The recent impact of technology on a number of business sectors cannot be denied – one only has to look at the way online shopping is devastating the high street.
Engineering and manufacturing companies might think they are safe from this kind of disruption – but the advent of relatively cheap and easy to use 3D printers might challenge that view.
A 3D printer is literally just that – a device that prints out objects in 3D.
It doesn’t print out paper models that can then be folded – the object is printed in front of your eyes.
Most 3D printers use a plastic resin, that is squirted from a precision nozzle, building up an object layer by layer until it is complete.
The advantages are clear for many different groups of people.
Companies can use this technology to rapidly prototype new products, without the need to invest in expensive tooling.
Anybody wanting a small spare part to help fix a machine could theoretically download a model of it from the internet and just print it out themselves – saving a lot of time and money.
Things get really exciting when one adds in the upsurge in quality of 3D scanning equipment.
These enable you to scan in a 3D model of an object – perhaps one that has been damaged – then rebuild it on the computer before printing out a working version.
Such uses of this technology are revolutionising the heritage industry, where it is now possible to produce exact replicas of historical objects, and even rebuild those that have been damaged over time.
What’s more remarkable is that this cutting edge technology is increasingly accessible.
The electronics retailer Maplin now sells a 3D printing kit (you have to assemble the printer yourself) for just under £700 – and no doubt prices will continue to drop, just as they did with personal computers, for example.
As always, technological advances can be a double edged sword, as seen in the USA where groups have developed designs for 3D printable guns and other weapons.
However, despite this dark side, the opportunities for businesses and hobbyists presented by 3D printing cannot be denied.