我認(rèn)為3D打印的確有其迷人之處，但是請(qǐng)不要過度炒作或自我陶醉，甚至因此產(chǎn)生夸大不實(shí)的想法。 3D打印的魅力似乎源于幾種概念的結(jié)合。首先， 3D打印是一種快速又簡單的材料添加過程。其次，機(jī)器能因應(yīng)裝配需求'印制'出單一零件從而實(shí)現(xiàn)自行復(fù)制的可能性──這種自行復(fù)制的想法以往自發(fā)生在生物系統(tǒng)中。 但是，讓我們更進(jìn)一步來看看。 3D打印聽來似乎相當(dāng)奇妙，但我們可以只把它稱為3D添加制造嗎？在一般情況下，一臺(tái)可自行打印的機(jī)器只能制造出比機(jī)器本身小的復(fù)制品──就像母親生出小嬰兒一樣。一些采用特殊拓墣的情況不在此列，例如能擠壓出香腸形子機(jī)器的環(huán)形機(jī)器。 但在傳統(tǒng)與一般情況下，我們可以看到可自我復(fù)制的機(jī)器并不是真的采用3D打印技術(shù)。3D打印機(jī)可復(fù)制出一款元件的復(fù)制品，但仍需要其它機(jī)器或透過人力來進(jìn)行組裝，才能制造出全尺寸的復(fù)制品。 即使這忽略了一個(gè)重要的考慮因素：用于3D 打印的原料通常與控制原料(即3D打印機(jī)的材料)的材質(zhì)不同。所以，3D打印機(jī)通常用金屬與塑料制造，而制造出塑料制成的元件。最后，3D打印的方便性通常會(huì)因?yàn)椴牧系膹?qiáng)韌度與耐久性而折衷。 3D打印技術(shù)能產(chǎn)生出吸引人的產(chǎn)品模型以及3D可視化，甚至是工具箱、齒輪、杠桿等元件，但它也不是萬能的。對(duì)于大部份工業(yè)應(yīng)用中昂貴的全金屬模具以及高強(qiáng)韌度的專用材料制造，仍然需要采用經(jīng)驗(yàn)證可靠的方法才行。 在制造模型、小型元件、輕型機(jī)器與原型方面，3D打印非常有幫助，而且能讓學(xué)術(shù)領(lǐng)域以及具有某種愛好的人也能負(fù)擔(dān)得起小量生產(chǎn)一些復(fù)雜形狀的元件。但根據(jù)我們對(duì)于幾百年來發(fā)展出的材料科學(xué)的了解，工程學(xué)是一門復(fù)雜的學(xué)科，3D打印還不至于使這個(gè)產(chǎn)業(yè)完全轉(zhuǎn)型。 本文授權(quán)編譯自EE Times，版權(quán)所有，謝絕轉(zhuǎn)載 編譯：Susan Hong 參考英文原文：Taking the Hype out of 3D Printing，by Peter Clarke, European News Director

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{pagination} Taking the Hype out of 3D Printing Peter Clarke, European News Director There is something fascinating about 3D printing, but I think some of that fascination and resulting hyperbole is misplaced. The fascination seems to stem from the conjunction of a couple of ideas. One is that 3D printing is a quick and easy additive process. The second is the possibility that a machine could "print" the piece parts for its own assembly therefore suggesting the idea of self-replication, something that was previously only associated with biological systems. But let's look a little closer. Would 3D printing seem quite so marvelous if we simply called it 3D additive manufacturing? Also, in the general case a machine that could print itself could only make smaller copies of itself -- just as a mother makes a baby. I am excluding special topological cases, such as a donut-shaped machine that could extrude a sausage-shaped daughter-machine designed to then curl up to form a full-sized repeat of the mother-machine. But in the conventional and general case we can see that self-replicating machines are not really enabled by 3D printing. For sure, a 3D printer could make the piece parts for a copy of itself, but it would still require other machines -- or humans -- to assemble the piece parts together to make the full-sized replica. And even this neglects one important consideration: that the material that is feedstock for 3D printing generally has to be different from the material that is used to manipulate that feedstock, that is, the material from which the 3D printer is made. So, typically 3D printers made from metal (for strength) and plastic make parts made of plastic. A final point that rarely seems to be addressed directly is that the convenience of 3D printing usually comes with a tradeoff in terms of the strength and durability of the material. 3D printing can produce fantastic models and 3D visualizations and even functioning boxes, cogs, levers, and piece parts, but it is not a panacea. For most industrial applications expensive full-metal tooling and specialized high-strength materials fabricated using tried-and-trusted methods are still required. 3D printing is a useful additional technique for creating models, widgets, lightweight machines, and prototypes, and it makes these complex shapes affordable in low numbers in the academic and hobbyist environments. But engineering remains a complex discipline, and that means that 3D printing it is not about to completely transform industries based on an understanding of materials science built up over hundreds of years.