorporated into traditional manufacturing?
3. What is theoretically possible for 3-D printers to achieve?
1. Food
2. Homes
3. Vehicles
4. Pirating
1. Discuss limitations of online piracy in its current state.
2. Explain how being able to access to pirated 3-D plans could affect the industry.
3. Research and explain the potential dangers of this.
1. People illegally downloading weapons.
5. Social Impacts
1. How will the job market be affected if people can print clothing, electronics, or even homes?
2. Will this benefit or harm society in the long run?
6. Regulations
1. What regulations will need to put on 3-D printers in order to stop illegal activities?
2. How will these restrictions limit the capabilities of future 3-D printers?
7. Conclusion

Comment on Other Blog Post
To Dave Barbalace:
I personally think that 3D printing an entire house would be difficult unless they are small in size. I felt like having a 3D printer that big is unpractical and would take as much time to construct as a house would. I look forward to seeing what you come up with and it seems like a very difficult but interesting topic. Over all good post, thorough but short and sweet outline, getting straight to the point so I don't have to read as much, I like that.

To Brian Benson

Brain,

I believe this is a very interesting topic. Most people assume that sustainability and intelligent buildings coincide with each other. It will be interesting to see if that is actually true. I personally believe that sustainability should be a prime concern in intelligent buildings but it is possible that your research may prove otherwise. I look forward to hearing about your results and potential improvements for intelligent building design.