Post by rmarks1 on Jun 3, 2013 12:45:45 GMT -5
Need a device? Make it yourself.
Bob
SAN MATEO, Calif.
(AP) — Invisalign, a San Jose company, uses 3-D printing to make each
mouthful of customized, transparent braces. Mackenzies Chocolates, a
confectioner in Santa Cruz, uses a 3-D printer to pump out chocolate
molds. And earlier this year, Cornell University researchers used a 3-D
printer, along with injections of a special collagen gel, to create a
human-shaped ear.
Once a science-fiction fantasy, three-dimensional printers are
popping up everywhere from the desks of home hobbyists to Air Force
drone research centers. The machines, generally the size of a microwave
oven and costing $400 to more than $500,000, extrude layer upon layer of
plastics or other materials, including metal, to create 3-D objects
with moving parts.
Users are able to make just about anything they like: iPad stands,
guitars, jewelry, even guns. But experts warn this cool innovation could
soon turn controversial — because of safety concerns but also the
potential for the technology to alter economies that rely on manufacturing.
"We believe that 3-D printing is fundamentally changing the
manufacturing ecosystem in its entirety — how and where products are
made and by whom," said Peter Weijmarshausen, CEO of New York-based
Shapeways, an online company that makes and sells 3-D printed products
designed by individuals. Products include a delicate, twig-like egg cup
(cost: $8.10) and a lamp that looks like a nuclear mushroom cloud (cost:
$1,388.66).
"We're on the verge of the next industrial revolution, no doubt about
it," added Dartmouth College business professor Richard D'Aveni. "In 25
years, entire industries are going to disappear. Countries relying on
mass manufacturing are going to find themselves with no revenues and no
jobs."
On ground, sea or air, when parts break, new ones can be made on the
spot, and even the tools to install them can be made, eliminating the
need for staging parts in warehouses around the world, said Jeff
DeGrange, vice president of Direct Digital Manufacturing at Stratasys
Inc., currently the industry leader in a field of about 50 3-D printer
companies.
"We're going to see innovation happening at a much higher rate,
introduction of products at a much higher rate," said DeGrange. "We live
in an on-demand world now, and we'll see production schedules are going
to be greatly compressed."
news.yahoo.com/3-d-printing-goes-sci-fi-fantasy-reality-133123371.html
(AP) — Invisalign, a San Jose company, uses 3-D printing to make each
mouthful of customized, transparent braces. Mackenzies Chocolates, a
confectioner in Santa Cruz, uses a 3-D printer to pump out chocolate
molds. And earlier this year, Cornell University researchers used a 3-D
printer, along with injections of a special collagen gel, to create a
human-shaped ear.
Once a science-fiction fantasy, three-dimensional printers are
popping up everywhere from the desks of home hobbyists to Air Force
drone research centers. The machines, generally the size of a microwave
oven and costing $400 to more than $500,000, extrude layer upon layer of
plastics or other materials, including metal, to create 3-D objects
with moving parts.
Users are able to make just about anything they like: iPad stands,
guitars, jewelry, even guns. But experts warn this cool innovation could
soon turn controversial — because of safety concerns but also the
potential for the technology to alter economies that rely on manufacturing.
"We believe that 3-D printing is fundamentally changing the
manufacturing ecosystem in its entirety — how and where products are
made and by whom," said Peter Weijmarshausen, CEO of New York-based
Shapeways, an online company that makes and sells 3-D printed products
designed by individuals. Products include a delicate, twig-like egg cup
(cost: $8.10) and a lamp that looks like a nuclear mushroom cloud (cost:
$1,388.66).
"We're on the verge of the next industrial revolution, no doubt about
it," added Dartmouth College business professor Richard D'Aveni. "In 25
years, entire industries are going to disappear. Countries relying on
mass manufacturing are going to find themselves with no revenues and no
jobs."
On ground, sea or air, when parts break, new ones can be made on the
spot, and even the tools to install them can be made, eliminating the
need for staging parts in warehouses around the world, said Jeff
DeGrange, vice president of Direct Digital Manufacturing at Stratasys
Inc., currently the industry leader in a field of about 50 3-D printer
companies.
"We're going to see innovation happening at a much higher rate,
introduction of products at a much higher rate," said DeGrange. "We live
in an on-demand world now, and we'll see production schedules are going
to be greatly compressed."
news.yahoo.com/3-d-printing-goes-sci-fi-fantasy-reality-133123371.html
Bob
