3D Printing is Not Science Fiction

by admin on February 11, 2012

There was a recent article called “Why 3D Printing Will Go the Way of Virtual Reality” which has caused quite a stir.

The author lists several reasons why 3D Printing will always remain a fringe technology that is more suitable for science fiction than real world applications.

First of all the author assumes that 3D Printers can only manufacture in plastic.

Let’s start with the mechanism. Most 3-D printers lay down thin layers of extruded plastic. That’s great for creating cheap plastic toys with a limited spatial resolution. But printing your Mii or customizing an iPhone case isn’t the same thing as firing ceramics in a kiln or smelting metal or mixing lime with sand at high temperatures to produce glass—unless you’d like everything that’s currently made from those substances to be replaced with plastic, and there are countless environmental, health, and durability reasons you don’t.

Currently, 3D printers can also print using titanium powders. Metal objects are currently being 3D printed and there are various alloys including a biocompatible cobalt-chrome alloy.

The author thinks that 3D Printing will never change the face of consumerism. He believes that 3D Printing will be relegated to a tool used in traditional manufacturing.

Hype is inevitably followed by some level of backlash, or at least disinterest, and it would be a shame for 3-D printing to head into a too-deep trough of the Gartner hype cycle. There will be plenty of interesting applications for 3-D printing, but I’ll bet the ones that will have the biggest impact will be within traditional factories, where rapid prototyping is already having a huge impact.

There are already several desk top versions of 3D printers that are available for about $1200. Recently 3D Systems introduced its $1,299 Cube 3D printer at the Consumer Electronics Show. Virtual reality never made it into anyone’s home. 3D printers on the other hand are already being sold as consumer devices. The 3D Printing industry has come further along than the VR industry ever did.

It is impossible to say whether 3D Printing will follow in the footsteps of the PC or virtual reality. The most likely answer is somewhere in between.

 

{ 0 comments }

3D Printer Success Stories

by admin on January 25, 2012

Some of the most successful projects funded on Kickstarter have been related to 3D Printing.

First of all, Printrbot  raised an astounding $830,000. Printrbot follows in the footsteps of Makerbot which recently received venture capital funding.

I think the reason why Brook was successful with his 3D Pinter product is that he sold the “big idea.” In other words, he created excitement and buzz by talking about how he wanted 3D Printers to be on every desktop. People are attracted to big ideas and big dreams especially in a forum like Kickstarter.

Normally, I would just attribute Printrbot’s success as a “one-off.” However, the fact that some of the most funded projects revolve around 3D Printing leads me to believe that it’s part of a bigger trend.

In the arts, a project called Crania has been well funded. The artist makes highly complex pieces of artwork with anatomical shapes as the base. One of the advantages of 3D Printing is the ability to print highly complex objects. The artist has taken advantage of this aspect of 3D printers and turned it into $77,000 of funding.

Another project that caught my eye was Filabot that raised $32,000. The “big idea” here is the ability to take recycled plastic materials and turn it into filament that you can use with your 3D Printer. Although the demo was a little rustic (I couldn’t imagine this on my desktop), the idea is on the winning track. Every week we recycle dozens of bottles and we hope that the recycling plant does not simply throw them in the garbage. What will happen in the future is that we will shred the plastic and create filament.

The problem with Filabot is that it seems a little cumbersome. We need a product that saves time and money and re-uses old plastic. I’m afraid that the current prototype will be deemed too much work by most 3D printer enthusiasts.

Nonetheless, in the last few months, over a million dollars has been raised through Kickstarter for 3 ambitious 3D Printer projects. It is clear that the trend towards personal fabrication is one of the more powerful trends of this decade.

{ 0 comments }

Fab Labs Coming to a Library Near You

December 16, 2011

If you’ve ever tried to explain 3D printing to someone you’ve probably drawn some blank stares. Here is a great primer on why 3D Printing promises to be one of the great disruptive technologies of the next decade. What is interesting is that there is a movement to convert old public libraries into hack labs [...]

Read the full article →

3D Printing and Piracy

December 14, 2011

3D Printing will unleash a brewing conflict between mini-producers and giant corporations that hold significant intellectual property. It was one thing when pirates downloaded the latest Metallica album; it is entirely another when pirates re-create every household product. Will Proctor and Gamble sit by and watch people print customized toothbrushes that most likely infringe on [...]

Read the full article →

3D Printing and the Local Economy

December 10, 2011

Ever since the Economist featured 3D printing in February, the tech world has been buzzing about whether or not 3D printing will be a disruptive technology. One of the problems with the current methods of production is that there is no resilience. Look at the floods in Thailand that disrupted the SS Drive market. Traditional [...]

Read the full article →

Problems With 3D Printers

December 5, 2011

Writers and technologists often marvel over the possibilities of 3D Printing. However, little attention is paid to the limitations of 3D Printing. First of all, the cost of print materials can make 3D printing an expensive proposition. For example, if you owned the Fortus 3D Printer you would have to buy materials from them. In [...]

Read the full article →

3D Printing Future

December 1, 2011

One of the questions that is often asked about 3D printing is when will it become a major part of our everyday life? Let’s face it 3D printing is currently relegated to Sci-Fi geeks. If you talk about 3D printing with the average person on the street, their eyes will quickly glaze over. When will [...]

Read the full article →

Products Created By 3D Printers

November 28, 2011

3D Printing has greatly evolved over the last ten years. At first, 3D Printing was used to rapid prototype new products. For example, a plastic drill cover would be prototyped and handymen would report on whether the drill cover was comfortable. Another example of 3D Printing were architectural models. Clients and end use customers often [...]

Read the full article →

Ideas For 3D Printers

November 24, 2011

Since 3D Printers are currently used for creating custom made products, I thought it would be a great idea to brainstorm some ideas that designers and entrepreneurs can put into production. Last month, an entrepreneur started 3D printing sunglasses.  Can you imagine hipsters cruising around in funky shades while bragging to their friends about how [...]

Read the full article →

What is Additive Manufacturing

November 23, 2011

3D Printing is often confused with additive manufacturing or rapid prototyping. These terms are often used interchangeably.  Additive manufacturing is the larger umbrella that includes 3D Printing. First of all it is important to distinguish between additive manufacturing and subtractive manufacturing. Most manufacturing since the Industrial Revolution have involved subtractive techniques.  Traditional manufacturing might involve [...]

Read the full article →

← Previous Entries