3D PRINTING: The Magazine 2 9.2015
WHAT’S HOT!
Julie Shaffer, Vice President, Digital Strategies, Printing Industries of America STILL NOT THE NEXT BIG THING
3D printing is one of those technologies that has simply failed to live up to the hype surrounding it. While the technology has been used for decades to create rapid prototypes for the aerospace, automotive, and manufacturing sectors, it wasn’t until 2012 that the media picked up on the topic, following President Obama’s mention of the creation of a national accelerator for 3D printing/additive manufacturing in Youngstown, OH (now called America Makes). This coincided with the fact that the patents behind many in-use 3D printing technologies expired, allowing dozens, if not hundreds, of entrepreneurs to bring lower-cost versions of 3D printing devices to market.
But despite the daily news stories of amazing new things being cre- ated through 3D printing technologies—many of them in the medical field—the business reality just never matched the hype. While the investment world went wild for 3D printing and stock prices soared for major players like Stratasys and 3D Systems through 2013, significant product sales didn’t materialize, so many of these stocks collapsed. Today stock for 3D Printing Corporation goes for nearly 25 percent of its January 2013 value.
Where Can 3D Printing Excel? Is 3D printing just another fad? Most of the hype and development is around smaller “personal” 3D printing devices, accelerated by the do-it-yourself “Maker Movement.” And while stories continue to circu- late about a brave new world in which consumers will soon have a 3D printer at home and be able to fabricate all manner of household items and replacement parts on demand, that’s probably not going to be the case. “The future for 3D printing is in its commercial applications, not in mass consumer adoption,” says Mitch Free, CEO, CloudDDM, adding, “Additive manufacturing’s major coup is its ability to reshape supply chains, making products that were previously impossible or inefficient to produce finally attainable. Industries already taking the lead include aerospace, automotive, transportation, and the medical device space.”
CloudDDM is a direct digital manufacturing company that provides parts fast—sometimes overnight—and takes the notion of just-in-time production to the next level. Free is a serial entrepreneur with a solid background in both manufacturing and online sales, founding
Mfg.com,
Hoping to become the “Amazon” of 3D printed parts, CloudDDM offers quick turnaround—sometimes overnight—for custom 3D printed items.
the world’s largest online marketplace for the manufacturing industry back in 1999. Free looked at the rise of 3D printing technology and recognized how it could impact a real need in manufacturing. “There are many niche-based products with quantity requirements that simply don’t justify tooling and large-scale production,” he said. Free saw an opportunity to support this sector and improve the seven- to ten-day established turnaround time more engineers have come to expect for parts and prototypes.
WHAT’S HOT!
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