Introduction and disruptive manufacturing
In Makers: The New Industrial Revolution, Chris Anderson, author and former editor-in-chief of Wired magazine, writes: "The idea of a ‘factory’ is, in a word, changing. Just as the web democratised innovation in bits, a new class of ‘rapid prototyping’ technologies, from 3D printers to laser cutters, is democratising innovation in atoms. You think the last two decades were amazing? Just wait."
3D printing an object is not a new idea, as the concept can trace its origins back 30 years. However, 2012 was a pivotal moment in the technology’s evolution, as the first affordable 3D printers began to appear. Being able to use inkjet printing technology to ‘print’ a 3D object has the potential to become one of the most disruptive technologies to appear for decades – and small businesses are the perfect vehicle to exploit this technology.
Subtractive past
In essence 3D printing turns manufacturing on its head. Traditionally products are created using the subtractive method, which includes cutting, gluing, forging and additional assembly to create the product. By contrast, a 3D printer can produce an object in a single operation, layer by layer. The object comes out of the printer fully assembled, including all its moving parts.
Subtractive manufacturing isn’t going to die out overnight, as 3D printing has a long way to go before it becomes economical enough to replace traditional manufacturing techniques. However, smaller enterprises that perhaps develop and manufacture specialist products and components can leverage 3D printing technology now to deliver tangible advantages today.
And rapid prototyping has shifted to 3D printing to offer a much faster journey to market for a number of products. Here, smaller enterprises that could not afford to prototype some of their product ideas, can suddenly achieve just that with affordable desktop 3D printers.
Disruptive manufacturing
"By rapidly printing prototypes, manufacturers can significantly shorten the development lifecycle," said The Leading Edge Forum. "One example comes from Akaishi, a Japanese manufacturer of correctional footwear and massage devices. The company found that by 3D printing prototypes in-house, it could reduce lead-time of new products by 90% compared to its previously outsourced prototyping service. This allows its designers to have 100% confidence in a product’s functionality before it ever reaches the customer."
3D printing is growing as a home-based market, and also as an opportunity to deliver 3D printing services. Both of these sectors offer small businesses looking to innovate masses of scope to create new products and services. Already service providers such as Shapeways, Sculpteo and Thingiverse are showing how 3D printing could be a platform for new business services.
YouTube : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJuTM0Y7U1k
So is there a clear business case for 3D printing? "3D printing speeds up the design process and enhances this vital process," Paul Ryan, Group Marketer at Hobs Reprographics [www.hobsrepro.com] told TechRadar Pro. "Architectural models can be made in half the time of traditional methods and they are also half the price. More importantly, shapes that couldn’t be made using traditional methods, such as complex curves, can now be made simply.
"In product design, 3D printing allows one-off high-resolution products to be created quickly. This is ideal for testing new ideas. 3D printing also helps convey complex information – 2D drawings of a plant room, oil rig or underground train station are challenging to interpret. 3D printing a scale model assists understanding as people can see all the information and move around it as if they are looking at the real thing."
Printed business
So, the business case for 3D printing is manifold. Depending on your business’ market sector and its current business model, there are a number of opportunities that 3D printing can offer your company that include:
• Efficiency gains
If your business is already in product design and development, there is a clear business case for using 3D printing to aid your existing product development processes. Rapid prototyping using 3D printing is a clear gain here.
• Personalisation
As more products can now be personalised, 3D printing could offer the ultimate service to customers who want high levels of personalisation with the products they buy.
• Superior product design
3D printing offers developers the opportunity to take more control over the manufacturing process. This can lead to the ability to use materials in novel ways, but also to make products lighter, stronger and easier to maintain.
• 3D printing services
Businesses like Shapeways have shown that 3D printing as an outsourced service can be successful. UPS in the USA now offer 3D printing in some of its branches as a walk-in service. Expect to see 3D printing franchises develop over the next few years.
• Improved supply chains
3D printing will be used as a complement to traditional manufacturing. For some small businesses 3D printing could replace their existing – and expensive – off-shore manufacturing services, making significant cost savings.
• Domestic 3D printing support
As the cost of 3D printers continues to drop they could eventually become commonplace. When this market matures, small businesses have an opportunity to become support services in the same way that other domestic products are supported with consumables and maintenance.
Hobs Reprographics’ Paul Ryan said: "3D printing will continue to develop as people push the boundaries of the existing technologies and develop new materials to print with. There’s a move to increased personalisation for many consumer products, so there are opportunities for everyone."
Elliot Kotek, editor-in-chief of NotImpossibleNow.com, concluded: "The 3D printing of carbon fibre and 3D printing with silicon are both incredibly exciting, as they’ll be able to provide incredibly resilient items that can both withstand immense pressure and tension, and look incredibly lifelike.
"The ability to recycle PET plastics and other ‘waste’ products into functioning and functional items is also going to change the path. As more and more kids learn to print their toys that, too, will change the expectations our youth have of what they need to buy versus make themselves. It’s a move for the better."
Still evolving
The application of 3D printing technology to a number of business processes is clearly still evolving. The use of this technology for rapid prototyping and personalisation is a clear sector where 3D printing will have a massive impact.
Initially, 3D printing will have the most impact on small business owners utilising this technology to expand their enterprises or improve their efficiency.
The democratisation of manufacturing that 3D printing delivers is rapidly evolving. What is certain is that because of its agility and creativity, the small business community is in the perfect position to exploit what 3D has to offer now, and the opportunities it will deliver tomorrow.
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