Winsun is a chinese R&D company specialising in 3D printing architecture and building materials. In 2013, the firm made global headlines building 10 houses in a day with a proprietary mix of cement, sand, and recycled materials. It has built deluxe villas, houses with classical or modern courtyards, transportable buildings at Suzhou Industrial Park in Jiangsu, China (pictured above). Made with only 40 percent of the materials that a traditional construction requires, in 30 percent of the time, it represents massive savings in labor and material costs. The company holds 129 national patents. Image by VCG/VCG via Getty Images
Canadian province Saskatoon’s newest cafe has more than just coffee. Create Cafe has several 3D printers, including the largest one in North America. In the past two years, a growing number of farmers from the region have been coming in to 3D print custom or replacement pieces, rather than waiting weeks on end for orders to arrive.“There’s lots of electronics involved, tons of very small pieces, everything needs to work together,” Create Cafe co-owner Lance Greene explained to GlobalNews.ca,. “If the littlest thing fails, you might get sensor errors causing issues, but with 3D printer technology, you can fix a lot of those problems yourself.” One farmer has even bought a 3D printer of his own. Image by Tyler Olson/Shutterstock
Engineer Chang Hsien-Liang, 46, fits a 3D-printed prosthetic hand, which he designed and built, on Angel Peng, 8, who injured her hand in a scalding accident when she was nine months old, in Taoyuan, Taiwan, May 8, 2017. Chang himself had lost his right forearm in a factory accident four years ago. The artificial limbs he tried were either too basic or very expensive. Despite a lack of medical training, he watched online videos, bought a 3D printer and built his prosthetic arm successfully after many attempts. Chang then decided to help others. Image by Tyrone Siu/Reuters
Reliance Industries in its latest annual report said it has developed capabilities to design and print a wide range of products using 3D printing technology—in both plastic and metal—from prototypes to functional parts. PTI reports that Reliance is investing in setting up India’s first carbon fibre manufacturing unit to cater to aerospace and defence needs as well as the specialty industrial applications like railways and metros. The newly launched Reliance Composites Solutions (RCS) will design and administer low-cost and high-volume products such as modular toilets and homes to support the Swachh Bharat Mission, disaster relief measures and Housing for All programmes initiated by the Indian Government. Image by Danish Siddiqui/Reuters
French engineer and professional violinist Laurent Bernadac plays the ‘3Dvarius’, a 3D printed electric violin made of of transparent resin in Paris, France, September 11, 2015. The violin is based on the model of the renowned Stradivarius, but Bernadac considers it a new kind of musical instrument and told Wired that he hopes “violinists will create new sounds and new playing techniques, and a new musical repertoire". Image by Christian Hartmann/Reuters
At the Lansing Delta Township assembly plant of General Motors, much of assembly tooling would be machined from metal, costing hundreds, or often thousands of dollars to produce. About three years ago, GM acquired a polymer 3D printer costing in the region of $35,000. It has since reported an expected cost saving of over $300,000, according to a Automotive News. For example, an outsourced tool, used to align engine and transmission vehicle identification numbers usually cost the plant about $3,000. It cost less than $3 to make one using 3D printing. Image by Rebecca Cook/Reuters
Four year old Elif Ada, born with a visual impairment due to a genetic disease poses for a photo with her new, 3D printed eyeglasses in Ankara, Turkey on April 18, 2018. After a series of surgical operations, the specialists (from Gulhane Training and Research Hospital, Department of Opthalmology in cooperation with Medical Design and Production Center) made eyeglasses that fit her face anatomy for now. Her treatment involving plastic surgeries will continue after she turns six. Image by Binnur Ege Gurun/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
In Britain is testing robots with 3D printers that can fill in potholes within a minute. Leeds City Council is working with a team from University College London to pioneer the concept of ‘self-repairing cities’. A fleet of autonomous road vehicles or drones will scan roads looking for cracks and fix them before potholes develop. Upon spotting a crack in the road, a robot with an attached 3D printer will be able to spray asphalt into a crack in the road to repair it, all within a minute. Experts said that the autonomous vehicles or drones could operate at night, completing their work at night in order to avoid daily road closures that can severely disrupt traffic. Image by Ben Birchall/PA Images via Getty Images
