3D Printing Technology Nearing Tipping Point

Posted on December 4, 2006

Will you one day print yourself a new bowl or even a new house using 3D printing technology? 3D printers are nearing a tipping point according to one expert cited in a TechWeb article.

The era of desktop manufacturing is upon us, thanks to advances in 3-D printing technology. Just as laser printers in the 1980s moved from service bureaus into homes, sparking the desktop publishing revolution, 3-D printers - which render computer files in three-dimensional plaster - are poised to reshape how many products are designed and made.
"I definitely think we're really near that tipping point," says Dina Braun, VP at Alchemy Models, a company that makes architectural models. "Machine prices are going down and output quality is going up."
Alchemy Models specializes in architectural rapid prototyping, converting computer models of buildings into physical ones.
"For architects, their whole world is visualization," says Braun. "If they show a blueprint drawing, the client looks at them like a deer in headlights. When they can give the client something to hold in their hands, turn around, see how everything is placed, then the client finally gets it."

The article mentions one of the first 3D printing operations targeted at consumers. It's a service for kids called Cosmic Modelz. If your home is going to be generated using a massive 3D printing system you better make sure the home is what you want before you start printing. 3D printing could revolutionize a number of industries and make some items much cheaper. Some items, such as plates, bowls and vases, could possibly be easily be made at home using a home 3D printing machine but that is much farther down the road. The article also mentions the copyright problems this technology could hold -- like when people decide they want to print their own Mickey Mouse toy using their home 3D printing machine instead of buying a Disney-licensed toy at the store.

TECH