What is the disruptive power of 3D printing?

3D Printing has a great potential to transform the retail and manufacturing industry. The potential is disruptive and exciting. 3D printers came into existence in the 1980s but it still hasn’t reached its full potential yet. It is still gaining familiarity among people outside of the engineering and tech world. It has taken the relatively recent digital revolution and the Internet of Things to commercialize it and turn it from an industrial to increasing consumer technology. Innovation is becoming widespread; sectors such as healthcare are seeing companies working on printing human body parts that can replace costly prosthetics, while NASA is exploring options for producing 3D-printed food.

In recent years, retailers and their suppliers have been under increasing pressure to deliver tailored and individual products and to do so to tight time frames. However, customization and immediacy are not always economical with traditional manufacturing processes which are optimized for large volumes of consistent output. With 3D printing, however – as with digital printing in general – it is becoming increasingly possible to bring personalized and automated manufacturing together. The seller supplies the blueprint, which is quick and hassle-free while the customer customizes at home or in the store.

With its pioneering PrintRite3D software, Sigma Labs Inc. appears to be ready to help unleash the transformative forces of 3D printing and usher in what’s been called the fourth industrial revolution. Aerospace has embraced 3D printing and, for the first time in the industry, Sigma Labs’ software makes possible non-destructive quality assurance during the 3D printing of metal parts, uniquely allowing errors to be corrected in real-time. The sector has been searching for just such a validated tool and method to raise quality and cut costs, scale production, and bring 3D printing even more into mainstream manufacturing. Using 3D printing, Pratt & Whitney, a division of United Technologies Corporation, delivered the first entry-into-service jet-engine parts ever produced. Honeywell International Inc. has qualified more 3D-printed aircraft parts with the FAA than any of its rivals, noting that “3D printing technology is real and it’s fantastic.” Achieving design solutions that have been inconceivable in the past, Boeing has applied the technology to airplanes, missiles, satellites, and spacecraft.

3D printers can alter distribution models just as the Internet has altered music, text, and video consumption. Just like iTunes replaced physical music stores, the 3D printer has the potential to disrupt logistics and sales of physical goods. All 3D printed objects start with a digital model. And once an object is digital, it can be easily stored, transported, and modified. Decentralized production networks mean new business models and regional strategies are possible. The company can post digital files of its products or parts of its products on its website for direct downloading (like Nokia tried) or posting these files on a digital 3D printing retailer. To be able to print locally will save shipping costs and shipping time. For some industries, that means huge competitive advantages. Spare parts can be manufactured on demand at decentralized locations. If a component fails, it will be reproduced directly on-site.

What are your opinions about the disruptive power of 3D printing, do let me know.

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