For the last four years, the College of Engineering has been enriching its array of technology, starting with the acquisition of a 3-D printer.

A 3-D printer uses gypsum and other materials to produce things such as prototypes at a relatively cheap cost. Since the printer’s purchase in 2008, the MU’s lab has grown to contain five different printers. This expansion allows the machine to make a variety of products.

“It gave the opportunity to print in different mediums to satisfy the customers,” said Bill Carter, a supervisor in the College of Engineering. “The customers being students, professors and outside entities.”

The type of object you would want to print determines the choice of printer. The mediums of the printers vary, but can include gypsum, nylon or acrylic.

Using nylon material allows for a more flexible object. Using the gypsum printer allows for movable objects to be created in one piece, as well as with color.

MU is set apart from others in that the university has five different printers and uses them for multiple disciplines, Carter said.

“The 3-D printing technology is not only expanding at the university, but globally,” Carter said. “Printers are starting to appear in high schools.”

Carter predicts that in the next 10 years, the technology will be found at Kinkos.

“Similar to the computer when it first came out, people know what it (is), but can they really make use of it,” Director of Administrative Services Marty Walker said.

The 3-D printing process allows users to create rapid prototyping. The solid objects come from a digital model. All it takes is an idea that can be modeled on a computer using design software and then printed. The printer creates the objects by pouring material in layers that are about half the thickness of a piece of paper. Upon creation, the products cool, and the printer operator clears them of the soft layer of support that encases them. The entire process takes several hours.

In the disciplines of prototypes, 3-D printing has dramatically cut costs. Carter said it costs about $10,000 to produce cell phone cases, but with 3-D printing, creating a prototype costs $100, which lessens the cost impact of errors.

Given these benefits, MU aims to prepare its students to implement their ideas quickly using 3-D printing.

This technology is not limited to the College of Engineering. The printers have enabled the cooperation and advancement across departments from art to architecture, as well as other outside entities, Carter said.

The major collaboration is with the medical department. The printers assist in the medical field, including in eye and back surgeries.

In one instance, MU’s 3-D lab assisted a patient with a spine curvature. Through converting his MRI to a 3-D printed, life-size spine, surgeons were able to look at the spine more closely. He had one surgery, rather than multiple, because of this process.

“It points out the necessity for 3-D printing with the medical community,” Walker said. “It saves money and time.”

The technology allows for the simulation of bones and organs. These prototypes assist in strategizing surgical techniques.

The vast possibility of rapid prototyping has MU encouraging students to take advantage of the technology. Due to the high cost of the machinery, students do not operate the printers, but the lab encourages their designs.

“Anyone with an idea (that) wants to come up with a tangible product, we’ll work with them,” Walker said.

MU only charges for material costs and covers the rest of the expenses. These costs vary with the choice of material and size of the object.

The university hopes that students will be able to realize the potential of the technology.

“Students are going to be head and shoulders above their colleagues by knowing what it is, how to institute and how to save their company money,” Walker said.

As the rapid prototyping lab continues to grow alongside students ideas, the lab looks to one day be able to receive an update that allows two materials to be joined into one object.

Carter said this would allow a prototype of a hand to be made out of material that would allow one to see through to the bone structure beneath.

The possibilities of objects and materials are restricted only to that of the imaginations of the students, Carter said.