The Future of Printing

A feature article in a February edition of the Economist really caught my eye.  It highlighted a “new-to-the-market” product that will have an impact on the way high-tech and everyday products are created in the future: a 3D printer.  Not surprisingly, this sophisticated technology has existed for more than a decade, however it remains unknown to the majority of consumers.

These 3D printers have the capacity to print out products ranging from jewellery, soccer shoes, race-car parts, lampshades, to even functioning grandfather clocks, depending on the size of printer! Imagine what this means for the production of complex and everyday products. One day, a simple desk lamp sold at Walmart may be “printed” by the manufacturer rather than assembled piece by piece. Although the 3D Printers are still in the Introduction Phase of the Product Life Cycle, researchers are estimating a significant growth in the demand for this product as it is continuously being reengineered to the level of commercial use by both large-scale manufacturers, and in-home designers.

Currently, the 3D printers are being used by engineers and product designers, who make up the 2.5% of innovators on the Diffusion of Innovation Curve, to easily create prototypes of their new invention or design as well as manufacturers of products who require complex parts, such as airplanes, to save time, materials and labour costs. Although it may become the new trend for product manufacturing, the impact that this would have on the labour market and manufacturing industry should be taken into careful consideration as well.  This product could mean the loss of thousands of jobs as labourers are replaced by 3D Printers, but it could also spark the imagination of entrepreneurs who can utilize this product to invent new creations that the world has never thought possible.