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3D printing and How its Changing the World

When it comes to the next industrial revolution one thing has come to the broad attention of the world as of recent. Thats 3D printing. Most people tend to confuse this with the movies and those red and blue glasses you put on to make things jump out at you when at the cinema.

Truth be told 3D printers are a lot more exciting than any movie that could ever come out. Sorry James Cameron and the staff that worked on Avatar but this is truly a stunning revleation of what is possible. 3D printing is creating companies and products right in front of us. Literally. How it works is an assist from the program CAD also known as Computer Aided Design creates a file of what the product is supposed to be.

The products can be absolutely anything. Recently there was a lot of press about a Gun created via a 3D printer which caused quite the stir and controversy because there is no way to regulate or contorl what is being created with CAD.

From the computer aided design a printer that can be anywhere in size from a microwave to the size of the first mainframe computer will print layer by layer using a laser sintering process to create the design and bring it to life.

The materials that can be used vary with the most popular being a Nylon SLS which can create ready to use or wearable products in less than an hour. This is great for low volume manufacturing because you can make products based on immediate demand and not have to worry about shipments coming in from China or any of the other overseas manufacturers.

This industry is to change the world in the same fashion that the psychic hotlines and strcutred settlement companies changed the 1-900 phone business.

So now when somebody asks you about the 3D printing world you don’t have to relate to the movies but can be in the know.

Notable firms in the 3D printing industry are:

Autodesk

Makerbot

Shapeways

Objet

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ryan Einstein .