Before 3D printers become as ubiquitous as cellphones, they could form the basis of small-scale manufacturing concerns and have huge potential both here and for developing countries, where access to many products is limited.
Associate Professor Joshua Pearce, a Michigan Technological University researcher posits the following: “Say you are in the camping supply business and you don’t want to keep glow-in-the-dark tent stakes in stock. Just keep glow-in-the-dark plastic on hand, and if somebody needs those tent stakes, you can print them. It would be a different kind of capitalism, where you don’t need a lot of money to create wealth for yourself or even start a business.”
3D printers deposit multiple layers of plastic or other materials to make almost anything, from toys to tools to kitchen gadgets. Free designs that direct the printers are available by the tens of thousands on websites like Thingiverse. Visitors can download designs to make their own products using open-source 3D printers, like the RepRap, which you build yourself from printed parts, or those that come in a box ready to print, from companies like Type-A Machines.
3D printing isn’t quite as simple as 2D printing a document from your home computer — at least not yet.
“But you don’t need to be an engineer or a professional technician to set up a 3D printer,” Pearce said. “Some can be set up in under half an hour, and even the RepRap can be built in a weekend by a reasonably handy do-it-yourselfer.”
It’s not just about the money. 3D printing may herald a new world that offers consumers many more choices as everything can be customized. Cellphone accessories, a garlic press, a shower head, a spoon holder, and the like are as few as three clicks away, and we’re not talking about miles. 3D printers can save consumers even more money on high-end items like customized orthotics and photographic equipment.
It’s not just about the money. 3D printing may herald a new world that offers consumers many more choices as everything can be customized.
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