3D Printing Ethical Dilemmas

With the advent of inexpensive consumer 3D printing technology, many new ethical dilemmas have begun to surface. Within the next decade many countries around the world will need to implement new legislation to keep up with the rapidly increasing capabilities of 3D printing.

Intellectual Property

Consumer Grade 3D Printer

Image by: Creative Tools via Flickr

Commercially Available 3D Scanner

Image by: Creative Tools via Flickr

New filesharing platforms such as Thingiverse, or My Mini Factory give users the power to share creations and download other peoples designs. This ability is extremely useful to help spread, and create innovative ideas. The downside of such power is creative licensing. Most CAD file sharing websites are self governing and have their own terms and policies on what can be downloaded and what can be shared. While this works well in theory, we have seen this issues in online distribution of other digital media types such as music, or videos. Like music and video, CAD files are very susceptible to illegal downloads. 

Another concern shared by many is the use of 3D scanners, which make it possible to scan a physical object to create a CAD file that can then be 3D printed. Currently the performance limitations of 3D printers make it so that it is not possible, or not economically viable to recreate most consumer products. Although right now these limitations keep 3D printers from reaching their full potential, it is likely that 3d printing technology will soon reach extreme heights of manufacturing capability to produce a wide range of goods.

Image by: Inhabitat Blog via Flickr

It is important to consider how 3D scanners/printers will affect our society. Protection of intellectual property is imperative to preserving the rights of citizens. Preserving this right for the future will likely require new legislation.

Public Safety

With innovations in material design, 3D printers are becoming more flexible in the products they manufacture. This capability is great for consumers, but it could lead to the creation of strictly regulated items such as firearms, or knives. This opens up a whole new set of issues that our current laws on weapons regulations do not cover. What kind of regulations do we need to maintain public safety in a world where firearms could be downloaded and printed by anyone of any background or age? This is very controversial topic, because some would argue that government regulations of 3D printers and downloadable media would be an unconstitutional act. Others would argue that without regulations weapons fall into the wrong hands, putting citizens in danger. In any case it is likely to be an issue that will remain disputed for some time. The video below by DNews explores these issues more and shows a live firing of a 3D printed handgun.

First Firing of "Liberator" 3D Printed Gun

Video by: DNews via YouTube

Another threat to public safety worth mentioning is product design. Most industries in America that produce consumer products have to adhere to strict standards regarding product safety. If a company sells a faulty product that injuries a consumer, or causes property damage that company can then become responsible for these consequences. Compared to a system of file sharing, There is no system of responsibility for product failures. Proposed regulations to control or limit the distribution of designs for safety purposes will likely trigger many questions of 1st amendment rights infringement.

The Future of 3D printing

3D printers are likely to have an enormous impact society, most of which will be very positive. It is imperative that the necessary due diligence done to explore ethical dilemmas and protect the public.  

Takata Airbag Recall

Takata Airbag Recall

Automotive recalls have been all over the news recently one example is GM's nightmare of 2014 in which over 2.6 million GM vehicles were recalled worldwide, and blamed for the deaths of at least 13 people. Another large recall was recently announced that involved faulty airbags manufactured by the Japanese automotive parts company, the Takata Corporation specifically faulty airbags. This article will explore technical aspects of the Takata airbag recall and its impact on the industry.

Airbag Design 

Figure 1. Airbag Diagram
Image by Sidney Jablonski via Behance

The basic concept behind airbag design is simple: a safety device that uses a flexible fabric envelope, that can be rapidly inflated in the event of a collision in order to reduce impact forces. Even though the concept is simple the design and deployment of airbags can be quite complicated.

In a collision vehicle sensors trigger the airbag to deploy when threshold conditions have been reached. In the United States airbags are required to deploy, when a force equivalent to hitting a wall at 14 mph has been detected. Once the deployment has begun an ignitor starts a rapid chemical reaction to produce nitrogen gas to fill the air bag. Note in Figure 1 the the chemical reaction is caused by sodium azide pellets. Sodium azide was a very common propellant in early airbags but is not typically used today due to its toxic nature. Modern airbags utilize less toxic propellants like ammonium nitrate or nitroguanidine. From when the the ignitor is triggered to when the airbag is fully inflated takes around 0.4 seconds.

Thankfully safety restraint technology has advanced greatly from the early 1970s when airbags were first being implemented into passenger vehicles. Due to these advancements and regulatory efforts by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Department of Transportation estimates that between 1987 and 2012, frontal airbags have saved over 37,000 lives.

Takata Airbag Failures 

From April 2013 to March 2015 17 million vehicles from 10 different automakers with frontal airbags manufactured by Takata have been recalled. The affected vehicles ranged in model years from 2002 to 2008. 

The recall has been caused by a faulty propellent that could deteriorate over time, especially in humid climates. In the event of a deployment the faulty propellent could cause excess pressure in the inflater which can lead to several components in the inflated to rupture, potentially becoming lethal shrapnel blasted at high velocities into the driver and/or passengers. 

Posted right is a video by CNNmoney via YouTube, which outlines key information on the airbag recalls. According to the video at least 4 people have died from the defective airbags.

Aftermath

After further investigation it has been found that Takata was aware of these potentially lethal flaws before the airbags were tested by federal regulators. This blatant disregard for engineering ethics is a serious issue in today's auto industry. Faulty products such as an ignition switch or airbag inflator could lead to serious injury or even death. In the past engineering disasters like these have been harbingers for change in safety regulations and policy, paving the way for new designs and standards in the engineering community and ultimately creating a better, safer world of engineering feats.